2009 Rural Women's Award State Winners

Home
Entry Form
Selection Criteria & How to Enter
Award Background

Winner of the Australian RIRDC Rural Women's Award 2009 and Victorian 2009 Winner - Roma Britnell

“Ignite Discussion on the ownership of the Dairy Industry’s Supply Chain and Implications for Producers”

Roma Britnell and her husband own and operate three dairy farms in the western districts of Victoria. Roma is also Chair of WestVic Dairy, the industry development body that aims to advance the dairy industry in western Victoria.

Roma was awarded the Victorian RIRDC Rural Women’s Award 2009 and subsequently Australian 2009 Winner and her Award ambition was to generate discussion within the dairy industry on the dramatic shift in ownership of the supply chain and the implications of that shift on returns to dairy farmers.

Roma’s project involved a study tour of Europe, to gain a greater understanding of the issues and strategies other industries have adopted to overcome it. The tour took in eight countries, including the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Denmark and Sweden and involved in total 40 meetings with industry representatives and numerous farm and milk processing visits.

The trip confirmed the importance with which European farmers regard supply chain ownership, which in turn confirmed it as an issue that Australian farmers need to be concerned and informed about.

The trip also confirmed that to attain the best milk prices, farmers need to own or be able to influence more of the supply chain than milk production alone.

Roma’s next steps are to develop a campaign to raise awareness and inform dairy farmers of their industry’s structure and supply chain ownership and to engage farmers to becoming more proactively involved in the future of their industry.

For more information contact:

Ph: B: (0409) 504 482 & Email: rbritnell@kirrae.org.au

Website: www.ruralwomensaward.gov.au

Queensland - Barb Madden

Runner-Up of the Australian RIRDC Rural Women's Award 2009 and Queensland 2009 Winner - Barb Madden

“Beef Industry Indigenous Alliance”

Barbara Madden is co-owner and Chief Finance Officer of Smithfield Feedlot in Queensland’s Wide Bay Burnett region.

Barb was awarded the Queensland RIRDC Rural Women’s Award 2009 and subsequently Australian 2009 Runner Up and her Award ambition was to forge partnerships between indigenous beef producers and the broader beef industry, through the development of a new business model.

Through Beef Industry Indigenous Alliance (BIIA) Barb wanted to provide indigenous producers with greater knowledge of the supply chain and the beef industry with new connections to indigenous producers and a new supply chain.

BIIA focused on four critical parameters: Cattle from indigenous properties had to be used and were sourced from the Cherbourg Shire Council and the Indigenous Land Corporation; Indigenous producers had to be involved and had to be supported with training; Smithfield Feedlot management team had to be engaged along with key beef supply chain players.

The BIIA local model was implemented in 2009 with livestock induction and on-site training conducted across a number of sites including Smithfield Feedlot, Kilcoy Pastoral Company Export Works, Woolworths Brismeat Domestic Works and Cha Cha Char Restaurant..

The project highlighted the importance of communication to opening up new working relationships and revealed new opportunities for pooling employment and training at a regional level.

The project resulted in a number of significant findings: New commercial relationships can be achieved by breaking down traditional cultural and social barriers; Better understanding of the supply chain resulted in better analysis and more informed decision making by indigenous producers and Selection of the right trainees and the right training delivery was critical to the project’s success.

The project demonstrated that BIIA has the capacity to be replicated into other geographical regions, business operations and beef industry sectors and could open up a number of potential new opportunities for the Australian beef industry.

As a result of her project Barb is in discussions with Meat and Livestock Australia regarding the future of BIIA and its expansion to new beef supply chains. Barb has been appointed to the Board of the Australian Rural Leadership Foundation.

For more information contact:

Ph: B: (0408) 689 165 & Email: barb.madden@bigpond.com
Website: www.ruralwomensaward.gov.au

New South Wales - Kim Currie

2009 New South Wales Winner - Kim Currie

“In search of a Regional Identity for Australia”

Kim Currie is Executive Officer of Brand Orange and a regional food and wine specialist working in regional branding and tourism. Kim has 20 years experience as a food and wine consultant and her career has included farmer, restaurateur, and regional events promoter and caterer.

Kim was awarded the NSW RIRDC Rural Women’s Award in 2009 and her Award ambition was to challenge first hand the claim that “Australia could never develop a true regional identity”, by immersing herself in the culture of markets, festivals and agri-tourism of regional Italy and France.

The tour took in farm gate experiences, markets, events and celebrations in and around Provence in regional France and Piedmont in regional Italy. Kim met with communities who showed great generosity and hospitality, who were proud of their culture and celebrating that culture and who were genuinely interested in sharing ideas in tourism and their wine and food industries. In Orange she was welcomed by a civic reception, while in Turin she was given an audience with the city’s General Manager and in Castelogni Monferado and El Palio she was taken up front and centre stage in their parades.

The tour proved fertile ground for new ideas and experiences. Kim found that our own producers, cooks and consumers are not far behind in the quality of produce and food, but are lacking in confidence and in the way they project and market themselves.

The most important lessons Kim learnt from the tour included the importance of promoting key strengths and the individuality of each region, success through simple things done well, the provenance of a single product is all it takes, the importance of protecting authenticity, and the power of town squares as the centre of celebration and culture within communities.

The tour showed Kim that Australia’s key strength is in its innovation, that it is a fresh stamp and an opportunity for food and wine specialists to make a mark and forge an identity never established before.

Kim’s tour has opened up the opportunity for an exchange between winemakers and viticulturalists in Orange and Chateauneuf-du-Page and a proposal to pursue an officially relationship between NSW and the Government of Piedmont, with cultural and culinary exchanges being the basis of the relationship.

Kim has subsequently become a councillor with the Royal Agricultural Society and Chair of the Fine Foods Committee. One of the committee’s current projects is to support cheese making in school programs in NSW.

For more information contact:

Ph: B: (02) 6360 1990 & Email: kim@tasteorange.com.au

Website: www.ruralwomensaward.gov.au

Western Australia - Kirsten Skraha

2009 Western Australian Winner - Kirsten Skraha

“Environmental Management and the Australian Viticulture Industry”

Kirsten Skraha id a mixed farmer from Boyup Brook in Western Australia’s south west and Coordinator of the Blackwood Basin Landcare Group’s BestFarmers Environmental Management Systems (EMS)

Kirsten was awarded the Western Australian RIRDC Rural Women’s Award in 2009 and her Award ambition was to explore and promote better environmental practices and management within the viticulture industry, with a focus on smaller producers who lack the resources to implement new management practices.

Kirsten undertook, as part of her project, a two week national study tour throughout South Australia and regional NSW to research environmental practices within the viticulture industry.

The trip highlighted the diversity of environmental management and production efficiency initiatives already in place and the need for better communication and collaboration across wine producing regions. The trip also highlighted the need for a national recognition framework that is flexible enough to accommodate the diversity of drivers, while providing a clear message to consumers on industry’s environmental performance.

A major outcome of Kirsten’s project was the inclusion of her research recommendations in the BestFarms Environmental System and the National Environmental Stewardship Recognition Framework (Entwine) developed by the Wine Federation of Australia.

By capturing and communicating ‘good news’ stories and sharing producers knowledge and experiences in environmental management, Kirsten has raised awareness of the importance of environmental stewardship and has helped facilitate open communication and better understanding of the challenges producers face across the industry.

Kirsten’s findings are relevant to all primary producers who find themselves increasingly required to demonstrate and commit to implementing sustainable practices and environmental credentials. Credentials that will become increasingly important to producers in gaining customer recognition and market share.

For more information contact:

Ph: B: (0427) 673 030 & Email: kirtsen.skraha@westnet.com.au

Website: www.ruralwomensaward.gov.au

Northern Territory - Mischelle Hill

2009 Northern Territory Winner - Mischelle Hill

“Australian Grown & Produced – The Best Option”

Mischelle Hill recently moved to Adelaide, before which she was a mango farmer for ten years working on the family mango plantation outside Katherine in the Northern Territory.

Mischelle was awarded the Northern Territory RIRDC Rural Women’s Award in 2009 and her Award ambition was to establish an Australian made and grown, direct from farm to food outlet, to help promote Australian grown produce.

As part of her project Mischelle undertook an interstate study tour to regional NSW and South Australia, along with Perth, Adelaide and Darwin, visiting establishing and credible gourmet produce enterprises.

Mischelle also undertook a professional development program at the Academy of Enhanced Performance to help support her business development.

A major outcome of the project for Mischelle has been the establishment of two new business ventures, Ausflavours and the Business Principal. Ausflavours is focused on marketing and promoting Australian produce while the Business Principal is a consulting and auditing business focused on the development and roll out of quality and environmental management systems for rural industries.

Since her Award tenure, Mischelle has completed a Masters in Environmental and Business Management and has been invited onto the Board of Heart Kids SA, an organization committed to raising awareness and providing support to families affected by childhood heart disease.

For more information contact:

Ph: B: (0427) 203 191 & Email: mhill@ausflavours.com.au

Website: www.ruralwomensaward.gov.au

2009 South Australian Winner - Susi Tegen

Susi Tegen is a livestock and crop farmer from the Limestone Coast in the south east of South Australia and the Managing Director of FREE Eyre.

FREE Eyre is a primary producer owned and driven company which seeks to identify, incubate and commercialize new business opportunities for the Eyre Peninsula. FREE Eyre was the result of several years of drought, unreliable commodity prices and widespread fires and was born out of the need for the region’s farmers to take control of their future by having a stronger influence over the supply chain, building alliances and value adding opportunities the region’s primary produce.

Susi believes that groups of farmers by working together are able to achieve economies of scale that brings bargaining power, better research, development and innovation, and consistency of supply and quality. They are then able to not only change to meet demand but to also drive change.

Her Award ambition is to research ventures similar to FREE Eyre in Europe, the United States and Canada, to learn from their successes and setbacks in developing business ventures, in setting the foundations and in managing relationships in such a way they are able to grow and succeed. She believes the research will be of benefit not only to the Eyre Peninsula but to greater rural Australia.

2009 Tasmanian Winner - Jane Lovell

“A United Approach to Environmental Assurance in Horticulture”

Jane Lovell is Managing Director of Tasmanian Quality Assured Inc, a not-for-profit association established to assist producers meet relevant food safety and quality assurance requirements.

Jane was awarded the Tasmanian RIRDC Rural Women’s Award 2009 and her Award ambition was to develop one universal environmental assurance framework, that promoted the uptake of environmentally sustainable practices and that met the requirements of all end users, so minimising the cost and effort of multiple systems to primary producers.

As part of her project Jane attended the International Association of Facilitation Conference held in Oxford, UK in September 2009, to better her negotiation and facilitation skills, regarded as critical to bringing a range of stakeholders together to support the creation of a national framework.

Jane’s project involved cross communication with growers, grower organizations, processors and retailers, combined with a review of all existing national and international environmental systems, before drafting a new industry framework.

The major outcome of Jane’s project was the development of a draft framework which was delivered to and supported by industry at the Keep It Real 2009 Conference. The framework and associated recognition processes also received funding support from the Federal Government through the Caring for Our Country Program, and management support from Horticulture Australia Ltd.

The framework is a groundbreaking achievement and has the potential to deliver significant and sustainable benefits to a range of stakeholders, while minimizing producers’ compliance costs.

Jane’s next step is to ensure the framework receives the full endorsement of the major domestic retailers.

For more information contact:
Ph: B: (0419) 554 047 & Email: lovejane@tassie.net.au
Website: www.ruralwomensaward.gov.au

Home

Return to top