Clover Hill Diaries - Join Me and Be the Change - Page 81 of 122 - #Strongwomen. "I write about the power of trying, because I want to be okay with failing. I write about generosity because I battle selfishness. I write about joy because I know sorrow. I write about faith because I almost lost mine, and I know what it is to be broken and in need of redemption. I write about gratitude because I am thankful

Using oxygen to save lives not threaten them

When I was a girl and that was a long time ago I learnt in school the biggest threat to the world was extremism and the conflict in the middle east . Yet did we study this at school??? No way that would be too close to common sense. I live to learn and grow and as a person who is part of a team sending two very special young people to Paris this week I am reading avidly in a effort to help play my role at home.

Today’s post is a reprint of this article in The Conversation– I found the article extraordinaryly powerful as in how we respond to IS

What are your thoughts has Japan got it right? How do we cut off the terrorists oxygen with as little impact on human life and the planet as possible?

I hope you enjoy this article as much as I did

The terrorist attacks in Paris have resonated around the world. In addition to physical violence, Islamic State (IS) is pursuing a strategy of socially mediated terrorism. The symbolic responses of its opponents can be predicted and may inadvertently further its aims.

In the emotion of the moment, we need to act. We need to be cautious, however, of symbolic reactions that divide Muslims and non-Muslims. We need emblems that act against the xenophobia that is a recruiting tool for jihadists.

Reactions from the West should not erode the Muslim leadership that is essential to overturning “Islamic State”. Queen Rania of Jordan points out:

What the extremists want is to divide our world along fault lines of religion and culture, and so a lot of people in the West may have stereotypes against Arabs and Muslims. But really this fight is a fight between the civilised world and a bunch of crazy people who want to take us back to medieval times. Once we see it that way, we realise that this is about all of us coming together to defend our way of life.

Queen Rania’s statement characterises the Paris attacks as part of a wider conflict around cultural values. How are these values playing out symbolically across the globe?

Propaganda seeks predictable responses

IS’s socially mediated propaganda is sophisticated and planned. This supports an argument that the Paris attacks are the beginning of a global campaign. Symbolic materials characterise IS as invincible. However, other evidence may indicate that it is weak.

The IS representation of the Eiffel Tower. SITE Intelligence Group

The spontaneous celebration on Twitter by IS supporters was predictable. Its representational coverage of the Paris attacks, however, suggests deep planning.

This planning is embedded in professionally designed images. A reworked image depicts the Eiffel Tower as a triumphal arch with the IS flag flying victoriously on top.

The tower is illuminated and points to the heavens and a God-given victory. The inclusion of a road running through the Eiffel Tower provides a sense of speed, change, even progress. In Arabic, the text states, “We are coming, France” and “The state of Khilafa”.

IS is using symbolic representations of the Paris attacks to garner new recruits.

A sophisticated pre-prepared image of an intrepid fighter walking away from a Paris engulfed in flames was quickly distributed. It is inscribed with the word “France under fire” in Arabic and French.

IS had its ‘France under fire’ image ready to post immediately after the attacks. INSITE on Terrorism

This image keys into the heroic tropes of online video gaming, such as prototype and inFAMOUS. Chillingly, it is designed to turn virtual warriors into actual warriors.

The five million young Muslims in France are particular targets. Among online recruitment materials are videos calling them to join other young French nationals who are with IS.

Support for the victims in Paris and for the democratic values of liberty, equality and fraternity are embedded in the blue, white and red lights movement. These lights shone in major cities in the US, Britain, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, China, Japan, Taiwan and South America. The blue, white and red lights also were displayed in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Malaysia.

However, the light displays were seen in few countries with Muslim majorities overall. Such countries are in an invidious position. Display the lights and you may be characterized as a lackey of the West. Don’t display the lights and appear unsympathetic to the victims.

Facebook blue white and red Paris author provided/courtesy J. Smith

Support also is embedded in a parallel Facebook function that allows members to activate a tri-colour filter. Adapted from a rainbow filter used to support same-sex marriage, this filter attracts those with liberal sentiments.

The question of whether to use the French flag to show sympathy for the victims is invidious at a personal level. Many people find themselves exploited and condemned to poverty by neoliberal economic models. They are put in a difficult position. They feel sympathy for the victims. However, they are bitter about how they are being treated by “the West”, including France.

Perils of an ‘us and them’ mindset

As the blue, white and red activism plays out around the globe, there is a potential for this to transform into a symbolic manifestation of an “us and them” mentality. Such a division would support xenophobic forces, which steer recruits towards IS.

The global impact of the attacks can be related to the iconic status of Paris. The attacks hold a personal dimension for millions of people who have visited this city. They have a sense of “there but for the grace of God, go I”. This emotion echoes responses to the destruction of the World Trade Centre in New York in 2001.

The Japanese and Italian cafes included in the attacks are symbolic targets for their countries. In March 2015, IS spokesman Abu Mohammad al-Adnan stated that the group would attack “Paris, before Rome”. Rome is a target because of its symbolic role as the centre of Christianity. Japan is a target because of its role in coalition forces. It has already suffered the execution of Japanese hostages early in 2015.

In Japan, the cultural reaction has been relatively low key, as part of a strategy of minimising terrorist attention. The blue, white and red lights solidarity received minimal press coverage. There have been few reports of the Japanese restaurant that was one of the targets. In addition to factual coverage of the attacks, Japanese reports have concentrated on implications for security at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.

Are there any symbols indicating good news? The Syrian passport found near the body of one of the attackers could be a sign of weakness. It could have been “planted” there – why carry a passport on a suicide mission?

If so, its purpose is to increase European xenophobia and encourage the closing of borders to Syrian refugees. This suggests the mass exodus of Muslim refugees from Syria is hurting IS. The propaganda could be a sign of alarm in IS leadership ranks.

In our responses to the Paris attacks, the grief of the West should not be allowed to overshadow the opprobrium of Muslim countries. Muslims are best placed to challenge the Islamic identity of this self-declared state.

As Queen Rania states, the war against IS must be led by Muslims and Arabs. To ensure success, the international community needs to support, not lead, Muslim efforts.

This article orginally appeared in The Conversation

The Oscars of Art

Its that time of year when I write a blog post that I know is going to get over 1000 visits a day for the next 6 days. That every time I open my email account it is going to say downloading 1 of 250 emails. Just to keep up with approving the comments I need a glass of milk every hour.

Want to know what causes this frenzy. Well the judge has made her decision, the trophies have been painted ( or are nearly finished after all they are a masterpiece in themselves), the giant cheques are at the printers, Lynne and Jenny from the RAS are in overdrive tizzying up the venue, the sponsors are chomping at the bit hoping they have the WOW Archie, the students have booked into the dentist for a last minute whitening, the teachers and their designers have selected that WOW outfit , the GREEN carpet has been laid and the VIP”s are coming.

And why all the interest the week before the event. Well the People’s Choice opened of course. Yes its your turn to vote for the Oscars of Art – The Archibull Prize 2015

Click on the photo to see a larger version and vote for your favourite Archie.

We know these photos don’t do the entries justice so if you would like to see more elements and both sides of all these masterpieces and meet the students who created them you will find them in our Flickr Album here

How many ways can you tell inspiring tales from the farm

I have had a very inspiring 3 week road trip which started with an invitation to judge the Spirit of the Land Farm Art Sculpture’s competition. You can see my photos of this amazing event here

Following the Lockhart Festival I joined The Archibull Prize artwork judge architect Wendy Taylor on her yearly whirlwind tour searching for the WOW Archie. Poor Wendy this year proved to be very stressful – the wow factor was off the scale as you can see here.

For me as a farmer the highlight of this trip is talking to the teachers and students and listening to their journey and finding out the impact the program has had on them, their school and the wider community.

Did the students and teachers and farmers have the courageous conversations we all need to have to ensure Australian farmers can continue to feed and clothe Australian families in the highly challenging environment we find ourselves in on so many levels?

The big threats to reliable access to safe, affordable and healthy food in this country like increasing and prolonged extreme weather events, declining access to land, water and non renewable energy sources, food waste, biosecurity risks and and increasing consumer concerns about modern farming practices.

The students looked at all these big ticket issues and many more. They created artworks, they blogged and they animated and wow did they have courageous conversations, They have thought boldly . They have shown they have the courage to drive change and find new and better ways of doing things . Mega kudos to them and their outstanding example to the rest of us

These little cuties from Lockhart had such a great time making pom pom sheep

The Archibull Prize is a very costly program to run as you can imagine. Australia is a big country and transporting life size fibreglass cows doesn’t come cheap. Many people donate their time and expertise to ensure the program is delivered on behalf of farmers everywhere to the level of significance our wonderful Australian produce deserves

In fact the Young Farming Champions – some of Australian agriculture’s most inspirational young people donate thousands of hours between them to gain the skills and knowledge to go into schools participating in The Archibull Prize to tell agriculture’s story and share their values, hopes and dreams for a bright future for agriculture in this country

Interestingly enough it was Cotton Australia who was the first industry to put their hands up to participate in The Archibull Prize. Always an industry that thinks outside the box they could see the potential of using a blank fibreglass cow to tell the story of cotton. Although I must admit it did take me a while to convince them the award shouldn’t be the called The Archiboll Prize. Just to show you what I knew about cotton at that time I had to ask what a ‘boll’ was

Let me show you how inspiring an innovative vehicle, a blank fibreglass cow, an exciting young farming champion and some great classroom resources can be to tell Cotton Tales in a way that resonate with the people that matter – the people who buy what farmers produce and I am not even going to show you the artwork yet

The Many Faces of Cotton

Investigating the Australian Cotton Industry

and this

Did you know Australian Cotton is the best in the World?

How to make a Cotton Calf

And we haven’t even talked about cows telling sheep tales yet

Well check this out

Where there’s Wool There’s a Runway

Weaving the Woollen Dream

And this is just a sample – so glad I am not judging these

BTW Check out the Learn about Wool school resources here

Food at Rock-bottom prices is NOT a birthright

Whilst in Lockhart for the Spirit of the Land yearly celebration I had an opportunity to frock and fascinate up and attend the Lockhart Picnic Races. BTW no shortage of men and women in the Riverina who would do high fashion proud at Flemington

After hearing a couple of male farmers I was introduced to say, when asked where their partner was “She’s working so I can spend it” Acknowledging upfront the phrase is said in jest it made me cringe. It’s time for it to be no longer the norm that too often female partners of farmers have no personal identity other than being the bread winner so the farm can put bread on other people’s tables.

Source

As one woman who spent 35 years of her life doing this it isn’t much fun. It’s only in the last ten years when I realised it was time to find my personal identity, give my life a sense of meaning that I could empower others to ensure safe and healthy food is truly valued by everyone in this country. It well beyond time to debunk the myth ‘food at rock-bottom prices is a birthright’ supermarket duopolies happily perpetuate. As this article from Fresh Agenda reminds us Food doesn’t come Cheap

Rehanded’s Managing Director Jim Gall is so right when he says

If Australian agriculture is to thrive, it needs talented men and women. Businesses, governments and representative bodies that accommodate flexible career pathways and an open mind, may just attract some of the best business, science, engineering and marketing brains in the world, and therefore provide Australian produced food and fibre with a distinct and sustainable brand and business advantage.

Now I must declare my interest here, I employ women in agribusiness …. . They are often the most talented creative and strategic minds in the business. I also have a farm that is successfully run by my wife ……..

So why do I care? Well I also have two daughters and if one day they choose to pursue a career in agriculture, I would like to think they would be afforded the same opportunities I have.

Jim Gall . From the Back Block to the Boardroom

Like Jim, I too am very lucky to be able to identify and nurture and support some of the most talented, creative and strategic, bright young minds in agriculture today through the Young Farming Champions program. More than 60% of this team are women and none of them have any intentions of pursuing careers that see them as the off farm Money Tree diversification strategy that supports the farm. They all want an innovative, rewarding, dynamic,exciting and profitable agriculture sector that they play an active role in creating and sustaining

And that means disrupting the way agriculture traditionally thinks, talks and acts.

It means agriculture not just talking about working together to achieve more innovative solutions and better results. It means walking the talk.

It means taking a collaborative approach to raising agricultural awareness, leadership development, community engagement and inspiring the next generation’s best and brightest to seek careers in the agriculture sector.

It means forging partnerships to identify, prepare and support our emerging leaders.

It means creating the right environment for our young people and giving them the skills to thrive.

The Australian Young Farmer of the Year Anika Molesworth is just one of many examples of what happens when you expose bright and creative and innovative young minds in agriculture to some of Australia’s finest communication, marketing and professional development experts as well as the diverse networks necessary to support them.

The voice of the collective can be so much stronger than working alone

When we come together under a common mission with shared values truly extraordinary achievements can be made…

Anika Molesworth Australian Young Farmer of the Year

Listen to more of what this wonderful young woman has to say here

Women and Wool – its not all about the fashion

I had a big smile on my face this morning when I read this story Female auctioneer paves the way in Australian wool industry

Cassie Baile once auctioned me and like everyone in the room I was just flabbergasted to watch this gorgeous quiet young thing turn into a force of nature when she picked up the gavel

#GoGirlfriend Like me all your fellow Young Farming Champions in the room that day knew you were going to make your mark in the industry that lights your fire and the Wool Industry is very lucky to have you

Reprint ……..

Cassie Baile has opened the door on opportunities for young women aspiring to become wool auctioneers in a role traditionally influenced by men.

The 25-year-old from the NSW New England has been appointed as an auctioneer for the Australian Wool Network at the Yennora Wool Selling Centre.

In her role as Northern Wool Technical Officer, Cassie will divide her time between client work at AWN’s Goulburn branch and the showroom floor in Sydney.

The only female auctioneer at the Yennora Wool Selling Centre, Cassie admits to getting a buzz out of wielding the gavel.

“I was fortunate enough in the first week I started with AWN on July 27, they asked me to sell in Room 2, and that was a fantastic start,’’ she said.

“While we are running one week’s sale, we are always preparing for the following week’s sale, so week on week the whole AWN team are quite busy.’’

Cassie said the key skills for auctioneering were communication, elocution, presentation and a good rapport with clients and buyers.

“Since beginning auctioneering two years ago, I have received support and guidance from all within the industry,’’ she said.

“In what has been traditionally perceived as a male influenced sector, I could not have asked for more support from all involved.’’

Cassie will move to the Goulburn branch in October to work with AWN branch manager Mark Hedley, and his staff.

“I will be based in Goulburn and then travel between Sydney to type and prepare the next week’s sale, and make sure all the samples on the show floor are complete for the catalogue,’’ she said.

“In Goulburn I will be managing my own client base with all aspects of their wool production. This includes sheep and ram selection, flock management, wool marketing and ensuring a high quality of service.

“As part of the Australian Wool Network team, I will be working with my colleagues to proactively gain the best results for our clients throughout all stages of their wool production, from the shearing shed to the production of high quality woollen garments.’’

Cassie hails from a superfine wool property at Bendemeer in the NSW New England region.

Her childhood memories of helping with sheep work and in the shearing shed fuelled her passion for agriculture and the wool industry.

Cassie gained her professional Woolclassers’ Certificate in 2009 through Tamworth TAFE before completing two years of an Agribusiness Degree at the University of New England, Armidale.

In 2012, she obtained a traineeship with a pastoral house, working as a Wool Technical Support Officer at Yennora.

Cassie is pleased to be moving back into a regional area with a strong history of wool production.

“I never saw myself living in Sydney but it was a good base to start,’’ she said.

“When I was approached by Australian Wool Network, I was able to make possible those goals I had always wanted to achieve.

“Everybody in the company has been so supportive, making my transition to the new role very smooth.’’

Cassie encourages all young people with an interest in agriculture to pursue their goals.

“I believe your personal drive and passion will create the best possible future for you,’’ she said.

“Find a way and make it work, and you will get there.’’

When it comes to women in agriculture, Cassie said there were no limits.

“There are equal opportunities for everyone – all young people who are interested in the industry should embrace their passion and make the most of it,’’ she said.

“Set a goal, go for it and make it happen.’’

“It is great to see women moving into traditional male roles in agriculture, such as wool classing.

“We need to encourage young people to come into the industry to ensure its survival.’’

With a little bit of help from Beyonce we can save the waterways

There is no denying that agriculture can have a significant and detrimental impact on the health of the Great Barrier Reef, This is a big concern for governments, landcare groups, farmers, and the public alike. More and more Queensland farmers are trying to change that and farmers whose waterways flow into the Great Barrier Reef Catchment are keen to showcase how their industries are meeting their responsibility to farm in a way that protects the Great Barrier Reef.

Today’s post is a Hats off to the students at Tambo State High School who participated in The 2015 Archibull Prize. It was clear that the health of the reef is a the forefront of these young people’s minds and they have done a great job of using music to show how farmers and they, as the engineers of the future, are protecting waterways

Fencing in the beauty and fencing out future problems

Sadly the distance to Tambo means art judge Wendy Taylor wont be able to meet these amazing students in person. Which is a real shame as they sure are a talented lot. Check out their blog here

The shear beauty of agriculture expressed through Dance

I love this time of year when the entries for The 2015 Archibull Prize start flowing in.

This year the schools are taking the program to a whole new level

Who would have thought you could teach agriculture through dance.

Never underestimate the power of the story of the journey of the food you eat, the clothes you wear and the roof over your head

Well done Northlakes High – on behalf of farmers everywhere we salute

your

True Colours is the animation entry from Northlakes High School for the 2015 Archibull Prize.

“True Colours – Woolbaakee Weaving an Australian Woollen Dream” explores our ideas about the Australian Wool Industry, and all that we have learnt through our 2015 Archibull journey.

This year our approach to exploring our commodity, Wool was a little different. We wanted to take an abstract and artful view. We have showcased more of the exceptional talent we have at Northlakes High School.

As in our artwork, we also wanted to use the line and form created by the woollen yarn in dance conceptually and physically in this piece. We also focused heavily on the reciprocal relationship of native vegetation (expressed through Aboriginal dance and movement), grazing and Western farming methods. The fine balance and interaction between the two is one element that is key to Australia producing the highest quality woollen products and garments anywhere in the world.

There are also personal references to our Young Farming Champion, Bessie Thomas in our lyrical piece, as in our Archibull artwork as well. We thought this was an important element to include in the finished product as it is a very important part of our 2015 Archibull journey. The Australian wool industry isn’t just about farming, it is about building relationships, working together and supporting each other – symbolised through our school’s relationship with Bessie.

This certainly was a huge group effort. We are very proud of the finished product and can’t wait to share it.

Want to know more read the very powerful back story here

The farmers’ case for leaving coal and coalseam gas in the ground

These days when some-one asks me to speak at, or judge something they usually request a photo and a bio

The photo part is easy but the bio gets more and more difficult. Yes I can always tailor it for the audience I am presenting to or will be meeting but I don’t even know what to call myself any more.

At the moment as I collaborate with a diverse group of people who are helping to send Young Farming Champion’s Josh Gilbert and Anika Molesworth to Paris for COP21, I am finding myself being referred to as a global campaigner for equity for farmers as we lobby the Australian government for action on climate change.

Australian Young Farmer of the Year Anika Molesworth

What does being a campaigner for equity for farmers mean for me?

It means creating awareness and getting government to ‘embrace the future’ by recognising agriculture does so much more that produce food and fibre. It creates jobs, grows wealth and vibrant, healthy and resilient rural and regional communities. This is the bright future all Australians want and deserve

It means getting our government to understand climate change is happening and it is a real threat to reliable access to safe, affordable and healthy food not only in 20 years’ time but now.

It means I fully support these comments that agriculture can play a big role in helping deliver the solution

Australia’s food production sector can make a substantial contribution to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and moving our communities, environment and economy to a more sustainable basis. ….

Farming systems that produce their own renewable energy, and are based on sustainable agricultural practices that increase carbon storage in vegetation and soils, reduce the need for expensive nitrogen-based fertilizer, reduce soil degradation, save water, and protect our natural resource base will have win-win impacts – helping reduce the prospects of climate change to which we cannot adapt, as well as increasing the reliability, profitability and quality of our food supply.

“Feeding a Hungry Nation: Climate change, Food and Farming in Australia 2015” by Professor Lesley Hughes, Dr. Martin Rice, Professor Will Steffen

Farmers are perfectly placed to contribute to the solutions to Climate Change. Not only are they on the frontline of Climate Change already, they are innovative, resourceful and determined.

Our Australian farmers are part of a global farming community. They know they have to learn from each other’s successes and failures in order to help us all move forward. Farmers have always been focused on feeding and clothing us, and now they also in a position to POWER us as well using renewable energy technologies.

Its means that I am dedicating every spare minute I have to ensure our farmers are provided with the knowledge, the skills, the support and incentives necessary to help them feed and clothe and power us profitably

With a 2am start this morning catching up on all the things I don’t know that I need to know to be effective at what I do – bloody hell yes did I relate to this story Coal Seam Gas and Country Women #gogirlfriends

Women are very passionate and if you threaten our homes, families and livelihoods we swing into action. Clean water, air and soil are a right for every man woman and child in this beautiful country. We have a right to know how and under what conditions our food and fibre are grown. We owe that to ourselves and our children and grandchildren. The methane is still in the coal seams under the ground so the fight is not over. Sustainable energy is the way of the future. “You can’t eat coal and you can’t drink gas”. Australian agriculture has a huge job ahead feeding the world with only 6% prime agricultural land. If our precious agricultural lands are left unmined, future generations of Australian farmers will still be feeding the world in the centuries to come.

Watch some of these magnificent women here

Where does this leave all the wonderful people who work in the coal industry?

As some-one who has friends with friends who work in the coal industry its is also very important to me that there will be great jobs in clean energy technologies to keep them in work. Here is a great story about Mark Wiggins who after 20 years working in coal and hydro is a coal miner who has successfully made that transition

A career in power generation moves from coal to wind

With the mining boom now at an end, Australia is grappling with a sharp jobs contraction in the coal, gas and resources sectors. As thousands of workers contemplate their futures, many of those in regional Australia will increasingly look to jobs in clean energy technologies to keep them in work.

Wind farms are a logical next step for workers experienced in fossil fuel power generation and that neatly describes the trajectory of AWA member, Mark Wiggins. After 20 years working in coal and hydro, Mark is now Operations Manager at Boco Rock Wind Farm, standing on the Monaro plains, 150 km south of Canberra

Never underestimate our farmers – not only can they feed the world they can also power the world

We all know farmers feed, clothe and house the world the question that is the key focus of my lobbying activities going forward will answer is – can they also power the world through renewables?

Working alongside me are the dedicated Young Farming Champions team at Picture You in Agriculture who also believe our farmers can help power the world. They are not alone and they have joined forces with a very powerful group (both in size and capacity) of people who vehemently share this belief

There is no denying that an poltical environment in Australia that facilitiates and encourages our farmers and their equity partners to invest in reneawble enery will provide a watershed opportunity for our farmers to not only leave a phenomenal legacy for the planet, it will also provides a new, exciting and pivtoal opportunity for farmers to significant reduce the market and prodcution inputs volitiltyand business risk that a reliable source of dual income from farmers putting energy back into the grid offers

I look forward to sharing our journey to get the Abbott government to share our vision and make it their mission to deliver the necessary incentives and policy to turn “Farmers feed and powers us” from possible into reality

This week as I attended face to face meetings and participated in conference calls from unique locations I was constantly reminded of another often unrecognized service our farmers provide

Last Wednesday saw me travel down the south coast of NSW to meet with farmers and bright minds who share my vision and I documented my journey through the following photographs

Enjoy this pictorial reminder our farmers are the unpaid park keepers of Australia.

Sunrise on my front verandah greeted me like this…….

Salute to Michael and Nicholas Strong who wake up every day committed to growing the best pasture ( and they do) the magnificent rain fed soil the landscape at Clover Hill rarely fails to deliver

Salute to the magnificent and adorable herd of record breaking “girls” our family has selected and bred over the past 40 years

On my journey I took this picture of contented bliss on the Burke family farm

My meeting with Mike Logan ( Dairy Connect) and Rob McIntosh ( Chair NSW Farmers Dairy Committee) took place in front of these scenes at the McIntosh Family farm

and then it was back home as the sun set on our gorgeous girls

Yes our farmers and Australia’s landscape are definitely worth my time. I look forward to sharing our journey to ensure Australian farmers get a fair return on their significant investment in the health, wealth and happiness of all Australians

Farmageddon Indeed?

Having spoken to a number of people who were interviewed for this article I know it was months in the writing.

What do I think about it.? I don’t know. It does raise some issues that concern me. I think the main one being does this megatrend and the FTA mean ‘foreign workers”

What it does clearly indicicate is the world finds technology very exciting except it appears when it comes to using it to help produce our food

I had a pre theatre meal in Sydney last week with a small group of non farming background people some of whom I met that night for the first time. Robotic dairies came up as part of the dinner conversation and one of the group said she was uncomfortable with the concept as from what she had seen on television robots for milking cows meant less human/animal interaction

I know where she is coming from Michael Strong always said the reason he loves to dairy is because he loves to milk cows so I can’t see any robots on the horizon for Clover Hill in his lifetime

I on the other hand never wanted to milk cows, and having been to farms where robots milk cows, I love the concept of cows wandering in to get milked voluntarily, getting their backs scratched on the way out and then wandering back to the paddock

I especially love all the data the system collects that allows farmers to spend more time focusing on cow health and less time washing udders, spraying teats and dealing with all the stress milking time invariably brings twice/three times a day

From a dairy consumer point of view – it’s an interesting article. The journalist very pointedly is it appears wanting to be seen to be giving a balanced viewpoint. – Interviews with two farmers, a Dairy Australia analyst, a couple of university experts, an animal welfare group and an animal liberationist group

It reminded me how right Josh Gilbert is in this article titled Whoever Tells the Story Wins the War.

This is part of what Josh had to say ………………….

In Australia, our agricultural industry made towns, supported and raised families and provided resources through times of struggle and conflict. Our farms became a location where dreams were realised, memories created and history shaped.

But too often we forget to share this story, the journey shaped by where we are and the lifestyle we grew up with. Too often, we surrender our love and incite fear that food will no longer be on the shelves. And too often, we fail to recognise that what we want most is equality and the same opportunities as our city peers.

Late last year I stood before agricultural rockstars and policy makers and stated that;

‘The farming narrative will be told- it is up to farmers to decide who tells that story and how it will be remembered.’

That the agricultural world that we want to portray is our responsibility and if we don’t share our story, we risk leaving it to someone else. Someone else who may not feel our love and our connection of the land, someone else who may criticise our actions, with little knowledge for why we do it.

Having spent time this week with environmental groups, faith groups and Indigenous organisations to discuss climate change, I have come to appreciate that there is great respect and support for what we do by all parties. We have people who want to listen, who are thirsty for information, but their ability to find information is limited. Our opportunity to share our story is the greatest it has been- agriculture needs to grasp it, take advantage of it and realise this potential.

Whoever tells the story wins the war- the war of opportunity and of accurate, positive stories

History is indeed written by the victors. I am looking forward to everyone being a winner in the production of safe, affordable, healthy food produced by people who care and get paid a fair return for their efforts.