Women in Farming’s annual seminar attracts 150 inspiring ladies to Pingelly for a full day of discussions

Pingelly was the place to be when more than 150 women from across WA gathered for the annual Women in Farming seminar, with demand so strong tickets sold out weeks ahead of the event. This year’s event was held on September 14 with the theme Finding Your Place, attracting a strong line-up of speakers to the Pingelly Recreation and Cultural Centre for the full-day event. The Livestock Collective representative Fiona Baird kept the audience entertained with her story, before 2WorkinOz owner Ley Webster discussed how to mitigate issues finding and retaining staff. Pacer Legal co-founder Stephen Park and senior associate Mel Adams, who spoke about succession planning, and PocessWorx founder Danielle McNamee gave a timely human resources update. Dryandra branch president Eliza Dowling said the event attracted support from sponsors and said branch members — especially secretary Simone Lansdell — worked hard to make the day a success. Among the local speakers were Gabrielle and Kate Cousins of West Popanyinning, who explained their commercial business Two Little Chicks, and The Remedy Physio and Pilates owner Rhiannon Mouritz — who spoke about “creating her place” off-farm. A panel discussion facilitated by Farmanco management consultant Mike Monaghan featured FarmWorks Narrogin agronomist Hilary Wittwer, alongside Audrey Bird of Windorah Farms and Kylie Dowling of Dowlco Livestock. Women in Farming vice-president Davina Gossage said all 13 branches had been represented at the event, which presented a “unique opportunity for networking, fun and engagement”. “Dryandra branch created a wonderful, informative event, showcased so beautifully,” she said. “It was fantastic to hear the learnings from such a diverse group of inspirational ladies”. Krysta Guillee Photography captured the day, with Ms Guillee — who recently joined the new Albany Women in Farming branch — saying it was a “joy to meet a bunch of new women and reconnect with old country friends”. Women in Farming is a vibrant membership-based organisation with branches spanning from Cranbrook in the south, Varley in the east, Boyup Brook in the west, Kondinin to the north and many branches in between.