Celebration of women in ag a Dowerin Field Days first
A topic close to the heart of half of the State’s farming community will be front and centre at the Dowerin GWN7 Machinery Field Days this week.
A subject to be both celebrated and recognised, event organisers this year chose to single out the role that women have played, and will play, in the development of the agricultural industry.
Representing only a small sample of the women who work the land in the Central Wheatbelt, Tiffany Davey, Kezia Metcalf, Wendy Flavel, Christine Hagboom, Thelma Hatwell and Nadine McMorran are proud to be a part of the industry.
They are also proud to lend a hand in bringing to life an event that has a significant role in WA’s agricultural history.
Dowerin Field Days chair-woman Nadine McMorran said not only was the event an important platform to showcase developments in machinery and farming innovation, this year it would also celebrate the theme of “Women in Agriculture”.
“There are so many talented women in the industry and this will be a good platform to promote their stories,” she said.
In line with this theme, Ms McMorran said the 2017 Agrifutures Rural Woman of the Year, Tanya Dupagne, who established Camp Kulin, would officially open the event on Wednesday and speak at the CSBP Women in Rural Business Networking Event.
Ms McMorran, who helps to run the family farm in Ucarty alongside her husband, Josh, is also a member of Women In Farming Enterprises.
“The resources women have at their fingertips now are amazing. We run our farm businesses hand-in-hand with our husbands or partners,” she said.
Ms Davey, part of the field days events team, hails from a long-standing prime lamb and broadacre farming family in Konnongorring. “This theme is huge for my family because I am one of four girls involved in agriculture,” she said.
“Farming is in my blood and the role women play in agriculture is invaluable.”
Not to be outdone in the field by her younger compatriots, Ms Hatwell — the longest-serving volunteer at the Dowerin Field Days — has farmed in the region her whole life.
“I was born in Dowerin when the town had a hospital. My father’s farm was north of Dowerin at a little place called Ejanding, and I married a lad south of town at the Dowerin lakes, so I haven’t moved very far at all,” she said.
The theme has resonated with field days exhibitors and sponsors as well. “CSBP recognises the vital role that women play in agribusiness and innovation. We are proud to support such a fantastic event,” CSBP Fertilisers general manager Tanya Rybarczyk said.
Get the latest news from thewest.com.au in your inbox.
Sign up for our emails