Bronnie Taylor used to be a Politician.

In the NSW Parliament.

In Cabinet as a Minister for Mental Health, Regional Health and Women.

She's not a politician any more.

But still holds the same vivacious energy to celebrate, elevate and advocate.

Particularly for regional women and regional health services.

This is a Manson Podcasting podcast in partnership with Rabobank Australia.

Are you looking for a girls getaway - that's truely a girls getaway.

As in no phone service, beautiful surroundings, the chance to fully recharge and properly catch up with your nearest and dearest.

Rove Numby - run by Lou Crawford at Reid's Flat near Cowra and Boorowa in the NSW southern tablelands - is all that an more

Cocktail Bars are replaced with a wood fire in a ramshackle old stone homestead, there hiking in place of shopping and glamping tents replace overprices hotels.

What's more Rove Numby is part of a commercial modern day farm operation and Lou thinks this is part of its draw - the people who come there also get the chance to have a full, open and relaxed conversation about the details of farming that get glossed over in TV shows or newspaper articles.

This is a Manson Podcasting production in partnership with Rabobank Australia.

You can find Rove Numby here online or @rovenumby on Instagram.

Keep in the loop with our conversation via our weekly newsletter companyonsundays.substack.com

Edwina Sharrock OAM is an extreme extrovert - its true she's done the tests - and rather than trying to quieten her spirit she's run with it - and achieved a LOOOOTT.

Edwina grew up in Tamworth, went away and returned. Now she lives with her husband, two children and fave child-dog Daryl on five acres in a house her husband build just outside of town.

This story is not really about Edwina's life but about her growth as an incredible business woman in rural Australia.

Her business Birth Beat - started as a birthing course for locals in her living room and segued into a recognised and respected anti-natal course utilised by most of the large hospitals in Sydney and big corporate employers such as SalesForce. There was a little run for her money on Shark Tank also thrown in there and now the business has been sold to Device Technologies, an Australian based Med -Tech company.

She the Deputy Chair of the Hunter New England Central Coast Primary Health Network and the Co-Chair of the Telstra Regional Council.

She was the National winner of the Commonwealth Bank 21-day Challenge Innovation Award,

a Google Regional Online Hero, Nominated for Hesta Nurse/Midwife of the Year, winner of NSW Telstra small business award, Oceana alumni of the Cartier Women's Initiative and listed in the AFR 100 women influence.

So I guess you can imagine that the last 18 months since selling Birth Beat have been a challenging transition - but she's back in the fold - and here to share her learnings.

This is a Manson Podcasting Production in partnership with Rabobank Australia.

Today's guest is well known to rural Australian's and every media outlet in the country,

If you see an innovative rural story written up in the Australian or a regional woman in Country Style or someone cool on the Today show - chances are Georgie Robertson has had a hand in getting the story there.

Georgie is the Regional PR Co which will now become the Regional PR and Co - because this years she's scaling up.

I often sit and wonder how she does all she does, her work championing the best and most innovative and impactful businesses outside of the cities seems endless and her own impact is not to be underestimated.

This chat is about just that - how she manages it all - but let's start at the most exciting part and that is - what will be new for her in 2025.

This is a Manson Podcasting production in partnership with Rabobank Australia - join our weekly conversation via the Company on Sunday newsletter at companyonsundays.substack.com

Hello and welcome back to Company for 2025 - it feel like about 3 years since I was last talking with you.

We've got an exciting year of stories lined up for you in 2025 as well as some live events in the works as well. Make sure you subscribe or follow the podcast to keep abreast of these things.

To start off the year - our podcast is sounding a bit different today - as we have not one but two guests - and for the first time ever we have a male interviewee on the airwaves.

So grab your husbands - and get them on board too because I know they will love both the male and the female in this chat.

Today we hear from Olympic Gold Medallist, commentator, professional speaker and farmer, Giaan Rooney and her fifth generation cattle farmer husband Sam Levett who also runs the livestock buying and selling platform: The Herd Online.

These guys led a *hectic* life that juggles farming, children, an innovative agricultural platform, TV gigs and just for good measure a huge house renovation too.

Giaan Rooney knew nothing about farming or agriculture for most of her life until she met Sam - and now she could hold her own amongst most of the farming greats - she's an excellent advocate for our industry -

We talked for literally hours to record this podcast, that's just the nature of their story so without further ado - let's hear it .

This is a Manson Podcasting production in partnership with Rabobank Australia.

You can find a BONUS encore of Giaans' story by becoming a paid subscriber to our newsletter Company on Sundays. Sign up here - looking forward to seeing you there!

Skye Ward's journey as a mother, daughter, granddaughter and professional have taken many weaves and turns, especially in the last few years.

After a series of personally challenging events; trouble holding pregnancies, an industrial waste development proposal over the hill from her family home and then managing COVID lockdowns with a two week old baby and two older children - all of a sudden and seemingly with no notice, Skye hit a brick wall... she was really pushed to the edge

And it spurred on some big 'make you feel sick' kind of life decisions.

The biggest decision for the Ward family it was to sell the family farm, which had been in her mothers family for generations.

The reason I wanted to have Skye on this podcast not primarily because she has been through a lot but also because I think she has so much to offer in the way she articulates what she's learnt from these times.

And I think, well I hope her reflections on this most challenging of times - might be a balm to you too, as you navigate life's inevitable twists and turns.

Why does a psychologist become a psychologist?

Especially in rural Australia?

For Chantal Corish it has always been very private to her. She's never shared her true motivations publicly - but she does, here today.

Chantel has been practising psychology in rural Australia, Goondiwindi to be precise, for almost 20 years now

Right now she's undergoing a doctorate of philosophy specifically looking at safety on cotton farms - it's fascinating, innovative work that she hopes can one day be applied to all farms, not just cotton farms in Australia - she says it's the most joyful work she's done to date.

This conversation twists and turns - but we started at the beginning when she first decided to become a psychologist in a rural town - something pretty uncommon for the times.

This is a Manson Podcasting production in partnership with Rabobank Australia.

This is a little bit of a having your cake and eating it too kinda story.

Today's guest is an impressive example of a women who's managed to run a world-class business in the city while remaining strongly involved in the evolution of her family farm.

Ali Lord is the CEO of Headbox Australia, an innovative digital events company that she runs by going between her family farm in remote north QLD and head office in Sydney.

I've been wanting to speak with Ali since I heard her parents Artie and Casey Lord speak about succession planning at the Rabobank Tent at Beef Week.

Really, really impressive stuff.

And Ali, our guest today- their daughter - is the proof in the pudding.

CEO of her own company (which has not a lot to do with ag) and a silent partner, family stakeholder of the farm with a fiance who's a manager there.

This interview has a bit of everything - it's defs got a girl boss vibe and there's talk about succession planning, productvity hacks, travel tips, podcast recommendations, how to run a good business, childhood influences, gardening and even Elon Musk.

This is a Manson Podcasting production in partnership with Rabobank Australia.

One of the worlds biggest supermodels, arguably the world biggest supermodel, Gigi Hadid has commissioned an art work from a young artist who lives in Trangie in Central West NSW

Lottie Rae works from a shipping container at hoe home in Trangie where she live with her husband and two boys.

Last year she ditched her coffee shop and homewares shop in town to become a full time artist- and thank god she did otherwise we would not have this story to tell.

This is a Manson Podcasting production in partnership with Rabobank Australia.

We're all scouring the socials, the internet and the shops for 'gifts' right now - pressie giving season is here!

When I think about rural and regional businesses that make great presents - Whitney Spicer immediately comes to mind.

She an artist, who now also makes 'products' - scarves, tea towels, hats, shirts - from her small farm farm at Manildra near Orange in NSW where she lives with her husband and three young boys.

She's been clever in growing her brand awareness through collaborations. And is now looking forward to making wholesaling another pillar of her business.

If you're interested in collaborations, branded products and the world of wholesaling this is a great chat to get your ears around

Find Whitney and her products @whitneyspicer on Instagram or get shopping at whitneyspicer.com

This is a Manson podcasting production in partnership with Rabobank Australia.

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