Cultivating female talent in agriculture

The agriculture industry has changed so much over the past decade with new technologies, new climates - and new mindsets about the role women can play in running a successful business.

Michelle Cousins sees endless opportunities across the whole production system for women to make a real difference in agriculture.

“We're seeing a lot more women in agriculture, especially in leadership roles,” she explains. “Whether that be within their own businesses, their own farms or within industry body groups. They're starting to be recognised for the contribution they make… [they] provide a different perspective,” says Michelle, Cousins Merino Services co-director

She says the future for women in agriculture is unlimited and that women need to have a seat at the table in order to drive agriculture in the future.

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Barlteville Grain CEO Ben Marshman believes gender shouldn’t be a barrier for anyone looking to enter into agriculture and he encouraged all his children – including his three girls – to get involved with the family farm from a young age.

“We've never put limitations on what they can do in the future,” he says. “We like to give them the opportunity to see what pathways are out there.”

“We developed a family council for our business. Succession… is very important so the children come along to meetings and we provide as much information as we can so they can make an informed choice moving forward if they would like to be part of the operating business,” Ben says.

Farm hand Lucy Parker started her agriculture career working through her gap year but enjoyed the experience so much she decided to stay on.

“I worked at different silos to give me a better understanding of how the system works,” she recalls. “I really enjoy the manual side of farming - I drive all of the machinery.”

The future of farming

Another element of agriculture which is creating opportunities for women to excel is the advances in technology and data.

A major part of Michelle’s business is providing data management services to farms as well as electronic identification of livestock.

“We're seeing producers take up the advantages associated with this technology. [It makes the] farming systems a lot easier to manage,” she says. “Women are really embracing this technology and working with it. They can often be the drivers on properties for new technology.”

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Ben admits his daughters are more skilled at the analytical work involved in farming than he is.

“Within the next 10 years, there are going to be new roles on growing properties for farming technology. That's becoming quite specialised and people will have a degree in those areas. It will be a very important part of agriculture moving forward,” he says.

While she enjoys the manual labour involved in farming, Lucy believes technology is playing a more significant role.

“I've learnt a lot about the technology that can improve farms and how they run,” she says.  “It's nice to see the mindset change.”

Courteney Kemp is Agribusiness Manager at ANZ