Thriving Women: connected through agriculture

Operating a cattle and sheep enterprise near Booligal NSW, Sandra Ireson is passionate about sharing her love of the industry.

“I’m a sixth-generation producer, and my husband is fifth generation – that family history and wealth of industry knowledge is amazing to have, and to pass it on is even better,” Sandra said.

Sandra is grateful for the sustainability and carbon-neutral opportunities of her region – with low-impact rotational grazing moving it further – however, her true passion is developing pathways to agriculture for younger generations. Having co-developed the Hay Inc. Rural Education Program, she works to address the reduced numbers of young people in agricultural communities.

“I think what really sparked my interest was the live export ban in 2011 – I saw how little people knew about agriculture or where their food comes from, and I saw the impact on the affected families. That gave me confidence to go do something for my industry.”

“The Hay Inc program is such a positive experience – some of the young adults may not have had a lot of connection to agriculture, so I’m glad they’ve been able to meet people in the industry and understand the community and lifestyle.”

Sandra was awarded 2017 NSW/ACT AgriFutures Rural Women’s Award for her work, continuing to build further initiatives, including Engage Ag to create further career opportunities for the sector. She is also an involved member of:

• Isolated Children Parents Association
• NSW DPI Tocal College Advisory Council
• Southern Australia Livestock Research Council Regional Committee

“Educating people about where their meat comes from and how we produce it ethically and sustainably is vital. I feel honoured to produce food – it gives you the motivation to provide families the best product you can.”

As a co-convenor of the Thriving Women Conference, Sandra is particularly excited to hear from keynotes Jane Cay and Olympia Yarger, but knows the real benefits will be in the connections built in-between.

“Jane is a great inspiration for entrepreneurs and side-hustlers, and Olympia has a great story with environmental work for insect farming and food waste infrastructure.

“I think when you get women together and connecting, some powerful projects can happen. These events really helped in my leadership journey and so I recommend other women to come along and experience Thriving Women 2023.”

Having grown up grazing in NSW’s Monaro region with passions for sheep, community and science, Sally Martin’s career spans over 30 years – 20 years with NSW DPI, and over a decade managing her own consulting business, SheepMetriX.

“My interests have always been in genetics and data. I love helping people with their breeding programs and seeing how they can optimise their flock in a stud and commercial situation,” Sally said.

“I love the practical application of science to on-farm production, and I love the connection I have with my clients – we work as a team.”

Sally has been the recipient of such awards as:

• 2011 Runner-up NSW RIRDC Rural Women’s Award
• 2013 100 Women of Influence
• 2017 Inaugural Australian Wool Industry Award
• 2018 National Farmers Inaugural Ag Diversity Leadership Program.

She is also a member of several committees:

• NSW eID Sheep & Goat Traceability Reference Group
• Sheep Genetics Advisory Committee
• Peter Westblade Scholarship Treasurer
• past MerinoLink Limited CEO and Director.

Sally’s work has also expanded overseas to the Falkland Islands, Spain and Argentina. With international breeders utilising Australia’s genetic evaluation system (MLA’s Sheep Genetics), Sally’s work is a clear indication of Australia’s place on the world stage.

“My role is as a service provider working with producers. I've got family still on the farm, but I've chosen a slightly different pathway while still staying involved in agriculture,” Sally said.

“There are so many ways you can work in agriculture – marketing, research, working on-farm. We're pretty lucky as an industry to be able to attract amazing people to us think outside of the square.

“My mindset is a team approach. We can't know everything, but knowing whose phone to call is half the battle.”

Sally says the number of diverse speakers who submitted abstract applications for the conference was outstanding.

“The real challenge for attendees will be which of the 15 presentations to attend, as we will have 3 running concurrently over 5 sessions –bringing a friend or networking partner to spread yourselves across the sessions will be a huge benefit.”

Sally said she put her hand up to help organise the Thriving Women conference to give back to the community.

“It's also an opportunity for me to get out of my comfort zone, to be able to meet new people and to extend my networks, which is a big part of what the conference is aiming to do – bring in high-calibre members of the community to inspire others to make a difference.”

Lisa Anderson is a Sydney local turned proud sheep and grain producer. After moving to Wagga Wagga to pursue work in law and economics, she met her husband, and instead used her skills to grow and diversify their farm.

“Livestock businesses are multifaceted and complex – we have to be agile and adapt to whatever is thrown at us. When we look after our animals, there's so much to be done on a regular basis to make sure we're producing high-quality meat for the Australian consumer.”

Lisa has a strong passion for helping those in the agricultural community, and is a member of multiple boards and committees, including:

• MLA Red Meat Panel
• Southern Australia Livestock Research Council (Chair Southern NSW)
• Meat Up Steering Committee
• Riverina LLS Board
• AgriFutures Pasture Seeds Advisory Panel (Chair)
• EvokeAG Steering Committee
• Fellow of the Australian Rural Leadership Foundation (2022)

Lisa said the Thriving Women conference focuses on strong foundations – understanding the legal, financial, environmental, and personal consequences of our decisions, and the opportunities for growth and improvement of Australian businesses and industry practice.

“Women are critical to the ‘big change’ decisions being made for their businesses. Once you get them in the room together, they can create those connections and share their experiences – what worked, what hasn't worked, what should you do differently? That's how we're going to raise the level of best practice right across the industry.”

With the conference speakers including 15 toolbox presenters, three keynotes, and Kate Burr as MC, Lisa is excited to hear talks on resilience, networking, leadership and more.

"Leigh Sales, one of our keynotes, has great perspective on surviving and thriving through adversity – something all producers deal with at some point.

“Kate Burr is doing a talk on how to use humour to better engage with people, and Gabby Neil is telling the start-up story of her wool clothing brand.

“Thriving Women is about connection. We're lucky to have clever, skilled and invested women in this industry and we need to make the most of connecting them and providing them opportunities to succeed.”