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Print FriendlyYoung woman who choose a career in agriculture are still rare enough to raise an eyebrow or two at a weekly cattle sale.
Velma Bone, lecturer in management and communications at Orange Agricultural College – University of Sydney, said you could almost count on one hand the number of young women taking management positions on the land. At the 1999 graduation ceremony at the college, approximately 50 out of 200 graduates will be women. The majority of those will have studied Rural Business Administration, reflecting the tendency of farm women to take on support roles such as book-keeping, rather than management positions.
Fewer than 5% of female graduates will have studied the College’s Farm Management Course. A figure that Rob Napier, Associate Professor of Farm Management, said has not changed for 25 years. “Industry is still loathe to put women in management positions, although the number of women participating in family farming operations has improved.”
Women bring off-farm experience, higher education and different perspectives and management styles to an ageing industry. These young women differ from the majority of their mothers in that they have chosen agriculture as their career. It has not been chosen for them. For women like 26-year-old Sophia Harris the choice was easy to make.
“I went away to boarding school, completed an Arts degree at Sydney Uni majoring in Greek and Latin, travelled overseas for a year and I’ve been here ever since. No-one outside the family really expected me to come back. People still ask me how long I am home for, assuming I am just having a break before heading to the city to work.”
Sophia manages a fine wool Merino property half way between Molong and Wellington in central western NSW, near the village of Stuart Town. Her brother Tom, works with their parents on the family’s other property. When asked if she has any regrets about choosing a career on the land Sophia remarks wryly that “sometimes even see she can’t see the attraction of hoeing burrs and pulling calves.”
“Things are tough for everyone at the moment and while that doesn’t create any pressure for me to stay, it makes me aware of my responsibilities. I know if I walked out tomorrow it would be harder for everyone else.”
According to Prof. Napier the Harris family model where sons and daughters participate equally in management roles, could be the key to success in agriculture. “We can use the differences in management styles between men and women to create a powerful management culture in our rural industries. I tell my students that this is the way to be successful in today’s competitive world.”
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