DEER farmer, food blogger and author Sophie Hansen has been named the national winner of the 2016 Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation Rural Women’s Award.
Mrs Hansen, from Orange, NSW, received the award at a gala dinner in Parliament House tonight.
The award celebrates brilliant women and the positive impact they have on rural industries, businesses and communities.
Western Australian finalist and seed producer, Kalyn Fletcher, Kununurra, was named runner-up.
As the NSW state winner, Ms Hansen received $10,000 to develop her project My Open Kitchen, an online learning course assisting food producers in the use of social media to better connect with their consumers.
As the national winner, she receives a further $10,000 to strengthen her leadership skills and share her experience with others around the country.
Ms Fletcher will use her $10,000 bursary to pursue her passion to expand tropical agriculture in Australia’s north.
Ms Fletcher will undertake a study tour of the Cerrado Region of Brazil where she will learn from South America’s highly successful tropical agriculture industry and bring new ideas and practices home to the Kimberley’s Ord River region.
Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation (RIRDC) managing director, John Harvey congratulated Mrs Hansen on winning the national award and said her desire to support farmers to use social media to capture their stories was an example of rural leadership at its best.
“Sophie will be a brilliant ambassador for the RIRDC Rural Women’s Award,” Mr Harvey said.
“She has the talent to create real change through influencing the conversation around educating consumers on where their food comes from and to buy local.
“This is a really positive message that will benefit our farmers and the broader food industry. Sophie’s passion is contagious.”
Mr Harvey also congratulated Ms Fletcher on being the national runner-up.
“Kalyn’s aspiration to further the expansion of northern Australia is exciting,” he said.
“She has the passion, drive and determination to make a difference in her region and to the wider Australian tropical agriculture industry.
“Kalyn should be commended not just for what she has already done for rural Australia, but for her leadership potential in the future.”
The state finalists were:
- NSW state winner – Sophie Hansen, Orange
- Northern Territory state winner – Martina Matzner, Humpty Doo
- Queensland state winner – Emma Robinson, Charters Towers
- South Australian state winner – Robbie Davis, Meningie
- Tasmanian state winner – Rebecca Duffy, Rowella
- Victorian state winner – Dr Jessica Lye, Melbourne
- Western Australian state winner – Kalyn Fletcher, Kununurra
Applications for the 2017 Rural Women’s Award close on October 31, 2016.
Kim Chappell
As Senior Producer - Digital for ACM's regional titles I assist newsrooms in digital best practice. Before this role, I was the digital journalist with ACM's national team and prior to that, the digital specialist with ACM's Agricultural division. I started as a general rounds journalist with The Land in 2006, moving up to hold the title of chief of staff before switching to digital reporting in 2015.
As Senior Producer - Digital for ACM's regional titles I assist newsrooms in digital best practice. Before this role, I was the digital journalist with ACM's national team and prior to that, the digital specialist with ACM's Agricultural division. I started as a general rounds journalist with The Land in 2006, moving up to hold the title of chief of staff before switching to digital reporting in 2015.
