Stepping into her role working on the family farm is almost like coming full circle for Dani Nickolls.

Growing up on Kangaroo Island, she loved life as a farm kid and the open space that comes with living on a grazing and cropping property.

But, as a talented athlete, the increasing travel for competitions meant it made more sense to move to the mainland, where it was easier to take up opportunities to compete at a state level in softball and basketball.

So, Dani swapped the rural life for a city one, boarding at Westminster College in Adelaide for her Year 12 studies. Little did she know the move to the city would one day lead her back to the country—and eventually into a more hands-on role in farm life.

“When I was at Westminster, I met my husband Wade there and we ended up staying together and doing a stint in Adelaide where we both studied,” she says. Dani studied sport and indoor/outdoor fitness and, after some encouragement from her mum, a course in Office and Business Management. “I never understood the value of that at the time, but it’s come in quite handy now,” she says.

Finding the new identity.

They moved to Pinnaroo in South Australia’s Mallee region in 1999, so Wade could work on his family’s farm, which they now run in partnership with his brother Chad and his wife Natasha.

In the early years after moving back to Pinnaroo, Dani had to do whatever she could to earn an income. She worked on an olive farm, in a bakery, at Viterra silos sampling grain, with SA Potatoes in shed administration and at the Pinnaroo Hospital in admin, finance and payroll.
Dani was also able to put her fitness training to good use as a personal trainer, running the gym at the Pinnaroo Hospital.

“I stayed in the fitness industry for a long time, and worked in other roles in business management and administration. I wasn’t aware that I’d be working on the farm, but when you move here you’re immersed in farm life and you end up bathing in it one way or another.”
Dani started by taking on the farm bookwork.

But over time the business grew and so did the workload, and juggling on-farm and off-farm roles became more challenging.

“I’d be doing all the farm bookwork at night—I’d come home from work and get straight into it. It got to the point where Wade said, ‘I really need you here more’ and when we sat down and looked at it and talked about it, I realised that what I was actually doing on the farm was more valuable than what I was doing off farm. It wasn’t worth the stress and trying to keep up with both. I had to see my role as a proper job—and it is a proper job.”

Above: Dani continues to be involved in the fitness and sporting side of her community. 

As the business continued to grow, so too did her need for knowledge and training. 

“My work grew to evolve into other areas beyond just the bookwork, like driving chaser bins, moving stock, and taking on the work health and safety systems,” Dani says.

Dani has been attending WoTL programs and short courses to upskill for these roles for a number of years, as far back as when it was Partners in Grain.

“WoTL was active in our area, and they were organising workshops and programs that were actually here, so they were easier to get to. Then I went to my first Thriving Women conference and that really excited me. I come home with all this inspiration. That’s the beauty of WoTL—you learn so much, but even if you only put one or two of those things in place each year, you’re still moving forward and making positive changes.”

Dani became a regular at Mallee WoTL events, enjoying both the practical knowledge and training she could apply in the business, and the personal development programs.

“I’m someone who has always been interested in developing myself and WoTL has supported that development in so many ways. It’s given me an identity in the agricultural space. It’s given me purpose in what we do, and it’s given me confidence to say that I have a career in farming.”

When the region’s previous WoTL Ambassador ceased her role, the organisation approached Dani to take on the position.

“I had a background in local leadership, but I was a bit worried that I wouldn’t have the right knowledge or enough to offer. I think I didn’t realise how much I actually did know. I had good relationships and contacts in our community, and I was able to talk to people and understand what they wanted to learn. Through that, I could organise programs and workshops to meet those needs.”

One of the in-demand issues she’s helped bring workshops to the region on was succession planning.

“We had been through succession, and quite a few others were going through it. It’s an area that can be quite confronting, so being able to talk about it and access information about how to do it well is really important.”

Above: Together with her family.

For Dani, even as a WoTL Ambassador, the learning continues. 

The farming partnership produces broadacre crops including wheat, barley, canola and hay as well as lentils and other legumes. They also run grazing property with about 1000 head of Merino ewes.

Over the last two years, they’ve also expanded to establish a lamb feedlot, with the aim of diversifying the business and increasing income streams.

“There’s been a lot involved with setting it up—a lot of infrastructure inputs, but also another learning curve for us was adding in more employees. As part of that, we needed to learn how to best manage employees and understand their personality types and the way their values drive their work. WoTL’s been really helpful for that with their courses.”

One of the benefits Dani sees most come out of WoTL’s programs and her work as an Ambassador is the confidence it builds in rural women.

“What WoTL is doing is helping recognise the value that women bring to agriculture. It gives women confidence, and it gives them a voice and an outlet to be vulnerable and honest.”
It also provides a local support network in challenging times, such as drought.

“A hard reality of rural life is that you see people suffering at times. It is extremely important to have that personal network. It allows women to talk with others who have had similar experiences and who can provide support and guidance.”

While Dani’s career may have led her back to her farming roots, she’s still made plenty of time for her love of sport over the years, supporting her three children with their own sporting pursuits and coaching local community teams.

She also runs a popular Airbnb, Peppertree Cottage, giving guests a relaxing farm stay while also giving her an extra outlet to meet new people and share their picturesque piece of the country with others.

Follow WoTL on Facebook and Instagram, or check out the Events page, to keep up with our latest Ambassador events, like those Dani helps to coordinate at Pinnaroo.

Lucy Pedler leads conversations that inspire rural women to make positive changes in their lives, businesses and communities.

As an Ambassador for WoTL (Women Together Learning) on the Eyre Peninsula, the expert facilitator hosts workshops, events and training that connect and empower local women.

It’s a role she relishes – but it’s also a far cry from her early career working in healthcare.

“I started out life as an occupational therapist,” Lucy says. “I studied that after school and worked as an OT for a few years before I moved to the EP with my husband George in 2010. I worked here for a while, but then we started to have a family and over time OT didn’t fit with that stage of my life.”

Looking for a change, the mother-of-three shifted into working alongside George, an agronomist, in their Cummins-based business, George Pedler Ag. “I was doing the admin, finance – all the exciting stuff that women often fall into in a farming or small business,” Lucy jokes.

A Women in Ag course through the Eyre Peninsula Landscape Board gave her additional skills, and then connecting with Ag Consulting Co’s Jeanette Long ignited the spark of a new idea.

“She put me in touch with WoTL and said ‘you should get some things happening over here’. She really took me under her wing and invited me to facilitate workshops and events with her. I learnt so much from her.”

WoTL’s inaugural Thriving Women Conference was also a turning point.

“I went to the first Thriving Women Conference and that was a catalyst for me. It got me thinking about making a change and starting facilitation work. I realised that there was a real cross over with some of my skill set and I could do something in that space.

“It was also such a great opportunity to meet other people, listen, learn from and be embraced by other inspiring women.”

Combining her OT skills with the new knowledge and understanding from her training and Jeanette’s mentoring, Lucy began facilitating WoTL events on the EP from workshops through to training courses.

Over the past six years, as a WoTL Ambassador she has hosted events with visiting experts in everything from agricultural resilience and farm strategic planning to setting up an office and communicating effectively.

“There’s a real hum in a room when you get it going well and the conversations are flowing,” Lucy says.

“It’s not about you knowing the answers. There’s such a collective knowledge in the room and seeing that drawn out in a session is amazing. Together, the participants share their knowledge, experiences and figure things out and I find that inspiring.”

Above: Together with George, Lucy runs George Pedler Ag, whilst also facilitating Regenerate Rural Women with WoTL

Creating connections between rural women is also a highlight of her work. 

“Often two women working in ag aren’t going to sit down with a beer like men and talk about how the business is going. It’s so important to create opportunities for women to talk about their farm or business work, because it’s not something they might naturally talk about together at the football or school drop offs.

“I definitely see the impact of our sessions. A lot of it is confidence – women leave workshops and say they’re going to go home and talk to their partners or families about making changes, ask questions about why they are doing certain things, or take on a larger role within certain aspects of their business. They leave feeling empowered.”

Lucy’s work with WoTL has led to a thriving career in facilitation and expanded opportunities with other agricultural bodies including Livestock SA.

It’s also given her the confidence and skills to take on facilitation and leadership roles in her community.

For the past six years she has facilitated the Youth Opportunities personal leadership program for Year 10 students at Cummins Area School, equipping youth with the skills to overcome adversity, build resilience and optimism, and prepare for their future.

Over the past five years she has also headed the group behind the development of the Cummins Community Sports Club, which opened in March 2025. It was a mammoth task bringing together multiple user groups to build a shared facility for the whole community.

“WoTL has helped me feel more confident to take on community leadership roles,” Lucy says.

“We’ve just wrapped up the new clubrooms. As a combined club project, it was an unusual situation. There were ups, downs and a lot of negotiations, but I felt all of the facilitation work I’ve done equipped me to lead this project.”

Looking ahead, she sees the role of WoTL and its Ambassadors as even more important, with a dry start to the growing season.

“This year I think it’ll be so important for women here to have those connections and opportunities to come together. It’s the driest start anyone has seen here for a very long time. It’ll be a time of heightened emotions and stress, and those connections and the role WoTL can play will be crucial.”