Bev Adams AM is passionate about breeding Charolais cattle. Since her husband's death in 1982, Bev has been the sole manager of the property. Bev has been an active member of her community and was the ABC Radio Rural Woman of the Year for NSW in 1995.

Debbie Allard and Sue Harnett have joined forces to establish a farmhouse cheese making enterprise on a small farm factory at Mooball near the village of Burringbar on the NSW Far North Coast. Both women have learned to work together as an effective team and juggle farming and family responsibilities. ‘Tweed Valley Whey Farmhouse Cheeses’ opened in April 2008 after many months of planning and completing three cheesemaking courses. The fledgling business processes about 500 litres of milk a week into about 10 different types of soft cheeses and yoghurts which Sue and Debbie sell through farmers’ markets and local shops. They have two children each, and husbands who have had to learn to be cheese widowers!

Jan Ashe is relatively new to farming, having grown up in the city. Jan is courageously sharing her personal story of living with bipolar disorder in the hope of helping and educating others. Jan aims to remove the stigma associated with mental illness.

Liana Baffari is an Italian born artist who emigrated with her family to Australia in the early 1960s. After a wide and varied number of careers — from working as a private investigator and a security manager to an events coordinator — she recently established adidog walk wear designer art clothing for dogs, and matching people wear. Liana has a degree in business which is now being combined with her creative talents.

Jannine Barron’s business at Byron Bay on the NSW North Coast is driven by a desire to improve the health and wellbeing of babies and children while reducing impacts on the environment. Starting with virtually no capital and little business experience, she has grown ‘Nature’s Child’ from a small web-based business into a major online shopping enterprise with a physical shopfront, a wholesale division and warehousing. Nature’s Child products are now sold nationally and internationally in six countries. .

Katie Barton is 38 and married to a grazier, Peter. They share a passion for the land, their rural lifestyle, personal development and making a difference to society in their chosen areas of interest. Together, Katie and Peter have dealt with many health issues, which has made them realise the importance of acting on and fulfilling their dreams. Katie’s passion is creativity, and this dominates her approach to life and her work as an artist and writer — and more recently as Director of her new business, Percy Street Gallery, in Wellington.

With her partner Michael, Rebel established ‘Dig In’, a unique restaurant on the edge of the opal fields in the mining town of Lightning Ridge, in 2003 when she was only 25. Dig In is more than just a place to eat. It is a total outback cultural experience. Rebel hopes to expand the business model over time. Prior to Dig In, she worked in a wide range of jobs including project management, regional arts development and tourism, and was Editor of the Lightning Ridge newspaper for two years.

Marj became an ‘accidental lobbyist’ 15 years ago when their youngest son survived a fatal car accident involving a semi-trailer. Marj developed many skills through the Highway Safety Action Group and has become well known as a team-playing community activist, who gets results. Sometime after the HSAG had folded, Marj was visiting her GP for a check-up. The doctor asked for help in getting another dentist for the public dental clinic in Orange. Marj did research and found the dental situation for rural areas was appalling. Her passion for making a difference kicked in and she co-founded the Rural Dental Action Group which aims to get a better dental deal for Australian country people. In between the pressures of lobbying and farming, Marj ‘relaxes’ by making wooden items from recycled rustic timber.

Vanessa Bonnette lives on acreage near Yamba on the NSW North Coast. he is a keen communicator and a ‘people person’ with a wealth of knowledge and experience to share. Her passion is to ignite, inspire and support others to follow their true purpose.

Carole Broadhead is a self-confessed ‘China watcher’ living at Bermagui on the Far South Coast of New South Wales. In recent years Carole has transformed her ‘watching’ into ‘doing’ by developing direct connections with rural women in China. With a group of like-minded local women Carole has established a small international support and funding group called ‘Loomgrowers’. Loomgrowers support Chinese women in their struggle to achieve economic freedom and break the poverty cycle by becoming better able to take control of their futures and develop sustainable small business opportunities.

Patricia (Patty) Byrnes lives in the Western Division on a large outback station, ‘Wamberra’, with her husband Ned and his two sons. ‘Wamberra‘ has been in the Byrnes family for five generations and produces beef cattle, Dorper and Merino sheep and dryland cereals. In 2000 the Byrnes family devoted 21 per cent of the property to private conservation. In 1999 Patty established the biannual Pooncarie Field Day—Pooncarie is a small village of just 84 people. Patty is currently on the board of the Lower Murray Darling Catchment Authority.

Karan Chandler is a ‘semi-retired’ teacher living on a small farm in Tamworth with her husband Richard. Despite a difficult first marriage and a life-threatening illness, Karan has continually studied throughout her life, exploring many subjects and completing two degrees. She is also a successful writer and has published many books. Two of her most recent publications include one on the Gamilaraay Aboriginal language and another on Japanese folk tales.

Lucinda Corrigan is a strong woman who has thrived working in the once typically man’s world of agriculture. She and husband Bryan own a very large multi-property cattle genetics enterprise from a farm in the Murray Valley east of Albury.

Kathleen Davies is an award–winning, published author and artist. Her life turned upside down when she was diagnosed with an illness that has the potential to rob her of a long and healthy life. Although it has already influenced choices and changes in her life, Kathleen doesn’t want the threat of cancer to push aside her dreams for the future. From her farm, she paints, writes, raises Quarter Horses and pursues activities relevant to conservation and agriculture. After numerous career changes, she is currently working as a casual journalist and photographer for Rural Press. Kathleen has also completed art commissions for government departments and her work can be found in private homes across Australia. She has established an art gallery and an environmental interpretation and tour guiding service at her home.

Sue Denison is a trailblazer in the world of nursing and community health. Sue recovered from a liver transplant in 1990, and within 10 years became one of the first authorised Nurse Practitioners in Australia. She provides a broad range of day-to-day and acute health care services. The closest hospital is over 60 km away. Sue’s interest in community development has led to the establishment of initiatives such as the Nundle cinema, and, according to the Film and Television office, she demonstrated for the first time a connection between health and cinema. She established the Old Church boutique, which sells second-hand clothing sent to Nundle by a Sydney-based group Friends of Farming Families.

Sonya Dowling is a fully trained nurse who chose to leave that career behind. In 1999, after becoming disillusioned with ‘conventional’ farming and wanting to work together as a team, she and her husband Angus established ‘Enviroganic Farm’, producing organic chickens on 1000 acres at Murringo, 30 kilometres from Young. They chose organic chickens because of the growing organic meat market and this type of agriculture didn’t require huge tracts of land. Starting out with just 50 chickens per week their business has expanded to the capacity of supplying 4400 chickens a week.

Amanda Ducker left a journalism career in the city to explore creative options and establish a more serene country life with her nine-year-old daughter, Zia. Amanda now juggles baby Zara, 6 months, freelance journalism, photography and a successful creative hand knitwear business which provides extra income for local knitters. Minx Handknits produces multicoloured garments and accessories from extra-soft pure new wool, spun and dyed at the Nundle Woollen Mill. Amanda’s label is becoming well recognised and sought after both in Australia and overseas.

Sharon Dundon provides technical consultancy advice and practical training to overseas stock handlers receiving Australia’s live sheep and cattle. She has always had a passion for animals, and after completing a Rural Science degree worked in various industry positions before developing a second love for long haul truck driving!

Jackie Foster has not let turning 50 stop her pursuing her goals of competing in an elite sport at international levels. She is the reigning Australian 2006 Natural Body Building titleholder for her age class. Jackie was born in England but spent over 30 years living in and around Narrandera, a small town in the Riverina. Her husband Eric was tragically killed in a farming accident in 1993. Jackie stayed in Narrandera to raise her three children until they had finished school and left home. She moved to Wagga Wagga in 2000.

Kate spent her childhood on a farm before forging a successful career in rural and regional media and communications. Juggling farming, a marketing communications consultancy and a career as a successful mixed media artist is a constant challenge, but Kim has already held a solo exhibition and three years ago established a contemporary arts network which is providing opportunities for information exchange and peer mentoring among artists living in the west. Fresh Arts Inc., formally incorporated in 2004, has grown rapidly and is attracting anyone interested in being involved in or nurturing regional contemporary visual arts.

Danielle Goolagong is a dynamic, young 22-year-old Wiradjuri woman living in Orange. She has a commitment and passion to progress Aboriginal issues and make a difference. Danielle is in her third and final year of a Bachelor of Health Science (Mental Health). She has studied this by distance education, through the Djirruwang program at Charles Sturt University in Wagga Wagga. Danielle has become a role model for other young Aboriginal women. She has a son Noah and plays rugby union for local and regional teams. Danielle worked with the Rural Women’s Network from January to September 2008.

Maggie grew up in Sydney and, after completing the Intermediate Certificate, left school at 14 to take up a career in clerical and then secretarial work. A holiday visit to an uncle living in the western region 38 years ago changed her life and she left the city to make a new home on the land and raise a family. Maggie has pursued a writing career without having completed any writing courses, and self-publishes her poems and short stories. From these humble beginnings Maggie has achieved an amazing dream of seeing an Australian musical she wrote, called Eureka, go into full production at Her Majesty’s Theatre in Melbourne as part of the 2004 Melbourne Festival.

Anne Gribble is a farming woman from Yenda who has a long history of advocating for improved access to adult education for rural people. Although ‘retired’ from her more ‘formal’ high-level educational committee and board work, Anne is still very much involved at the local community level through history and genealogical associations and through the University of the Third Age. Anne has given workshops on ‘writing your memoirs’, and is currently involved in producing a booklet on business administration to help farmers do their books.

Maree and husband Mark initially bought three animals as an investment. After only eight years their herd has increased to 70 and the small farm has now expanded into an educational/tourism enterprise. It all began one day in 2002 when Maree was driving along the Newell Highway. She noticed a property for sale about 10 km south of Parkes and knew this was the place to set up shop and expand their dream to promote alpacas, value-add and encourage others to become a part of this new and exciting industry. Six weeks later they’d sold their existing property and in March 2004 opened the Alpaca Country Shop and Café which is providing employment opportunities for many local people.

Hazel Jeffery has spent the past 26 years documenting the history of her local rural area. She has a very practical approach to life, and attributes family, teachers and ‘Junior Farmers‘ (now ‘Rural Youth’) as having a lifelong impact on her confidence to get things done. Hazel left school at 15 and has lived with juvenile diabetes for over 56 years. She produced her first local history book in 1984 (before computers!) with very little help from others. She is currently working on a second local history book to be published in 2010 in time for the Chillingham Hall centenary.

At 76, she currently works as a part-time relationship counsellor, part-time University of the Third Age (U3A) tutor, and a self-published performing bush poet. Bessie started her relationship counselling training in 1998 and was awarded a Diploma at the age of 74. Bessie believes life begins at 67 as this was when she married her third husband Frank (after being widowed twice).

Tracey Knowland and her husband Stuart operate a wholesale production nursery supplying premium advanced trees and shrubs to the landscape and development industry across Australia. The nursery, established in 2002, is located on their 14 hectare farm at Brooklet near Bangalow on the Far North Coast of NSW. Along with the business side of the nursery, Tracey is responsible for acres of mowing, works with Stuart in developing new Australian tree selections (with hopes for the export industry) and is on the organising committee of the Bangalow Business Women's group.

From her small bush block 20 minutes north of Kempsey on the Mid North Coast, Joy is edging closer to realising her dream of producing two ingenious soft toilet tissues. ‘Enviro-roll Land Tissues’ are impregnated with region-specific dust-like native seeds aimed to revegetate the land, and ‘Enviro-roll Sea Tissues’ are impregnated with glacial moraine and volcanic rock dusts with up to 100 minerals and trace elements to feed soil micro-organisms on land and feed/nourish the burgeoning phytoplankton at sea improving waterways and soils.

Jenny Magner lives with husband Paul on one of the four properties they run with their two sons and daughter-in-law. They run 7000 fine wool merinos and 600 breeding cattle, grow vegetables, herbs and lucerne hay, and have a 13 acre fruit orchard with apples, peaches and nectarines. Jenny has learned to live with challenges. In 2004 Jenny also started to develop a range of natural skin care products. Until 2005 she sold these at the family’s store in Tenterfield, via mail order, and through word of mouth from happy customers. The production has now been scaled back. Jenny herself has had to live with chronic pain after suffering a broken neck in a farm accident and more recently is battling breast cancer while Paul is recovering from Q Fever.

Dr Malem McLeod has never let the barriers such as growing up in an impoverished rural Indonesian family affect her lifelong passion to pursue and achieve educational goals. She has attained numerous degrees and is currently studying for a Master of Business Administration (MBA) while working full time as a soil scientist/hydrologist. Malem lives with her husband Ross and two children Tiara and Ben, and has been in Australia since 1991.

Lisa is currently Managing Director of Messenger Marketing and Messenger Publishing and co-director of Anchovy Publishing. She was a finalist in the 2005 Telstra Business Woman of the Year. Lisa writes extensively for a number of magazines, is a judge for the Business and Specialists Publishers national Bell Awards, sits on the board of the Australian Business Women’s Network. She is also an active supporter of charities.

Lorraine and her husband John began planting olive trees at Borenore near Orange, over nine years ago. They now have around 700 trees and produce award-winning olive oil. Lorraine is involved in the many stages of hand picking, bottling, labelling, marketing and selling their oil. Despite both also working together off-farm, this ‘hobby enterprise’ is fast becoming a successful business enterprise. Abilene Grove includes five olive varieties chosen for the dual purpose of oil and table.

Megan Mosely is a young passionate agriculturist involved in making significant changes to farming practices in the semi arid country near Cobar in western NSW. With husband Andrew, their two young daughters and Andrew’s parents, the extended family team has developed an holistic vision which drives the management of their property. Etiwanda Station was initially a small ‘soldier’s settlement’ block which has been expanded to become the current holding of 70,000 acres. The station now runs six diverse and integrated businesses including White Dorper sheep and Boer goat production, breeds which are both low-input and low-maintenance stock, well suited to the challenging outback environment. They also run cattle and do some cropping.

Samantha (Sam) Muller lives on a 120 acre beef property at Barkers Vale near Kyogle on the Far North Coast of NSW. She and her husband Ross chose to swap the fast Gold Coast city life for a smaller country town hoping it would provide more time for family and community activities. Sam plays an active part in her community, chairing committees and helping to drive sustainable economic and social growth for the town. She runs her own farm-based business consultancy which provides support, advice and training on business planning and marketing. Sam has also found time to build a permaculture garden and she breeds and sells chickens for a hobby.

After spending time in Melbourne she moved back to the land with her partner on a large family property near Deniliquin where she has established her ‘Woolliwoolli’ fashion label. Josephine’s successful designer knitwear business uses 100% Australian merino wool. To test the waters, she initially sold products through markets. The response was so positive she decided to ramp up production and her garments are now sold in selected boutiques in Australia and Paris. Josephine has participated in ‘fashion weeks’ in Australia, Hong Kong and Paris.

Fiona Schofield is a young fashion designer who started a home-based handmade millinery and accessories business in Orange in 2004 after a successful design and fashion career in Sydney. Fiona had grown up on a farm in Forbes, and so together with husband Max wanted to escape Sydney and raise their two children in the country. Fiona focuses on race meeting and bridal wear along with jewellery and specialised garment alteration services.

Kate Schwager, her husband Billy and their three boys run a successful cotton and wheat share farming enterprise near Wee Waa, which they started Six years ago. Overcoming many challenges Kate set up the weewaa.com website in 1998 as a way of promoting her community and exploring an off-farm income opportunity. After some initial setbacks, Kate relaunched the website in 2004. Within three months of the second launch Kate attracted over 80 advertisers and was able to provide free pages to community groups. She is also the publicity office for WINCOTT, an organisation for Australian women involved in the cotton industry. Kate recently won the RIRDC Rural Women’s Award 2006 for NSW with her Rural Small Towns Web Package.

Vicki St Lawrence was Chair of an annual NSW Women’s Gathering Committee which hosted the event in 2006 at Grafton. She lives on a small rural property in the Clarence Valley 30 kilometres from Grafton. Vicki moved to the North Coast with her two-year-old son in 1981. She had plans to become ‘self sufficient’ by building a home, growing food, and using alternative energy. Vicki soon realised that living with a small child on a pension in a shed without electricity or running water was proving too difficult, so she went back to work. In 1999 Vicki took the plunge and established a one-woman human services management consulting business specialising in rural and regional public, private and community clients.

In 1998, having managed a small museum, taught scuba diving, mapped landscapes, and worked as a geologist and soil conservation extension officer with landholders and Aboriginal people across New South Wales and the Northern Territory, she finally reached her goal as manager of the 90,000 hectare Solitary Islands Marine Park north of Coffs Harbour. Libby hopes by retelling her story she may inspire other younger women to think outside the career square. (Libby recently changed career again after some health issues. Libby is now Manager Biosecurity Compliance & Mine Safety Training for the NSW Department of Primary Industries.)

Gae Swain, Mayor of the Gunnedah Shire Council, is a farming woman passionate about the bush. She and husband Geoff run a mixed sheep, cattle and grains property on the confluence of the Peel and Namoi Rivers, 30 km east of Gunnedah. Gae has been involved in some very contentious issues affecting residents in her region, such as ground water allocations and ‘conservation versus forestry’ decisions. She has played a key role in leading and engaging with stakeholders and being an advocate for her community through difficult, and often long, resolution processes.

Kylie Tarleton is a young dynamic 33-year-old who has already achieved one of her life goals. In 2003 she set up an internationally recognised beauty training institute in her home town of Orange. Initially Kylie started the business as a franchise for a larger Sydney-based college before biting the bullet and going out on her own. After less than two years Kylie employed three teachers. In 2004 she had 24 students enrolled in the Diploma of Beauty Therapy and 24 students graduate—an amazing achievement. Kylie has an Irish, Chinese and Aboriginal background and is married with two young sons.

Helen Taylor pioneered farm tourism in the Tweed Valley when she established ‘Beach Farm’ as the hub for a network of farmstays on the New South Wales Far North Coast near the Queensland Gold Coast. ‘Homestay’ has always proved popular in cities as an opportunity for foreign students to learn English. Helen saw the potential to marry this educational tourism with agriculture for a truly unique holiday and learning experience. Beach Farm has developed into a family agritourism enterprise, with Helen’s daughter Robyn now managing the tourism business, and son-in-law Jim managing the farm animals and orchard.

Lisa Thomas trained as an artist before becoming the first female ‘rabbit inspector’ (now known as a ‘pest animal ranger’) in NSW. She was recruited by the Dubbo Rural Lands Protection Board over 21 years ago and can still be found behind the wheel of a ute travelling over paddocks, highways and gravel back roads. Her daily schedule is anything but routine—in a single day she could be flying in a helicopter surveying plague locusts, advising farmers on best practice pest and animal health strategies, setting mouse baits and helping out at the saleyards.

Roz Townsend is a Bathurst-based author and educationalist who has published seven best-selling books. Her books have now been translated into many languages and are currently available globally in at least eight countries. Roz has connected to millions of people and has even appeared on national Chinese and Indian television. She takes great delight in teaching people new-found skills such as speed reading, which through practice can improve attainment of goals. Her profound knowledge in educational psychology and social psychology are highly regarded in Australia. Despite living in a rural town, Roz continues to assist people realise their life/work potential through her workshops, writing and website.

Lois Umback is passionate about rabbits and in 2004 established a meat rabbit farm at her Bibbenluke property just north of Bombala in the Southern Monaro region. She and her husband Warren have 12 acres so needed to think creatively about what could be sustainable and profitable on such a small holding. Lois currently has a 20 metre shed which houses 35 ‘breeding does’ and nine ‘working bucks’. She hopes to expand the enterprise and is developing her own bloodline. Lois strives to be environmentally responsible by using the shed waste products mixed with old sawdust to top-dress and enrich paddocks. She also bales native grasses grown on their land for nesting materials in the sheds.

Marie Ward, a nurse with over 20 years of experience, established the Inverell Counselling Practice in 2000 after gaining a Bachelor of Counselling at the age of 52. Her service offers personal, relationship and family counselling and relationship coaching. Marie’s husband Mike is a real estate and property agent and is also a trained counsellor, mediator and educator. They have been married for 40 years and jointly run premarriage courses. Marie has also won numerous awards through her involvement in Toastmasters International, a communication and leadership organisation specialising in public speaking. She runs Toastmasters’ Speechcraft courses for the community as a volunteer.

Susan Williams developed a social conscience at an early age and provided a platform for a diverse and interesting life. She and husband Alan made a ‘tree change’ ten years ago to establish a thoroughbred breeding and training property at Newbridge in the Central West of NSW. Life in the country may be quieter but is no less busy for this former teacher and Chief Executive Officer of Employment National (formerly known as the Commonwealth Employment Service or CES). Susan embraces rural community life while maintaining connections with her corporate past through mentoring executives. She has engaged in political campaigns and is currently the Deputy Mayor of the Blayney Shire. Susan has also just become the CEO of Masonic Youth Welfare Fund of NSW & ACT which aims to give needy young students an equal opportunity in life.