Kim | WoTL - Part 4

Become a WoTL Director!

by Kim | Sep 26, 2024 | Board, Latest News

WoTL’s Annual General Meeting will be held on October 30, 2024 and applications are now open to apply to become a WoTL Board Director! If you have a passion for supporting the development of women in agriculture, we would love to hear from you. We are looking to add to our skills-based board, broadening the diversity of skillset, age, experience, gender and geographic location.

About us
WoTL’s vision is a thriving agricultural industry that recognises the influential contribution of women. WoTL provides insightful leadership through collaboration and exists to amplify the positive influence of women in agriculture.

WoTL delivers responsive and effective initiatives such as professional development training and networking opportunities for women in Agriculture. Working with partners and funding bodies WoTL delivers inspiration and growth across Australia.

With its headquarters in South Australia, WoTL is a not-for-profit Company Limited by Guarantee under the Corporations Act 2001.

About the opportunity
WoTL is seeking applications for members of the WoTL board. As a board member you will, in conjunction with the Chairperson and other Board Members, contribute to setting the strategic direction of the organisation and play a hands-on role in leading and supporting the organisation through an exciting period of growth and development, building on existing programs that are held in high regard within the agricultural sector.

Directors serving a term on the WoTL Board of Directors are expected to participate fully and share in the strategic governance of the organisation, on behalf of its membership and in service to women in agribusiness. The position is voluntary, and directors are expected to contribute 100-150 hours per annum. Terms are of 2 year duration, with the option to re-apply.

To help meet WoTL’s planned growth strategies, applications are encouraged from the eastern states of Australia and a variety of agricultural sectors including viticulture, forestry and fishery, as well as from within South Australia. Applicants with skills or experience in adult learning programs, governance or legal skills in particular are encouraged to apply. WoTL is committed to creating an inclusive environment and maintaining a diverse and highly skilled board.

About the role
Directors must have a demonstrated commitment to WoTL and its values, have expertise and capability in leadership and governance, sound business acumen and a focus on delivery of strategic outcomes. The successful applicant will be able to demonstrate high level experience and knowledge in one or more of the following areas:

Commercialisation and product development with a strong customer focus.
Relationship management and networks with a focus on building partnerships. Networks across agriculture and/or the agricultural service industries will be considered an advantage.
Industry knowledge/experience in agriculture, agribusiness and/or regional development, with cross-sectoral experience considered an advantage.
Marketing, promotions and communications, including through mainstream and social media platforms.
Finance and financial management.
Information and communication technology.
Innovation, disruption and change management.
Program design and evaluation.
Legal knowledge or contact and policy development.
Development and/or delivery of adult learning programs.

For further enquiries and How to Apply

Applications are open September 26th 2024, closing October 11th, 2024. All enquiries regarding this position will remain private and confidential. For a Director Information Pack and details on how to apply, contact Kim Blenkiron, Executive Officer or 0427 592 243 or eo@wotl.com.au

Embracing Challenge and Change

by Kim | Jul 31, 2024 | Ambassadors, Latest News, Stepping into Leadership, Stories of Impact

After working in retail for most of her life, Shannon Pearson never imagined she’d become a fulltime dairy farmer. It was a transition that started off small. At first, she helped her mother-in-law with the business bookwork. Then there was a season helping out with calving on the property near Mt Gambier in SA’s South East. The more she did, the more she realised she enjoyed farm life. The only thing holding her back from taking on more was a lack of confidence in her skills. Now, thanks to WoTL’s Stepping Into Leadership Program, Shannon has found the confidence and a network of supportive connections which led her to embrace fulltime farming.

Shannon met her husband Adrian, a third-generation dairy farmer, in the late 1990s and the couple built their home together on his family’s farm in 2003. “I’d worked in retail forever and when I moved onto the farm people asked if I’d be milking cows soon and I always said ‘no thank you I have my own fulltime job’,” she said.

“I had my own job in retail management, and then I took time off when I had my two boys, but I went back parttime afterwards. Every year my husband asked if I wanted to help with the calving, and I always said ‘no thank you’. “After about six or seven years of him asking, I said yes. I went out and helped the woman we had doing it back then and I found I really enjoyed it. After a couple of seasons, she left and I was thrown into it. “Around that time, I also took on a bigger role with the books as my mother-in-law was wanting to do less.”

When her husband needed shoulder surgery, Shannon took on more farm work, helping out in the dairy with milking cows. With every new farm challenge she took on, Shannon looked for ways to upskill. She completed online training with Dairy Australia, but wanted to build on her knowledge further.

Shannon Pearson - WoTL Ambassador - feeding a calf on her dairy property

WoTL’s Stepping into Leadership Program

“I do love learning new skills and I love being challenged. A neighbour sent me some information about the WoTL Stepping Into Leadership Program and said ‘you should apply for this’. She said she’d done it in the previous year and she’d learnt a lot from it. So, at 10pm one night I sent the email off and then forgot all about it, until I heard back that I’d got in.”

While she was initially nervous about joining the program because she wasn’t a born and bred farmer, Shannon soon realised she was in good company.

“I walked in there thinking ‘I’m way out of my league here’ after listening to some of the others tell their stories. But you very quickly realise that just because you all did different things, nobody had a lesser voice. We all had our own strengths and things to bring to the table.

“I was the only dairy farmer there, but while we were all so diverse, our experiences were quite similar. We all connected very quickly.

“The biggest benefit for me through the program was by far the personal development aspect. I’d gone into it wanting to build my skills and knowledge, and I did do that, but I also learned so much about myself and that I already have so many skills. The whole process was a huge confidence builder.”

It was a section of the program focusing on individual values and strengths that helped Shannon understand and appreciate the value of the knowledge she’d already acquired, and how her unique skills could benefit the family business.

“The training we did on those personal value and strengths was fantastic,” she said.

“I’d done something similar in my retail training years ago, but revisiting it in the ag industry context was so helpful in understanding what I know and can bring to the table, and how other people think and work. It really does help you refocus the way you look at things on a personal level, on a family level and on a work level as well.

“There was lots of practical training as well – the section on being on a board or governing council was definitely relatable and very helpful not just from an industry perspective, but also with work at a community if you’re volunteering at local clubs or other organisations.”

During the program, Shannon was paired with fellow Limestone Coast dairy farmer Michelle Hamilton as her mentor.

“I’d never really had a mentor. I was still building my networks within our dairy community, so WoTL paired me up with Michelle. It was invaluable, I could ask any random question and she would share her knowledge and experience in such a friendly, casual way. It was great to have someone’s different outlook on things, and different ideas.”

Shannon Pearson at Stepping Into Leadership Graduation - WoTL

Above: WoTL Chair Susie Green, Shannon Pearson and Minister Clare Scriven at the 2023 Stepping into Leadership Graduation.

Becoming a WoTL Ambassador

The confidence and connections she gained through the program led Shannon to become a WoTL Ambassador and she’s now hosted two Regenerate Rural Women programs in the lower Limestone Coast.

Shannon was also invited to join Dairy Australia’s training program to become a Dairy Ambassador – something she admits she wouldn’t have had the courage to do before completing SIL.

She credits the program and WoTL’s focus on educating and connecting female farmers with her newfound confidence.

“With WoTL, the unique thing with their programs is it’s women only learning together and it creates a comfortable environment. It allows a bit of vulnerability to let your guard down and make the most of a situation,” Shannon said.

“For anyone considering the program, I’d say absolutely give it a go.

“Whether you go in for the professional development, to build on your own personal development or to create new connections and friendships, it’s all worthwhile. Everyone walks away with something from it.”

Back on the farm, Shannon is putting her new skills into action regularly – and she is continuing to upskill and grow.

“I’m still learning farm skills, I don’t know all the ins and outs of all of it, but I have now built that confidence to say that the things I have learnt and the skills I do bring to the farm and the industry are valuable,” she said.

“I’ve absolutely loved my change to working on the farm fulltime. I love the flexibility it created for our life with our boys, working with the cows and calves, working with family and a great team and I love the challenges because I’m learning new things all the time.

“I’m embracing the change and I’m loving the change.”

Top 5 reasons you need to book a seat at the Thriving Women Conference in 2024

by Kim | Jun 25, 2024 | Latest News, Thriving Women Conference

Imagine if for just a day, all of the women working in agriculture and around rural communities in paid and unpaid work, decided it was ‘tools down’.

Or perhaps even just for a couple of days – they all jumped on a flight to Bali – on their own, and left everyone else to fend for themselves at home, at work, in clubs, in business, on farms, in education centres… everywhere.

What would happen?

Women in Agriculture | Thriving Women Conference

Here’s our guess: rural communities would break down completely. Because unless you’ve been living under a rock for your entire life, you’d know that women are the relentless backbone of our regional towns and all that keeps them humming.

But how often do they really get to spend time focusing on their own development and celebrating their value in the industry? For most… it’s approximately 0 hours per year. A strange equation when you think about just how monumentally important this part of our population is to a successful and functioning agricultural community.

Rural women do it all. From assisting with managing or advising agricultural businesses, working on crop or livestock science, through to sitting on committees, coaching kids and running community events – all the way through to the day-to-day labour of farm life. And even with that skerrick of free time they have each year – it’s quite often spent advocating for rural prosperity and sustainability, something that benefits all of us.

Women have a big load to carry, and it’s no wonder our neck and shoulders are always sore, because we do it bloody well too.

“I think historically we have tended to think of agriculture as hands-on farming, and that certainly is still a really important component of our Ag sector. However there are so many other ways to be connected to the industry, and the sector,” a comment from Jeanette Gellard on the ABC Country Hour, at the 2023 Thriving Women conference.

For women connected to agriculture, their skills are wide ranging, their passions are enormous, and their contributions are as diverse as they are invaluable.

Thriving Women Conference Delegates | See you at TW2024 August 12 and 13 - Hahndorf

The Thriving Women Conference was established in 2018 to show women like you the value that you bring, and to advocate that the industry recognises women’s contribution. Not only this, but it provides the opportunity to expand our collective skills and networks so we can continue to positively impact our businesses and community – and perhaps even help reignite the fire in our belly that can tend to fade after endless months of praying for rain on top of every other role we take on.

But why choose Thriving Women over the multitude of other conferences available online? Well, after talking to hundreds of participants from previous years – your peers, women just like you, here’s what we know you’ll love:

1. Find Your People:

“Funnily enough I came because of the great line up of guest speakers, but the greatest takeaway has been the connections I have made with the other women,” said Carly Marriott after the 2023 Thriving Women Conference.

Rural living can be isolating. But magic happens when you bring a room full of like-minded women together, and nothing does this, quite like Thriving Women.

For some, it is an energy of discovery, enthusiasm, and encouragement. For others, it’s seeing your face, your challenges or your capability in other women, and building meaningful connections that hadn’t seemed possible to you before. For many women – they meet and hear from amazing peers who contribute so much to the industry and their community, but it’s not long before they realise that they too, provide the same value to their own community.

“For a long time, I didn’t really know where I should fit in the ag industry,” said Toni Duka, the first conference ticket holder in 2018, and now the 2024 Conference Convenor.

“In 2018, when I sat in that room, I felt like I’d found my tribe. It makes me quite emotional to talk about it, because I just want more women like me to be able to have that opportunity, to really see their value and celebrate it.”

Thriving Women offers unparalleled opportunities to network, exchange ideas and forge friendships that transcend geographical boundaries. As so many previous participants will tell you, the relationships they forge at the conference are what continue to inspire and sustain you during the toughest times (but also help you to take time to celebrate during the best).

It’s also a chance to talk about the industry you love amongst other women who just “get it” and without any fear of judgement.

2. Practical tools for immediate impact:

Across the two days there are 15 (FIFTEEN!) Toolbox Talk Workshops. The conference is renowned for its rich program, and it keeps getting stronger every year.

From August 12-13 , these sessions cover essential topics such as financial resilience, confident leadership, business succession, personal resilience, rural health, workplace safety and primary industries and emissions. Each session is designed to equip you with actionable skills and knowledge so you have tangible takeaways to create positive momentum in your community, business, farm or organisation.

As WoTL Director Susie Green emphasises: “So often we go to a conference and go away full of great ideas, and never put them into action. One of the things we will be asking in the last session, is for people to really identify what are one or two things that they can actually take away and implement immediately.”

The conference has the perfect balance of inspiring action, celebrating value and forging long-lasting connections.

3. Remarkable keynote speakers:

Every year we look for women who will inspire us to take centre stage as keynote speakers. And this year ticket holders can prepare to be inspired by trailblazers and changemakers. In 2024, we could not be more excited to announce the line-up, which includes returning keynote speaker Olympia Yarger – who had one of the most impactful and talked about sessions from the 2023 conference in Wagga Wagga.

She will be alongside Wendy McCarthy OAM, a trailblazing influential business leader, advocate, author, founding member of the Women’s Electoral Lobby, and recently named as the winner of the NSW Award for Excellence in Women’s Leadership. In 2005 she was nominated by the Sydney Morning Herald as one of Australia’s Top 100 Public Intellectuals. Currently she is Chair of Circus Oz, McGrath Estate Agents, Headspace – Australia’s National Youth Mental Health Foundation and Pacific Friends of the Global Foundation. In 2010 Wendy became a Non-Executive Director to GoodStart Childcare Limited. In 2009 after 13 years of service to Plan International, she retired from her most recent role as Global Vice Chair, and she is now Patron of the Australian Reproductive Health Alliance. [*Insert gasps for breath*].

Led by energetic MC Tanya Lehmann, these phenomenal women will share their stories of challenges and successes, give you invaluable insights and inspiration, and renew your sense of purpose and direction.

4. Recognising your contribution

The Thriving Women conference isn’t just about handing you knowledge to better your business, it’s about celebrating and amplifying your contribution, ensuring you value and recognise that in yourself. Afterall – we always manage to find the value in others, but rarely give ourselves even half the credit we deserve.

“It’s such a minor thing [a business card] but I always thought I didn’t need one because I ‘just work on the farm’. At that conference, my thinking was challenged. I realised there’s no reason why I shouldn’t have a business card, and I could put anything on there; finance manager, logistics manager, machinery operator, it didn’t matter. It was the permission I sought and WoTL gave me that,” said Leanne Pridham of her ‘aha’ moment at a Thriving Women Conference. And let’s be honest – this could be all and any of us!

By valuing our own contributions, embracing and investing in continuous learning, we elevate not only ourselves, but also our business, community and family.

5. A chance to renew away from routine:

Be honest. When was the last time you did anything that helped build your own professional or personal development? When was the last time you stepped away from farm, family and community to take a breath outside of routine?

Sing it louder for the people in the back: ‘we all deserve a chance to focus on ourselves!’ (because we always make space for others to have this).

It’s actually important to take a few days off from the all-encompassing day-to-day demands of managing family, farm and community. It makes us all better people. For two days, Thriving Women lets you immerse yourself in enriching workshops and engaging conversations while enjoying the gorgeous landscapes of the Adelaide Hills.

Along the way you can (and should) indulge in nourishing meals made from local produce and let us take care of the details, allowing you to focus on absorbing knowledge and rejuvenating your spirit. It’s a chance to step away from routine and responsibility, recharge your batteries, and return with renewed clarity and purpose.

At WoTL, we’ve been working to grow and inspire women in agribusiness since 2017. The Thriving Women Conference not only enriches the lives of women connected through agriculture but also strengthens our collective impact on rural communities.

So if this hasn’t convinced you yet, take a look at our incredible program and join us at the next Thriving Women Conference. This will help you experience first-hand why it’s a key event for women connected through agriculture. It’s the place where together, we celebrate our achievements, embrace new opportunities and ensure we can continue to thrive in a dynamic and diverse industry.

For info and tickets – jump over to www.thrivingwomen.com.au

(*ticket sales end 15 July).

Register for Thriving Women 2024

Taking the ram by the horns

by Kim | May 23, 2024 | Latest News, Stepping into Leadership, Stories of Impact

When 25-year-old Ellen Arney stepped into the role of Farm Manager of her family’s sheep stud, she knew there was going to be a steep learning curve ahead. Whilst some may consider her young to be managing a farm business, Ellen has a deep appreciation and enthusiasm for sheep breeding and together with a love of farming, she was ready to take the ram by the horns.

“I’ve always been interested in farm work, pushing sheep along. As I grew up, I just learnt how to read them and loved going around the paddocks with Dad,” explains Ellen.

Inverbrackie Border Leicester Stud is located in Finniss, South Australia. For her thirteenth birthday, Ellen was gifted ten stud ewes from her parents. Perhaps this was the start of the succession plan, because if you ask Ellen, she was always going to come back to the farm. However, there were some conditions that had to be met before this happened.

“After finishing boarding school, I did a gap year where I worked on the farm for part. Dad said to me before I come back permanently, he wanted me to work away for a bit. I was already enrolled in a Bachelor of Agriculture and Business and Armidale University in New South Wales so off I went.

“The study showed me that there are so many opportunities in ag, so many ways to specialise if you wanted to. But with farming, you kind of do all those bits in farming itself, not just doing the one thing all the time and using all your skill sets.”

When COVID hit in 2020, Ellen moved back to South Australia and completed her final year part-time, whilst also working on the farm. Her Dad, Lynton, was ready to start the succession, and Ellen was offered a managerial position the following year.

“Mum and Dad decided to buy a house off the property. Dad comes out most days and asks what jobs I want him to do for the day. I’m not mechanically minded, and there are still things I can’t do like fix a tractor, but he can teach and show me.”

WoTL’s Stepping into Leadership Program

Following her participation in Livestock SA’s Agri-Silience program, WoTL’s Stepping into Leadership (SiL) Program came highly recommended by several people to Ellen as an ideal leadership course for women in agriculture.

“I was looking to participate in a leadership course because I knew I was young to be taking over the farm at 25. At the time, I was only just old enough to do the SiL Program!” explains Ellen.

“Many successors don’t get offered this opportunity (taking on the management of the family farm) until they’re in their 40s so I knew I was going to be doing things so much earlier.”

Ellen had a few reservations about participating in an all-women’s program. Whilst attending other rural women’s events has given her a greater appreciation of the vital role rural women play in the agricultural sector, she was often left feeling like she didn’t quite fit the mould.

“I guess for me, I don’t have that support of a husband or farmer. I am the farmer whereas a lot of the women played more of a support role, which is great, and they absolutely have an important role to play. But I associate myself with being a farmer, so these events didn’t quite resonate as much for me.

“What I liked about the SiL Program is that it wasn’t just a two- day course like some of the other (leadership) courses on offer. It required an ongoing commitment, and I was going to be made accountable, which I guess is what pushed me into it.”

As it turns out, Ellen realised she had more in common than she realised with the diverse group of participants, who whilst all connected to agriculture, all had unique backgrounds and stories to tell.

“When we first met, I felt like everyone had known each other for months which made us feel more at ease and allow us to be more vulnerable together. We can just talk at another level.

Susie Green, Ellen Arney, Minister Clare Scriven

Above: WoTL Chair Susie Green, Ellen Arney and Minister Clare Scriven at the 2023 Stepping into Leadership Graduation.

Following her completion of the 2023 SiL Program, Ellen is forging ahead and continuing to learn the ropes in her Farm Manager role under the guidance of her dad.

“Since finishing the program, I find that I communicate differently. The way I communicate with Dad is different. I often find myself stopping when something is hitting a nerve and thinking before responding. Learning how to reframe questions and conversations has been such a vital skill.”

Lynton has also noticed changes in Ellen.

“Dad has said things to me like ‘I’ve noticed a lot of differences in you. You’ve changed quite a bit.’ But I’ve also noticed that I’m not so upset all the time, I used to take a lot of things personally. The dynamic between Dad and I has changed.

“One of my pet hates used to be him talking over me to the dogs. One time when this happened, I took a breath, and offered a boundary. I just said “Next time, whoever’s with the dogs gives the instructions.

“All the expectations that were put on me, were by me. I’m still learning new things. I have to remember he’s had 50 years of experience whilst I’ve had five!”

“Understanding different personality types has been incredibly beneficial. Whilst I can see the benefit of doing the SiL Program later once you have the experience behind you, I’m glad I know a lot of this stuff now, the life skills and learning how other people work is so valuable. It’s really set me up for the future.”

Ellen acknowledges that the SiL Program can be confronting, as a large focus is developing an understanding of yourself.

“It’s really rewarding to have that level of awareness. It just changes how you approach life going forward by offering a different perspective.

Ellen’s gift of ten ewes has now grown to her managing a flock of 2000. Whilst she can’t necessarily claim ownership of them all (yet), she did recently purchase her first parcel of land from her parents as the succession continues. Whilst she is still growing and learning, Ellen continues to lean on her SiL network for support.

“We try to catch up every year. We’re just able to talk at another level after our shared experience.”

Ewe management in focus

by Kim | Apr 4, 2024 | Events, Latest News

WoTL’s ‘Ewe management for optimal performance’ workshop held in Pinnaroo in early March 2024 covered all aspects of ewe nutrition throughout the production cycle. Presented by Deb Scammell, of Talking Livestock, and organised by WoTL Ambassador, Danielle Nickolls, the event offered women from the mallee region an opportunity to come together to connect.

Workshop summary

The dry matter content of feed is the proportion of the feed that contains the valuable nutrients that ewes require for production. This is the portion of feed that is left after feed is dried out. The other portion of the feed is the moisture content which is just water. The dry matter content of hay and grain is often around 90% whereas by-products, or feeds such as silage, will be much lower in dry matter content, often around 20 – 40% dry matter and the rest is water. When we compare the value of particular feeds, we compare them on a dry-matter basis.

When we look at nutrient requirements of a ewe throughout the reproductive cycle (i.e from a dry ewe pre-joining throughout pregnancy, lambing and lactation) we primarily concentrate on energy. Energy is measured in MJ/Kg DM, depending on the mature weight (standard reference weight) of a ewe the maintenance energy requirement will differ. The energy requirement of a ewe increases into lambing with the requirements of a twin bearing ewe being 15% higher than a single bearing ewe. The ewe energy requirement peaks around a month after lambing which is peak lactation.

Protein is important whenever a ewe is growing out a foetus (during late gestation), during lactation (which will create higher quality milk for the growing foetus) and a growing young animal also requires extra protein. During early pregnancy, a ewe only requires about 8% total ration protein. This increases to 12 – 14% in late pregnancy and 14% during peak lactation.

Deb Scamell, Talking Livestock, presenting at WoTL's Ewe Management workshop in Pinnaroo

The condition score of the ewe determines what the reproductive reserves of the ewe are. When going into lambing for merino’s general condition score (CS) targets are CS 3 for a single and CS 3.3 for a twin bearing ewe. Lifetime wool research has shown merino ewes in better condition at lambing have heavier lambs. Lambs which are higher birthweight at lambing are likely to have higher survival rates, this is even more critical for twin-born lambs which are always lower birthweights with the ewes’ energy divided between two foetuses. Ewes that are in heavier condition scores at the point of lambing also have reduced ewe mortality. Ensuring ewes hit condition score targets enables a more productive sheep business with higher marking percentages and lower ewe mortality. If there is a large tail in a mob of ewes, especially when supplementary feeding or containment feeding ewes it can be worth drafting off the ‘skinnies’ and feeding them to allow them to gain condition prior to lambing.

Along with energy and protein, ewes also often require macro minerals, microminerals and vitamins to balance out the nutrients provided by paddock feed or supplementary feed into lambing. Calcium is critical when grain is being fed to allow ewes to develop the bone structure of the foetus and provide high quality milk and avoid issues such as hypocalcaemia (Calcium deficiency which can cause ewes to go down prior to lambing or during lactation). Magnesium can also assist muscle function into lambing.

Deb Scammell presenting at WoTL's ewe management workshop in Pinnaroo

As paddock feed grows over a season it starts as highly digestible feed with very high energy values, however it is often very low dry matter and high moisture content also at this early growth stage. As feed starts to mature the digestibility starts to decrease, by late summer and autumn often dry standing feed or stubbles are only around 40% digestibility and 5 – 6 MJ/kg DM. These pastures often supply less energy than that required for maintenance for even a dry ewe, so when we look at pregnant or lactating ewes during this time we need to consider the most economical way to supplementary feed to fill this gap.

There are many industry courses and workshops available which can assist to upskill producers in effectively managing ewes in a sheep enterprise. For more information you can contact Deb Scammell E. deb@talkinglivestock.com.au W: www.talkinglivestock.com.au

This project was supported by the Murraylands and Riverland Landscape Board through funding from the landscape levies and the South Australian Government.