Follow your passions and don’t be afraid of a challenge. Turn every experience into an opportunity.

Alison McIntosh Alison McIntosh lives on a property at Laggan near Crookwell where she manages a number of professional responsibilities while being actively engaged in the local community. She is passionate about the beef industry and is closely involved in her family’s cattle seedstock operation, taking a keen interest in genetics, breeding and marketing. In 2010 Alison established her own Angus stud enterprise. In addition to farming, Alison runs a consultancy business providing specialist services to beef cattle producers, as well as providing training in chemical certification, farm planning and livestock breeding and selection to the broader rural sector. Alison was the 2010 NSW RIRDC Rural Women’s Award Runner Up and is the youngest female to be appointed as a Councillor to the Royal Agricultural Society of NSW.

What gave you the motivation/inspiration to follow your dream?

I have drawn motivation and inspiration from many great leaders in agricultural industries across rural and regional Australia. My motto is ‘turn every experience into an opportunity and actively seek out opportunities’. I am not one who can sit still for long. With encouragement and support from my family and friends, I have gained the courage to keep on ‘having a go’. I am always dreaming of new projects to plug away at, and I get great satisfaction when I achieve them and can tick them off my list.

At what point did you realise that your dream was actually possible and what was it that made you think you could really do it?

I am chasing many dreams. I haven’t actually defined the one dream. I just know I want to play an influential leadership role in the beef cattle industry and in my regional community. I also want to be a role model to other young women who are passionate about their industry and community.

When you were a child, what did you want to ‘be’ when you grew up?

Deep down I have always been a farm girl despite attending an all-girls Catholic boarding school that did not offer agriculture. When I left school I enrolled in nursing at university before taking a year off to work on a beef cattle farm in Canada. It was during that year I realised nursing was not for me and that agriculture and the beef industry were where my passion and future ambitions lay.

How did your childhood influence you in later life?

I am the eldest of three girls. I spent a lot of time helping out on the family farm – we were all involved in the family farm practices and we still are. My grandparents on both sides were farmers and they have influenced my passion for community and my appreciation for rural life. Growing up in a great rural community, I experienced the ups and downs of farming while learning the value of hard work. I also experienced the emotions of tough times, making hard decisions and having setbacks, which have helped to build the resilience I have today. I was also fortunate to have had a great education during my six years at boarding school.

Who are your role models?

My greatest role models are all the women in agriculture and regional Australia who are doing so much (often behind the scenes) to keep the rural spirit alive. I love talking to people and hearing individual inspirational stories. I also respect and have learned a lot from family (parents and grandparents), friends and people I have met through the various committees and groups I am involved in – I look up to all of these people.

What does success mean to you?

Success is individual happiness and fulfilment. It is about ‘having a go’ and setting goals outside my comfort zone – I like to say ‘I aim for the stars’! I also thrive on contributing to my community and industry. I do tend to be very hard on myself and constantly raise my personal measure of success. But with strong determination I know success can be achieved by not giving up.

What has been one of the biggest barriers you have had to face, what happened, and how did you overcome it?

I don’t like to think of ‘barriers’ – I prefer to see these things as ‘challenges’, and there are always challenges. The hardships of drought and tough times on the farm have been great personal challenges and all I wanted to do was make things better! Nothing ever comes to you easily; you have to work at things to see achievement. Being a female in a male-dominated industry has posed challenges – I often feel that I have to work harder than my male colleagues to gain credibility in what I have to offer my industry.

Where do you see yourself in 10 years time? What is your vision for the future?

My vision is to see sustainable growth and equality in regional Australia, with young people returning to family farms and regional towns where there are genuine opportunities for careers and career progression that can support a great lifestyle. In 10 years time I want to be living in a rural community, doing what I love and continuing to be an active role model for young people (especially women) striving to be leaders in their industry and/or community. I hope my business will have evolved and developed and that I will have found that special person to share my dreams and goals with.

What would you like to say to other women who may be just starting out on a daring to dream journey?

Follow your passions and don’t be afraid of a challenge. Turn every experience into an opportunity. Together we are the future leaders of agricultural industries and rural and regional Australia, and we should be proud of this because we have a great future ahead.