Rural women making their mark in 2019

Published Monday, 04 March, 2019 at 09:00 AM

Minister for Agricultural Industry Development and Fisheries
The Honourable Mark Furner

Three Queensland women with a common passion for agriculture will be vying for the coveted top spot in this year’s AgriFutures Rural Women’s Award.

Announcing the finalists at the start of Queensland Women’s Week, Minister for Agricultural Industry Development and Fisheries Mark Furner said the Rural Women’s Award acknowledged the positive and innovative contributions of women across the agriculture industry.

The Queensland finalists are:

  • Ann Ross, Sunshine Coast - Ann is passionate about native bee sustainability and smart farming technology. She hopes to use the prize bursary to develop equipment to support research into native bee populations in regional Queensland.
  • Charlotte Durack, Brisbane. Charlotte will use her expertise in agricultural branding to produce a design, branding e-book and workshop to help agribusinesses build their brands.  
  • Natasha Roebig, Logan. Natasha is a champion for ethical beekeeping and plans to establish a training facility to encourage greater information sharing, mentoring and networking across the apiary industry.

Mr Furner congratulated the finalists and praised their aspirations to improve Queensland’s agriculture industry.   

“On behalf of the Palaszczuk Government, I thank Ann, Charlotte and Natasha for their leadership and outstanding commitment to Queensland agriculture and rural and regional communities,” he said.

Minister for Women Di Farmer said it was encouraging to see outstanding women recognised within the agricultural industry, and warmly congratulated all three finalists.

“So often in rural industries, women are the unsung heroes – quietly managing just about every aspect of a business,” she said.

“Well, it’s time to stop being quiet about it and give a huge shout out to some amazing Queensland women who are doing such incredible things for our agricultural industry.

“Well done Ann, Charlotte and Natasha!”

The Queensland winner will be announced at a Brisbane award ceremony on 21 March 2019, and will receive a $10,000 Westpac bursary and networking and professional development opportunities to assist in implementing their project. 

All finalists will join the prestigious AgriFutures alumni of rural women who are making a difference to Australian agriculture.

The annual AgriFutures Rural Women’s Award is open to all women working in agribusiness and rural and regional communities, and aims to provide a platform to support and inspire the next generation of female leaders in agriculture.

The Award is supported by the Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries and sponsored by Westpac, ABC Radio, Fairfax Agricultural Media and RM Williams Outback Magazine.

ENDS

Media contact:           Ron Goodman            0427 781 920