Have you heard of 'Pig Tits and Parsley Sauce'? 

What about that lady in the news who, for 2018, set herself a budget of $1000 for groceries?!

Lyn Webster has been dairy farming on her own for 15 years throughout provincial New Zealand. From an urban background in banking, admin and retail management, she went into farming at 31. Lyn went to live on a dairy farm in Stratford, Taranaki where her then partner was employed.

My goal is to keep on milking cows until I am an old old lady and then hopefully have enough money to buy a little house near the sea.”

After a year the couple brought 170 cows and went 50/50 sharemilking. Unfortunately the relationship ended and Lyn moved out with 2 young girls, an old dog and a Honda Ascot car, which she still drives, although she claims its the worst thing ever! Circumstances saw her managing a 130 cow dairy farm when the herd owner broke his leg, and made the great decision to hire a female single parent with limited experience! A wet February saw her beat the farm record, giving her confidence to chase a variable order job. In her second season Lyn won the Taranaki Variable Order Sharemilker of the year. From there, together with a business partner, Lyn went 50/50 sharemilking on the next door farm. The business partnership ended and she took her half of the herd and leased more cows moving slowly up the ranks with two other 50/50 jobs. Lyn has now spent five seasons leasing a challenging 220 cow farm in Ahipara, Northland.

Alongside a busy farming career, Lyn is an AB technician and completed a diploma in agriculture along the way. She writes a fortnightly column for The Waikato Times mainly about farming called 'Pig Tits and Parsley Sauce', which is also the name of a book Lyn had published in 2013 about sustainable grocery shopping. Lyn also maintains a website that highlights sustainable living ideas, discussions and products/books. - www.pigtitsandparsleysauce.co.nz. 

“I love rearing calves and working with milking cows. I try to encourage natural animal health practices, and have not had the vet in for three years. I love the basics of farming, like working my dogs Miller and Flea, and riding around on the farm bike. My goal is to keep on milking cows until I am an old old lady and then hopefully have enough money to buy a little house near the sea.”

 Introducing Dot Kettle from Pure Peony! Dot and her partner Georgia have a 100 acres farm where they grow Peonies in Wakefield near Nelson.

We talk: 

Apologies for a few scratchy connectivity moments (the joys of rural broadband!)

*SheEO is a global community of women radically transforming how we finance, support, and celebrate female innovators

To shop the Pure Peony range, head to their website -  https://purepeony.com/  

The last interview I had the privilege of conducting at the Grow 2019 Agri-summit was with the fascinating, Melissa Clark-Reynolds.  We talked farming business models and whether farmers are farming the land or the product. We covered farm diversification and how that can bring women back into the farming business. Also about how urban women ARE actually interested in how we farm - we feed their families after all!

We also talked carbon, family/children and whether there is such a thing as 'balance' - Melissa's theory on balance is one to hear! I thoroughly enjoyed this discussion and think you will too.

Melissa Clark-Reynolds, ONZM, is the first independent director of Beef + Lamb New Zealand—the farmer-owned, industry organisation representing New Zealand's sheep and beef farmers.

She is best known as a digital strategist, foresight practitioner, and professional director, and has 25 years’ experience as an entrepreneur and in the business startup community. She has been CEO of a number of technology companies. She is a Governor of Radio NZ, sits on the Boards of Kiwi Insurance and Jasmax, and chairs the LINZ Risk & Audit Committee.

Melissa was a Member of MPI’s Primary Growth Partnership Investment Advisory Panel from 2014 to 2016. She has attended the Te Hono Bootcamp at Stanford University, trained as a Foresight Practitioner with The Institute For The Future in Palo Alto, and trained with Clayton Christiansen in his approach to Disruptive Innovation through Harvard (HBX).

She keeps bees and tweets as @HoneyBeeGeek.

Kerensa Johnston and Rachel Taulelei are two incredible Maori women leading the way in agribusiness.  I had a fantastic chat not only about what they are involved with now, but WHY they do it. We talk about the values and objectives of Kono and Wakatū and how the two businesses work together. How they balance life, family and career, how they integrate family into a corporate working environment and what their tips are for you. It's also fantastic to hear how Rachel and Kerensa's working life reflects and inspires their daughters!

I feel it would do them, and you a disservice to not include their full bio's below:

Kerensa is the Chief Executive of Wakatū Incorporation, which has approximately 4,000 shareholders who descend from the original Māori land owners of the Nelson, Tasman and Golden Bay Regions – Te Tau Ihu. 

Kerensa is also the Chair of Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga, the Māori Centre of Research Excellence.

A graduate of Victoria University, Kerensa is a lawyer who has worked as a solicitor in the private sector, a legal academic at the Faculty of Law, University of Auckland, where she specialised in Māori legal development, public law and land law and as a Barrister. 

She also has a Masters in Laws in International Law (First Class Honours) from the University of Auckland and is a member of the International Association of Corporate Counsel, Corporate Lawyers’ New Zealand and Te Hunga Roia. 

Kerensa is of Ngāti Tama, Ngāruahine and Ngāti Whāwhakia descent.

Rachel (Ngāti Raukawa, Ngāti Rarua, Ngāti Koata) has been CEO of Kono NZ, a Māori-owned, top 100 New Zealand food and beverage company employing over 400 staff and exporting to over 25 countries. Kono brands include Tohu, Kono and Aronui wines, Tutū cider, Kono mussels, Kiwa oysters and Annies fruit bars. Kono also grows apples, pears, kiwifruit and hops, and is involved in sustainable seafood through its business Yellow Brick Road—founded by Rachel.

Rachel was formerly NZ Trade Commissioner in Los Angeles. She is a fierce advocate of New Zealand’s primary industry and has spent 20 years promoting Aotearoa as a world-class producer of food and beverages.

Her directorships include Moana NZ, Wellington Regional Stadium Trust, New Zealand Wine Growers, Aquaculture New Zealand, and the Young Enterprise Trust. 

Rachel has received the Sir Peter Blake Leadership Award, and is a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to food and hospitality. She has been a Prime Minister’s Business Scholar and in 2018 was named Māori Woman Business Leader at the prestigious University of Auckland Aotearoa Māori Business Leaders Awards. In 2018 Rachel was selected to be on the Prime Minister’s Business Advisory Council.

Hayley Rhind is the designer and director of White Chalk which she started with her sister in-law Ginny by accident. Hayley thought she was destined to be the boy on their Marlborough sheep and beef farm until a few clothes she designed and got Ginny to make while living in Vietnam turned into a million dollar business and some very steep learning curves. With no experience in fashion Hayley now works along side Ginny, brother Nathan, a team of 10 and is very proudly New Zealand made. 

Hayley and I talked about how the business was started, why they decided to move production from Vietnam to New Zealand, what it's like working with family and their upcoming plans with launching two new labels this spring!! 

Amy Keller is Founder and CEO of PurePlus+, a plant based powder created from up-cycled fruits and vegetables that otherwise would be wasted, used to add a nutrient boost into a range of food products including beverages, nutrition bars, super food powder blends, and baking products.   

Amy and I talk food waste statistics, and the fact that we can already feed 10 billion people, the global population estimate for 2050, but we waste a huge percentage of it. Listen in to hear the statistics.

Bayuble Woodford House comprises three 2018 graduates of Woodford House—Maggie Peacock, Sarah Wixon, and Zoe Rookes—who joined efforts to extensively research and solve a plastic problem in the fruit industry by encouraging people to wash their fruit. 

Their creation—the Uble—is a plastic-free, biodegradable, warm-water soluble alternative for the plastic fruit sticker. Made from apple byproducts, the Uble is set to revolutionise how fruit is labelled.

The Uble is currently in the R+D, prototype stage but this team is strong as is their passion and drive. Watch closely!

Penny Clark-Hall is the founder of New Zealand’s first Social Licence Consultancy, which helps farmers and agribusinesses earn and maintain their Social Licence to Operate (SLO).

Now a Kellogg Rural Leader, Penny has specialised in primary industry PR and Communications. Prior to that, she worked in the film and television industry and as a Video Journalist for Sky News in the Parliamentary Press Gallery.

Here is the link to Penny's Kellogg Report.

We talk about WHAT IS social licence to operate, how you can get it and who is doing it well. A very important factor for operating in the NZ primary industries!

 Kay Baxter has been an organic gardener for 50 years is the co-founder of the Koanga Institute. She has a vast knowledge of home gardening, nutrient dense food production and the links between regenerative food growing and human health.

The Institute and its founders have brought together, New Zealand’s largest collection of NZ heritage vegetable seeds, over 800, and a northern bio-regional heritage fruit tree and national berries collection of over 400 over a 30 year period.

Today I took an angle with Kay around regenerative agriculture. We spoke about the human health, food health, soil health cycle and had a discussion about how farmers would benefit from integrating these systems into their land to give better results while helping the world with carbon and producing more nutrient dense foods. Kay is so passionate, informed and has so much knowledge to share - it's inspiring!

We talk so often about plants using the nutrients in the soil, but how often do you think about the goodness plants put back into the soil?

Now firstly you must excuse my head-cold-voice and brain!

I always enjoy talking to Gerard, he's thoughtful, insightful and has a unique 'way' about him that makes him very comfortable to talk to. Gerard has a fantastic history from training to become a priest to teaching to counselling and more. Gerard is now a consultant who founded and runs the FMG funded rural mental health campaign, Farmstrong. 

The Farmstong team and researchers did a study last year, titled "Farming Women on Wellbeing". This research produced a fantastic range of findings to help industry understand the issues facing rural women while also providing data allowing us to prioritise and work out what to attack first.

We also talk about the new, upcoming #metime campaign!