Women in agriculture have stepped up to the plate big-time, and their growing contribution to the field was recognised on Tuesday during the United Nation's International Day of Rural Women.
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It's a day when the world stops to celebrate the enormous strides taken by women in the agricultural sphere, especially at the higher levels.
More and more women have made their presence felt in the field, as Griffith agronomist Elizabeth Shakeshaft can attest to.
"There's definitely more young female agronomists these days than old female agronomists," Miss Shakeshaft said.
She said she's encouraged to see more young women entering the field, which has hitherto been a male-dominated industry.
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She's had a fascination with plants and animals ever since she was a small child growing up in the Blue Mountains.
After school took on a casual gig in the research and development department of a wholesale nursery before going on to study agricultural science at Sydney University.
During her course she did placements at farms around Sydney and quickly fell in love with the practical, hands-on nature of agronomy.
Her class had a male majority, but the women's staying power held out and by the end of the degree it was closer to 50-50.
After graduating she got her first big break as an agronomist at Lake Cargelligo in 2016, which was a year of downpours and inundated fields.
"That was the year it didn't stop raining, but it hasn't rained properly since," she said.
"The first two years were polar opposites from each other."
She handles mostly cotton and dryland broadacre farming, both of which have been hit hard by the drought.
It's been a rough introduction to the world of agronomy, but she says she still enjoys the chance to get out into the field and get her hands dirty.
Despite the industry's ups and downs she says it's been an fulfilling career path, and she said she would be happy to see more young rural women throwing their hat into the ring.
"I'd love to see more women getting involved," Miss Shakeshaft said.
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Kenji Sato
Kenji Sato is a handsome journalist at The Daily Advertiser who enjoys writing flattering bios about himself in the third person. He can be contacted by email at kenji.sato@dailyadvertiser.com.au or by mobile on 0448 927 612.
Kenji Sato is a handsome journalist at The Daily Advertiser who enjoys writing flattering bios about himself in the third person. He can be contacted by email at kenji.sato@dailyadvertiser.com.au or by mobile on 0448 927 612.
