The winners are:
- Judy Shepherd, Shepherd Citrus, Gayndah
- Fiona George, Broken Nose Vanilla, Babinda
- Belinda Adams, Coastal Hydroponics, Gilston, and
- Melinda Brimblecombe, Moira Farming Pty Ltd, Forest Hill
The NAB Agribusiness – Growcom Women in Horticulture Professional Development bursaries aim to encourage women in the fruit and vegetable industry to further develop their business capabilities and leadership skills through on-going involvement in training, industry conferences or other professional development opportunities.
"The four women selected come from diverse businesses and a range of locations with unique challenges they are grappling with in their businesses," said Growcom CEO Alex Livingstone.
"Judy Shepherd has been involved in the horticulture industry for 25 years and manages the administrative and long term strategic planning side of the family business, Shepherd Citrus at Gayndah. She has a Bachelor of IT (Computer Software Engineering) but is keen to upgrade her skills in marketing to include social networking platforms, particularly with the trend toward mobile applications, in order to find out how they might enhance the profile of small agricultural businesses and open up more cost effective marketing channels," said Mr Livingstone.
"She would particularly like to be able to create a launching platform: a site that could be the hub for regional/state small agricultural businesses to interact with their direct consumers, support them administratively and offer training and support to the business owner so that they are able to update and control their own content.
"Fiona George has worked in the horticulture industry for 25 years, including the last seven running her own niche market business producing vanilla in Babinda. She has a Post Graduate Diploma in Environmental Management, a Diploma in Applied Science and qualifications as a Food Safety Supervisor.
"Fiona also wants to improve her understanding of marketing to help build the new regional food brand, Taste Paradise, in tropical north Queensland, and to work with other farmers and relevant agencies to achieve diversity in agriculture that will sustain rural/regional communities.
"Belinda Adams works for the family business, Coastal Hydroponics, on the Gold Coast, in a range of senior management roles. The business supplies all varieties of herbs, whole lettuce, pak and buk choy.
"Belinda has a degree in education and was recently appointed to the Board of EnviroVeg, a program dedicated to creating a profitable vegetable industry that is based on environmentally sustainable production. She wants to continue researching and developing value added products that the family business currently offers and to improve production practices and new products that may be viable.
"She will use the bursary to visit other growers interstate to gather insights regarding how to improve current practices in growing and processing.
"Melinda Brimblecombe is the office manager at the family business, Moira Farms at Forest Hill in the Lockyer Valley which grows sweet corn, green beans, onions, broccoli, beetroot, seed and grain. She has worked in horticulture for 20 years.
"She is working hard to motivate other women in production horticulture to gain the recognition they deserve for their years of on-the-job experience in farm offices.
"She has recognised that many women working in farm offices are involved in high level business matters - from stock control, workforce and industrial relations, to induction training, payroll and financial planning - yet they do not have the recognised qualifications to validate their skills.
"She is currently working on a project to raise awareness about how people who work in farm offices can gain a Certificate IV or Diploma in Agribusiness Management by having their years of experience credited through a process called Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL). She is keen to take the concept to other agricultural industries, not just horticulture.
"The horticulture industry is being strengthened by the growing influence of dynamic, innovative women who are bringing new approaches to business and markets.
"Most technical, professional development or leadership opportunities available in the horticulture industry tend to target men, so Growcom’s Women in Horticulture initiative has been a way to support women in our industry,” Mr Livingstone said.
Growcom hosted the awards ceremony to honour the four bursary winners, highlight Queensland’s dynamic and diverse horticulture industry, recognise the roles women play in horticulture and celebrate the Australian Year
of the Farmer.
Speakers on the program included Katrina Hobbs, Chairperson, Australian Year of the Farmer Committee and CEO of Eden Farms, which supplies continental cucumbers from farms in Bundaberg and Hampton near Toowoomba.
Growcom has been proud to partner with NAB Agribusiness in delivering Women in Horticulture regional forums throughout Queensland this year. The sponsorship has allowed Growcom to organise high quality events and involve inspirational and topical presenters.
NAB Agribusiness offered the four professional development bursaries each valued at $1000 to encourage horticultural businesswomen who have been involved in the initiative to continue to grow their professional
and leadership skills.
"NAB Agribusiness is proud to be supporting the Awards in order to encourage the professional development of women in Australia’s horticulture industry," said David Brett, Head of Agribusiness, NAB.
"As an industry it’s important we actively support women working in the horticulture sector in order for them to develop, grow and expand their leadership skills.
"Our partnership with Growcom is an important platform for this to occur and one we’re very pleased to be supporting."
The event was held amidst the aromas, tastes, colour and buzz of Jan Power’s Powerhouse Farmers Markets – an ideal place to showcase the vibrancy of Queensland’s horticulture industry.
For more information:
Chris Walker
Growcom
Tel: +44 (0)7 3620 3844
Fax: +44 (0)7 3620 3880
[email protected]
www.growcom.com.au