According to Aunty Cheryl Penrith, the Wiradjuri people are a matriarchal society who consider Wagga Wagga a place of celebration.
So where better to hold NSW’s first ever Thriving Women conference aimed at recognising the influential contribution women make to the agricultural sector.
Held from August 13 to 15, more than 200 delegates came together to hear from high-profile keynote speakers Leigh Sales (ABC’s Australian Story presenter), Olympia Yarger (founder and chief executive officer of Goterra) and Jane Cay (founder of Birdsnest).
The event, hosted by Women Together Learning (WoTL) and sponsored by AgriFutures Australia, has been held three times in South Australia and, considering the sell-out crowd, was embraced by the New South Welshwomen.
“We are thrilled to have so many women taking the time away from families, businesses and community commitments to invest in themselves,” event co-convenor Sandra Ireson said.
The two-day event kicked off on Sunday night with welcome drinks at the Riverine Club, (ironically, once a men-only club), followed by a variety of Toolbox Talk sessions across Monday and Tuesday. Topics included succession planning, effective communication, tech-adaptation on farm, farm safety, climate neutral pathways and confidence building.
When Country News spoke with co-convenor Lisa Anderson, she commented on the energy of the crowd.
“Everyone is making meaningful connections,” she said.
“Women are helping each other and being helped regardless of their age or the role they play in agriculture. It’s amazing to see what can happen when you get women together.”
The guest speakers spoke to the conferences theme of ‘Growing and Inspiring Women Connected Through Agriculture’ with a level of honesty and authenticity, according to Jess Reynolds, an Angus stud farmer based near Adelong.
“Leadership is not when someone in a position of power anoints you a leader, it is when you take action when leadership is needed,” Leigh Sales said.
Olympia Yarger, the fifth biggest insect farmer in the world who uses mobile maggot feedlots to turn food waste into a source of protein for livestock markets, was quick to point out that failure in her business usually involves maggots on the floor and food waste on the roof.
“When you’re a leader, you come to learn, not to teach,” she said.
“You learn a lot about leadership in an effort to get good people doing hard things ... which in my case involves a lot of mess.”
The self-titled Big Bird at Birdsnest, Jane Cay spoke openly about how treating yourself with more care will mean you treat those around you with more care.
Having been featured twice in the BRW’s top 10 places to work in Australia, this entrepreneurial farmer’s wife from Cooma demonstrated that a happy team is a productive team.
The WoTL organisers encouraged anyone wanting to attend next year’s conference, to be held back in the Adelaide Hills, to save the date from August 12 to 13, 2024.