A Kyneton woman’s work to connect tree changers with experienced farmers has seen her win this year’s Victorian AgriFutures Rural Women’s Award.
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Melissa Connors received the honour for her initiative This Farm Needs a Farmer, a platform that puts people relatively new to the land in contact with experienced farmers who can help them effectively manage their properties.
Mrs Connors told the Bendigo Advertiser she was “really, really excited” to have won what she described as an amazing opportunity.
As part of the award, she has also won a $10,000 bursary to put towards the project.
She said this would allow her to seek expert advice as to what form the business should take to best serve the community.
Read more about how This Farm Needs a Farmer came about here.
The bursary would also give her the opportunity to start rolling out more services to tree changers and farmers alike, Mrs Connors said, and respond quicker to their needs.
She would also like to see the initiative expand beyond the Macedon area into other rural communities.
She said the funding boost would allow her to condense five years of progress into just one.
This Farm Needs a Farmer gives retired farmers the opportunity to stay connected to the land, and tree changers access to a wealth of knowledge and experience.
The selection panel was impressed by this aspect of Mrs Connors’ initiative, noting that it helped prevent decades of ageing farmers’ knowledge being lost.
The platform’s ability to keep retired farmers engaged was considered valuable, as was its potential to have a positive economic impact by ensuring tree changers were well-informed in using their land.
The panel also made note of the fact that such a model could be replicated in other rural communities across Australia.
Members of the panel were also impressed by Mrs Connors’ passion for her community and her leadership.
Mrs Connors thanked AgriFutures (formerly the Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation) for the opportunity.
She said she was also grateful the organisation had shone a light on women, who had a lot to offer agriculture and rural communities.