Life on the Land

Claire really needs no introduction but for those of you who don’t know Claire is our mighty leader, the founder of Graziher.

Claire’s pick is our special episode with Emily Herbert.

Claire found this to be a beautiful yet poignant episode as Emily chose to be really vulnerable about what she says was her toughest year, and about suffering Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and then working on her way back to better mental health.

It is a bit of a heavy episode, but balanced with the mentioning of the birth of her beautiful baby boy Huckleberry back in January 2021.

"Emily is so articulate and is such a natural storyteller that it makes sense that she can tell her story so well."

Shannon Dunne is in charge of subscriptions with the Graziher team.

Shannon's favourite Life on the Land episode so far was with Grace Quast.

Her story really resonated with Shannon and the familiar emotions that come with making a living off the land, contingency plans, harvest time and the many obstacles that come with it. Grace is also so successful with her outside interests that Shannon could not help but be inspired and energised by her.

Shannon too echoes the sentiment that any job is possible from the bush but she thinks that for someone so well travelled and with such a wide variety of life experiences it's no wonder Grace is one of our most treasured women of the land. We really hope you enjoy listening to her story again!

Today’s pick is from Sally Jackson who’s our sales and marketing guru, she also helps to run social media and for someone who’s not a journalist she has a great nose for a story too!

Sally says there are so many amazing podcasts that have been aired by Graziher this year and so to help her narrow the choice down, she went with a fellow South Australian.

Doing this did not make the choice any easier as she also personally knows all three amazing South Aussie women who have featured on Life on the Land and admire all three of them.

In the end Sally went with her heart and her other love: Wool and she picked Emily Riggs from Iris and Wool. For Emily this podcast showed that you may know someone but not always their full story.

Emily does an amazing job championing Australian Merino Wool but also importantly she does a fantastic job raising awareness for breast cancer and breast checking.

G’day, I’m Em Herbert and I’m the co-host of this podcast Life on the Land, alongside Skye. I’m also lucky enough to write for the Graziher magazine. Each week I speak to women across this big brown land of ours, who eke out an existence on the land, or whose lives and life’s work are directly entwined with the bush.

It’s excruciating to pick a favourite Life on the Land episode as there have been so many excellent yarns. However, one that stands out for me, is my chat with Olympia Yarger. I’d interviewed Olympia several times before about her extraordinary waste infrastructure business, Goterra – but I’d never delved into Olympia’s own personal story. It sent ripples throughout the Graziher community, with so many people reaching out to say they were as deeply touched by Olympia’s magnificent eloquence, her loss, her rawness and vulnerability as I was.

It made me think about grief, how inevitable it is, but also the flip side of loss – the searing love that made it possible. It also broadened my mind to Australia’s waste crisis, the power of maggots and the incredible minds on agriculture’s frontline, working with some genius solutions.

I really hope you enjoy listening to this episode again, as much as I did.

As we all wind down towards the end of 2021, and prepare ourselves to indulge in Christmas after a year that has been testing and challenging in so many ways – The Graziher and Life on the Land team would like to send you off on your Summer Break with a rolling re-cap of our favourite podcast interviews.

So Each Monday morning for the next six weeks – one team member will pick an episode that has touched them personally and we will replay it for you here.

This week we start with Skye's personal favourite, Christine Ferguson – not each episode in our Summer Series will have it’s own fresh introduction but as I am here – I’d love to tell you why I have chose this story.

Skye interviewed Christine during our first season of the podcast in September 2020, and her gentle recount of her life and it’s weighty difficulties really touched me.

How could a person not be a grumpy shell of the person they once were, after suffering all this I thought? But Christine is wise and generous with her wisdom, she doesn’t sugar coat life’s circumstances and I felt very lucky to have interviewed someone who could so articulately detail – how a love for Life on the Land – can deeply counter all adversities along the way.

Please know that this episode talks about some challenging issues including Domestic Violence. If this raises anything for you, you can call Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636

This episode of Life on the Land speaks openly about suicide and mental ill-health. If you or anyone you know is unwell or in need of assistance you can call Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636.

Farmer, mother to four and business and mindset coach Katrina Myers, from farm business Barham Avocados near the NSW, Victorian border oozes energy, enthusiasm and spark.

So much so, that we bet you’ll wonder just how she maintains such a high velocity all.the.time.

Well, as you will learn Katrina is not just ‘like’ this, in fact, she is terrified of depression.

The illness has entwined its into her family, taken the life of her father, and given her unexplained pain for many, many years.

But not any more - and she’s on a mission to make sure we never feel as bad as she once did.

So if you’re feeling it this month, as we hurtle towards Christmas, or as we support each through weather adversities like flooding, lost income or opportunity not to mention the various COVID-19 uncertainties – this stripped bare story of a life reclaimed – through lots of hard work is a resource for us all.

Thank you to this episode sponsor, Motherland Village. It is Australia’s first online rural mothers group program, connecting women across the country into their own, small, personalised group. The program runs for six weeks and will enable you to form meaningful connections and friendships with other rural mums- all in the palm of your hand.

Doors are now open for enrollment for February 2022!

And this is not your typical mother’s group! Motherland’s mission is to reduce the isolation felt by rural mums with kids of ALL ages. You can join the 0 to 3 years age bracket, 4 to 10 or 11 to 18. Because every rural mum deserves access to a mothers group, no matter where you live or how old your children are.

Spots are selling fast. Go to www.motherlandaustralia.com.au

The last 18-months has really thrown a spanner in the works of, well, work. For a lot of people, it has been an unprecedented time – learning to work from the kitchen table, often amid the chaos and debris of homeschooling.

However, this is the normal reality for a lot of women in the bush, who wear many hats for many things. While the rest of the world caught up to this thing called remote work, those on properties carried on, business as usual.

Someone who has been touting the benefits of remote work long before the global pandemic forced our hand is Jo Palmer.

Born in Jindabyne and studying teaching in Wagga Wagga, Jo spent years travelling and working overseas. When a Wagga boy literally fell out of a pub window in front of her on a Croatian sidewalk, her fate was sealed. Jo moved back to Wagga, where she and husband, Hugh raise thier two little girls, Matilda and Anthea.

Jo is an entrepreneur by nature. In 2017 at a backyard barbecue, she stumbled across the idea that would set the foundation for her business, Pointer Remote Roles – connecting people in the bush with awesome jobs across the country.

Thank you to our episode sponsor SkyMesh. Do you need access to a fast, reliable internet service at your regional home or business?

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Hooray! The Graziher summer issue is on sale! It’s such a stunning issue, with many of the stories featured meandering around the theme of friendship. I think that is probably what makes the Graziher community stand out for us – that rich sense of connection and friendship which binds us all. We can’t wait for you all to see it. And featured in the issue is today’s wonderful guest, Cressida Cains. Cheese, and its sustainable creation is Cressida’s life work. Cressida and her husband Michael craft award winning sumptuous sheep cheese in the Southern Highlands, each bite offering an expression of their farm’s entire ecosystem.

Cressida was the state winner of the 2020 Agrifutures Rural Women’s Award for NSW and the ACT, and was recently announced as the national runner up for her project Dairy Cocoon – an online education and connection platform for dairy farmers.

Named after the Italian word for sheep, Pecora Dairy boasts Australia’s only working, pure East Friesian ewes, the most productive breed of dairy sheep in the world. However, this isn’t a fourth-generation operation. The Cains traded their corporate life for greener pastures in 2011, swapping Sydney’s traffic blare for the bleating of lambs along the way.

Thank you to our episode sponsor SkyMesh. Do you need access to a fast, reliable internet service at your regional home or business?

Join Australia’s most awarded specialised rural internet provider that’s trusted by over 45,000 Aussies.

Secure your FREE nbn Sky Muster or Fixed Wireless internet installation today on a no lock-in contract.

Plans start from just $34.95 per month with Brisbane based 7-days a week support.

Make the switch today and access better internet for your home or business.

Visit skymesh.net.au to get connected or call 1300 759 637 now.

Service availability is determined by nbn.

Most of you will know today’s guest Fiona Simson as the first female president of Australia peak body for agriculture, the National Farmers Federation. There’s not many days that go by that she’s not quoted in a newspaper or seen on the TV or interviewed for radio.

But did you know that politics and advocacy were never really in Fiona’s sites.

She’s ended up in this position because she didn’t have a huge demanding job. Years ago she was the one in her community that had some extra time to take on the lengthy plight of farmers effected by the land development proposals of a multi million dollar mining company.

This process solidified where her passions really lay and she’s gone on to represent farmers on all kinds of levels. But behind the scenes – Fiona Simson – really is your girl next door kind of woman - who loves making marmalade, camping who batch-cooks for her family for when she is away and remains incredibly humble.

Thank you to our episode sponsor SkyMesh. Do you need access to a fast, reliable internet service at your regional home or business?

Join Australia’s most awarded specialised rural internet provider that’s trusted by over 45,000 Aussies.

Secure your FREE nbn Sky Muster or Fixed Wireless internet installation today on a no lock-in contract.

Plans start from just $34.95 per month with Brisbane based 7-days a week support.

Make the switch today and access better internet for your home or business.

Visit skymesh.net.au to get connected or call 1300 759 637 now.

Service availability is determined by nbn.

When you’re a teenager – you’re on the cusp of life in the big wide world and that is exhilarating and debilitating in the same breath.

It’s a time when a mish-mash of expectations from all corners of the universe collie – leaving you, the teenager, on any given day feeling, fabulous and confident, full of bravado and then tired, then anxious, then insecure, uncertain and full of tears and fears.

It’s such a challenging time.

Our guest today Ruby Riethmuller is building an organisation where girls lead girls through this tricky time, by matching teenage girls with a sister-like figure who’s not intimidating, who’s young and she gets it.

Last month Ruby’s idea shot to fame when she won the BFTB and PayPal AU Big Break competition – which means a whole suite of new tools can be added to her innovative approach to young mental health.

Thank you to our episode sponsor SkyMesh. Do you need access to a fast, reliable internet service at your regional home or business?

Join Australia’s most awarded specialised rural internet provider that’s trusted by over 45,000 Aussies.

Secure your FREE nbn Sky Muster or Fixed Wireless internet installation today on a no lock-in contract.

Plans start from just $34.95 per month with Brisbane based 7-days a week support.

Make the switch today and access better internet for your home or business.

Visit skymesh.net.au to get connected or call 1300 759 637 now.

Service availability is determined by nbn.