Push through in tough times - luncheon message
Powerful and inspiring stories encouraging women in agriculture to keep pushing through the tough times featured at the annual “Women in Ag” luncheon at Farm World this year.
Now in its seventh year, the luncheon has become a popular event on the Farm World program, each year delivering an inspiring lineup of speakers who tell their agricultural stories.
Organiser Angela Betheras said over the years speakers had told their stories of losing their farms, losing their way, women who had made the change to farming and women who walked across paddocks in heels.
This year’s speakers included Weekly Times editor Natalee Ward, sheep farmer Toni Barton and dairy farmer Shirley Harlock.
Narelle Fraser, who had a 27-year career with Victoria Police was unable to attend. Gippsland Jersey’s Sallie Jones took her place, speaking personally about her father’s struggle with mental health and a calendar she launched at Farm World that aims to breakdown the stigma of mental health issues.
Toni Barton
Toni Barton left behind a corporate career in marketing five years ago and took on sheep farming.
She has now developed a strong clientele for her lamb products and launched Australia’s first commercially available Lamb Bacon product. But her journey has been tough and she admits there were times she wanted to walk away.
On a 200 acre property, Toni and her husband began a sheep farming enterprise.
“My learning curve was vertical. Sometimes I didn’t get it right and sometimes I absolutely nailed it.”
Toni said she was busy marketing her lamb product when she developed the idea of “lamb bacon” – an opportunity to reduce the lamb meat going to waste while increasing product value.
But as her energy was directed into growing her business and marketing new products, her personal life crashed around her.
Her father-in-law died from cancer, her mother was diagnosed with cancer and then one night, Toni’s husband went to help a neighbour and sent a text to say he wasn’t returning.
“We were under a lot of pressure but we lived our life as best we could. I realised he’d been moving out while I was distracted with my mum and distracted by Lamb Bacon.
“I felt totally alone and just like that I was totally responsible for the farm, the lambs, the management.
“I realised the only way to drive this was I had to have a purpose.
That purpose was to develop her property as a wellness retreat for mothers and daughters.
Shirley Harlock
When Shirley Harlock married and moved onto a dairy farm, she knew nothing about cows or the industry.
In the years that followed Shirley and her husband John purchased Wollaston Farms at Warrnambool, she said she had “confronted and weathered the challenges” of farming.
She said they began with little else than a huge mortgage, two boys and an energetic and enthusiastic husband.
“We worked extremely hard endeavouring to be the best farmers we could. And, we always found time and money for family holidays and sport. Holidays gave us something to look forward to and sport was our release.”
She juggled the demands of farming, off-farm employment and two sons.
At times, she said budgets were as tight as violin strings.
Originally having three dairy farms at Koroit, Yambuk and Warrnambool, and with all their eggs in one basket, when the price crash came in, they soon learned they needed to diversify.
The couple now operate a dairy just outside Warrnambool, beef operations at Tarrone and Macarthur and have a farm in Lucindale,
South Australia, running dairy, beef and prime lambs.
Shirley said in the 1970s when the dairy industry was being restructured, the then UDV president Bill Pyle told her to attend a local UDV meeting and listen to the options available.
That was the beginning of Shirley’s off-farm involvement in the industry.
She said her motto was “Just remember, if you can think it, you can do it.”
Natalee Ward
After 20 years working in various roles at The Weekly Times, Natalee Ward was appointed the newspaper’s first female editor in July last year.
Natalee said her career had been an amazing and exciting journey since her first job as a cadet journalist at the Riverine Herald in Echuca.
After growing up on a farm, university in Melbourne, work at Echuca and the Shepparton News, Natalee found herself back in Melbourne working at the Sunday Herald Sun.
But in an office environment shared with The Weekly Times, and combining part time work between the two papers, Natalee said she found her place. “I found my people and that was where I found my happiness.
Natalee is now responsible for online and print editions of The Weekly Times.
“Journalism gives you a right to walk into any situation, start asking questions and being a part of the situation. It gets in your blood.
“The issues that you face in a country town are real. People in a country town need their stories told to ensure the people in charge are held accountable,” she said.
As a woman in leadership, Natalee said it was important for women to have their friends. She also said it was important for women to “empower young women.”
Telstra sponsored the luncheon.