Kate McBride is a fifth-generation farmer from New South Wales and the youngest member to sit on the Western Local Land Services board. Kate uses her agriculture experience to advocate for drought and water management and the importance of understanding the role that climate change plays in these areas. Her advocacy work has led her to become an Anne Kantor Fellow at the Australia Institute, where she can research the connections between water, the climate, and other rural issues.

In today's episode, we hear about Kate's connection to agriculture and how her experience growing up by the Darling-Barka river led her to become the advocate she is today for drought and water management. She also talks about the importance of strengthening services and infrastructure in rural communities and how bridging the gap between city and country can encourage continued connection and resilience.

 

Connect:

• Rural Bank website
• Rural Bank on Facebook
• Rural Bank on Twitter
• Rural Bank on LinkedIn
• Rural Bank on YouTube

This show is produced in collaboration with Wavelength Creative. Visit wavelengthcreative.com for more information.

Catherine Velisha is a third-generation farmer with a passion for business and creating opportunities. Her first-hand experience on the farm shapes her newest venture, the Velisha Education Group (VEG), as she works to promote pathways into horticulture, and safety on the farm.

In this episode, Catherine shares the story of how her family started in horticulture, and how the farm ended up in her capable hands. Plus, an insight into the entrepreneurial side of the vegetable industry, and how that mindset alongside a positive run-in with WorkSafe, led her to start VEG.

 

Resources and links:

• VEG Education website
• Velisha Farms website

 

Connect:

• Rural Bank website
• Rural Bank on Facebook
• Rural Bank on Twitter
• Rural Bank on LinkedIn
• Rural Bank on YouTube

This show is produced in collaboration with Wavelength Creative. Visit wavelengthcreative.com for more information.

Kirsten Diprose is a communications specialist and content creator. Along with her husband and two boys, Kirsten lives on a mixed grazing and cropping farm in southwest Victoria, where their latest adventure is incorporating dairy into their farming business.

In this episode, Kirsten shares how her experience in farming, combined with her expertise in broadcasting, resulted in co-founding the Ducks on the Pond podcast alongside Jackie Elliot. She also shares how her passion for telling the stories of rural people began, and why the ag industry needs to do a better job of showcasing its diversity.

 

Resources and links:

• Ducks on the Pond podcast

 

Connect:

• Rural Bank website
• Rural Bank on Facebook
• Rural Bank on Twitter
• Rural Bank on LinkedIn
• Rural Bank on YouTube

This show is produced in collaboration with Wavelength Creative. Visit wavelengthcreative.com for more information.

Original publish date: 30 Mar 2021.

Neil Seaman is a fifth-generation wool grower on his family's 2,000-acre property, Rosemont, located near Crookwell in NSW. Alongside his father, Neil runs 4,000 Merino ewes, producing fine micron wool.

In this episode, you'll hear how proud and optimistic Neil is about the future of Australia's wool industry, why he believes rural Australia is the place to live, and how his time on the reality TV show, Farmer Wants a Wife, has given him a platform to help close the gap between city and country.

 

Connect:

• Rural Bank website
• Rural Bank on Facebook
• Rural Bank on Twitter
• Rural Bank on LinkedIn
• Rural Bank on YouTube

This show is produced in collaboration with Wavelength Creative. Visit wavelengthcreative.com for more information.

Jock Lawrence is an entrepreneur and founder of Mobble (or Chief Mobbler!), a digital app that allows farmers to track and manage their livestock. Mobble is a simple, easy to use platform that enables farmers to take charge of their own farm management.

In this episode, Jock’s shares how he was inspired to come up with Mobble upon returning to the family farm. He also takes us through his personal farming journey so far, and walks through his mission: to make farmers' lives easier through technology.

 

Resources and links:

• https://www.mobble.io/
• [email protected]

 

Connect:

• Rural Bank website
• Rural Bank on Facebook
• Rural Bank on Twitter
• Rural Bank on LinkedIn
• Rural Bank on YouTube

This show is produced in collaboration with Wavelength Creative. Visit wavelengthcreative.com for more information.

Jim Pratley is a Professor of Agriculture at Charles Sturt University (previously Wagga Wagga Ag College) and has been for almost 50 years. Over that time, he taught courses in agronomy and related areas and has published widely on the topics of conservation farming, weed management, herbicide resistance and allelopathy. He was also the Foundation Dean of Science and Agriculture at CSU from 1990 until 2006.

Jim is also an advocate for the industry and uses his knowledge and experience to drive real change and inspire the next generation. In this episode, Jim speaks with us about how he led the fight for universities to continue teaching agriculture and why he believes it’s important, and why we need to continue to build the ag workforce.

 

Connect:

• Rural Bank website
• Rural Bank on Facebook
• Rural Bank on Twitter
• Rural Bank on LinkedIn
• Rural Bank on YouTube

This show is produced in collaboration with Wavelength Creative. Visit wavelengthcreative.com for more information.

Simone Kain is co-owner of creative agency Hello Friday and co-founder and author of the award-winning educational brand, George the Farmer. Simone and her husband Justin are also raising three young boys on their family property near Penola, South Australia, which specialises in beef-cattle trading and sheep for meat and wool.

In this episode, Simone shares the story of how George the Farmer began in 2012 when Simone was trawling the internet looking for farming books and apps for her farm-obsessed son, George. Simone quickly discovered a hole in the market. And in 2014, George the Farmer was officially born, with the story quickly spilling outside storybooks and into new mediums…

 

Resources and links:

• George the Farmer - Website
• George the Farmer - YouTube
• George the Farmer - Spotify

 

Connect:

• Rural Bank website
• Rural Bank on Facebook
• Rural Bank on Twitter
• Rural Bank on LinkedIn
• Rural Bank on YouTube

This show is produced in collaboration with Wavelength Creative. Visit wavelengthcreative.com for more information.

Claudia Kirby is an Agricultural Analyst with ProFarmer, where she works with various data sources to help farmers make decisions and inform the industry about the latest trends.

In this episode, Claudia shares how she grew up in the grain industry and how it has taken her from the Western Australian Wheatbelt to Kansas in the US, over to Victoria and across the ditch to New Zealand. She also discusses how these experiences not only exposed her to different crops, such as soybeans and corn, but ignited an interest in grain futures markets, which she’s now bringing to her work in Australia.

 

Connect:

• Rural Bank website
• Rural Bank on Facebook
• Rural Bank on Twitter
• Rural Bank on LinkedIn
• Rural Bank on YouTube

This show is produced in collaboration with Wavelength Creative. Visit wavelengthcreative.com for more information.

John Droppert is what you might call a dairy junkie. Having grown up on his parent's dairy farm in Victoria, working weekends and school holidays, he was encouraged to leave the industry and not come back… Yet he’s now the Industry Insights and Analysis Manager at Dairy Australia.

In this episode, John shares how his interest in both social media and content has turned him into both the producer of Dairy Australia’s podcast as well as one of the most prolific Twitter users in the industry. We also discuss his ideas for how the dairy industry can attract and retain talent.

 

Connect:

• Rural Bank website
• Rural Bank on Facebook
• Rural Bank on Twitter
• Rural Bank on LinkedIn
• Rural Bank on YouTube

This show is produced in collaboration with Wavelength Creative. Visit wavelengthcreative.com for more information.

David and Natalie Egerton-Warburton are the husband and wife team behind Agrimaster, a company that specialises in delivering financial, compliance and growth solutions to farm businesses via software, training and consultative support.

Natalie has an extensive background in banking and finance, with an amazing gift for numbers and an entrepreneurial spirit. She heads up the finance, HR and operations side of Agrimaster. David combines his experience in the ag industry, along with a keen interest in innovative business practices, to find solutions that help farmers make money and keep money.

In this episode, David and Natalie share the history behind Agrimaster, their connection to agriculture, and how they’re passionate about encouraging farm businesses to see themselves as just that – businesses.

 

Connect:

• Rural Bank website
• Rural Bank on Facebook
• Rural Bank on Twitter
• Rural Bank on LinkedIn
• Rural Bank on YouTube

This show is produced in collaboration with Wavelength Creative. Visit wavelengthcreative.com for more information.