The 200 plus people who attended the occasion were officially welcomed by Yarrawonga Mulwala Rotary Club’s organising committee member Noel Tinney.
Ray McCartney once again set the mood with a medley of Aussie-themed tunes before Australia Day Guest Speaker Fiona Marshall took the stage.
Fiona is a member of Grain Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) and Southern Region Panel Committee member of Riverine Plains. She has been farming with her husband Craig for 23 years at Redbank, 20km north of Mulwala, where they are broadacre, dryland grain producers and also operate a sheep enterprise.
She spoke about her life on the farm and her educational background. She also spoke about her passion for improving the profile and profitability of Australian grain growers as well as raising the profile of women in agriculture and promoting agriculture as a viable and rewarding career from young people.
Fiona said her education in agriculture started when she married Craig back in 1996 and since has experienced many challenges but with it has come much learning.
“Over the 23 years we have been farming together we have experienced drought, flood, severe hail damage, frost, the breakdown of rust resistance in a number of crop varieties, a mouse plague which was very unpleasant, heliousus damage in canola, the end of the single desk to the export of grain, huge fluctuations in grain prices and input costs, herbicide resistance in weeds, the introduction of genetically manipulated crops and the enormous changes in the size and technological complexity of farm machinery,” Fiona said.
Fiona also mentioned how farming in the Riverina has changed enormously. She used her father-in-law’s property as an example and how it has transformed over the last 90 years.
“It went from a team of 12 horses to a 340-horsepower tractor and we have gone from farming 600 acres to farming over 10,000.”
Fiona explained how farmers are the most knowledgeable people she knows.
“They know so much about so much. The complexity and the diversity of their businesses is a constant wonder to me.
“They need to be in touch with the latest agronomy and research, they have enormous government regulations to comply with, industrial relations, human relations, chemical regulations, GST reporting and taxation reporting just to mention a few. And with farms being the most dangerous workplaces in Australia, occupational health and safety is always at front of mind.”
Fiona said it is frequently the women in these businesses who are “dotting the i’s and crossing the t’s”.
Fiona explained that 32 per cent of the people who work in the industry are women and this number is likely to be higher as many women are not formally recognised for the work that they do on the farms. She said it was not until 1994 that women were legally able to call themselves a farmer.
“There have been many amazing women in the history of agriculture in this area since Elizabeth Hume in the 1840s.”
Fiona said it is a well-known adage that the work ethic and generosity of women on the land is legendary.
“Agriculture is an exciting viable, equal opportunity career choice with huge variety and for those interested in tertiary study, more jobs than graduates.
“I hope all of you will go home today and talk to your young people in particular your girls about the fantastic diverse career opportunities they have on their doorstep in this beautiful area with its rich agricultural history,” Fiona said.
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