Women doing it backwards and in high heels

John Woden

Today is International Women’s Day. It is a day that holds quite a bit of significance for me. 10 years ago I was selected my local MP as the regional Woman of the Year which saw me then inducted into the NSW state Government Honour Role for my contribution to agriculture and rural and regional communities.

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I remember at the time being totally flabbergasted that I had been nominated let alone selected

Being upfront as I tend to be I asked my MP why he chose me. He said he had chosen me not so much for what I had achieved at that point in time but what he believed I could do with this level of recognition.

How right he was. Up until this time no matter who I approached for funding, for support for agriculture, for policy changes etc. etc. I spent the first half of my meetings and funding proposals explaining who I was and convincing people I had the capacity to achieve what I wanted to achieve.

Before I won this award the key questions I was asked who I was and who was supporting my proposal? So I spent hours and hours requesting letters of support and building partnerships. All time well spent for future endeavours but it was very draining at the time and I kept questioning myself and why I was doing it. I got a lots of no’s and very few yes’ and more doors where shut than were opened.

So part of the last ten years with this very wise advice from my MP and my support networks has been spent building a CV that lets people know what you have done and opens the door and allows you to focus on core business and your compelling value proposition.

There will always be detractors who don’t see the big picture and declare this as self-promotion. This used to worry me, not anymore. I know longer spend hours beating myself up over what the minority think and say because I have witnessed personally how far young people in agriculture can go and what they can achieve for the greater good when they are recognised and celebrated for their efforts 

Equally when I see women in Australian agriculture nominated and celebrated (including seven Art4Agriculture Young Farming Champions) via the Emerald Grains Women in Australian Agribusiness list, I am very proud all these exciting and dynamic women understand the importance of and relish the opportunity to inspire others to join them in their quest to see Australian agriculture admired and valued right across the globe

Today I salute all women across the world that will be recognised and celebrated for ‘their achievements, regardless of divisions, whether national, ethnic, linguistic, cultural, economic or political’.

“Success comes from knowing that you did your best to become the best that you are capable of becoming.”

“Success is never final; failure is never fatal. It’s courage that counts.” John Woden

If you are looking for a fun read try Recline. Don’t Lean in Why

Special shout out to all the women in my life

Today is International Women’s Day and there are too many women for me to mention who inspire me

So I would just like to simply use this quote to say thank you to the doers and the supporters who light my fire and keep it burning

‘Everyone who’s ever taken a shower has an idea. It’s the people who get out of shower, and dry off off and do something about it who make a difference’. Patricia Nolan

I would also like to salute our cows

They inspire me. Every day they produce that affordable nutritious nature’s perfect nutrient cocktail that is milk on our farm for 50,000 Australians

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Thank you cows – the queens of the dairy industry

They are an integral part of our team. They are part of our family. They are like a child you want to give them the best possible life you can afford to give

This is why the $ a lire milk marketing campaign upsets me so much as I feel it completely devalues what our cows do and I believe we all need to reflect on what our definitions of value are when thinking about Australian grown products.

I would also like to say a special thank you to the girls on our team who worked so hard on all those record breaking hot days in January to ensure our cows were comfortable and happy. I was there and I was moved by your super human efforts.

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Sprinklers in the dairy – says cow comfort on hot days

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Chrissy in the dairy shows the Young Eco Champions how to milk and care for cows on hot days

The girls would like to thank John who arrived with the super cold watermelon just at the right time