Humans of Agriculture

G’day! This week we recorded with Danyel Cucinotta on her family farm in Werribee South, the traditional lands of the Bunurong and Wadawurrung People. It was great to meet Danyel in person, she’s got a real enthusiasm that’s almost infectious and I think that comes across strongly in our conversation - but she wasn't always this enthusiastic about eggs.Danyel loves her family, her community and her chooks, and as well as being the youngest ever Vice President of the VFF, she is Chair of the VFF Child Safety on Farms Steering Committee.In this chat we cover:Her early interests in Hospitality and eventsHow a chance advocacy opportunity alongside her Dad led her back to the farmLife on the farm as a kid alongside her sisterHer experience being the youngest VFF Vice President How she has found a voice for child safety advocacyThe ways intensive agriculture benefit the communityIn this chat we do cover some themes such as farm safety, and specifically accidents relating to children on farms and they may be triggering to some.

Belle Binder is the first one to admit that she's been on a steep learning curve in the world of farming and labour hire. With a background in marketing, business and psychology, Belle and her husband were looking to take over a business, but they certainly weren't expecting to enter the agriculture industry.Belle leans on her own experiences in the workplace and takes the approach of matchmaking to help farmers and workers find the right fit for them. Her mission with Left Field is to have a positive impact on the livelihoods of farmers and workers, and improve some of the working culture on Australia’s farms.  

Right back in the early days of 2020 I remember reaching out to Hugh, time of year: summer. Day – not sure. Location: Barwon Heads on the side of the road. At the time: Hugh was the Head Stockman on Beetaloo Station and I was just blown away by how mature he was. Hugh came on for a chat for episode 25 of the podcast. I feel pretty fortunate to nowadays call Hugh a mate and someone I’ve had plenty of conversations with.  In that episode, we talked about what Hugh was up to and his passion for advocating for the northern beef industry. He was fairly settled in his role, and had big aspirations for where his career would take him. Switching the chopper cab for a classroom and the stock camp for a shoebox of a bedroom didn’t seem to be on the list. Fast forward to 2021 and Hugh was a finalist in the Zanda McDonald Award, he recognised he wanted to learn more and even came up with his own succession plan at the age of 23 to make himself redundant & pursue further education.I have wanted to sit down with Hughie for a while and chat about his first year of at Marcus Oldham. What lead to the decision to study, what the year has been like, with Movember underway how he’s kept himself mentally healthy and how getting familiar with himself has enabled him to push the boundaries of what he’s capable of.  

Imagine at the age of 10 with the help of your Grandma, you discover and decide on what career you want to pursue and what university course you will study. Well that was the reality for Talulah Gaunt. Growing up in South West London, Talulah always loved animals. In her early days the interest was found through zoo's and aquariums until as a consumer she began to become more interested in farming.One day she was exposed to someone who was a campaigner, and this led Talulah down a pathway to find out more about farm animal welfare and the world leading standards within the UK. This took her on to what she calls 'an obsession' to find our more about food, product labelling, marketing and especially animal welfare messaging.  I’m amazed with Talulah's self-awareness and willingness to broaden her perspectives. She’s spent time working on dairy farms in Wales and New Zealand before heading over to Australia and as part of her visa working on a grains and cotton property in the Northern NSW town of North Star. I found this chat really refreshing, it is so true that there is no linear pathway that 'you must follow this pathway to be in agriculture' and Talulah is a prime example of that. Anyone with a passion can get involved in agriculture.Today, Talulah is the Manager for RSPCA Approved Farming Scheme, her work involves overseeing the programs for higher animal welfare across Australian farms to transition to higher welfare practices.

Welcome back to the Humans of Agriculture podcast. We missed you all last week, sometimes life gets a little busy and last week I was in New Zealand and thought we had things covered, however, we just couldn't quite manage the juggle. This week I’m sitting down with a man who is a huge advocate for Mental Health, while we’re on that topic – if you haven’t donated to our Movember page – check it out with the link HERE. Brendan Magee is an agronomist with Elders and he reckons his little pocket of Beaudesert in Qld could well be one of the greatest spots to be in Australia. Brendan’s journey is certainly an interesting one from working with race horses, to the paddocks as an agronomist and where we happened to find him for this chat.He understands the challenges with farming in Australia and wants to see the conversations around mental health shift. He’s doing his fair share too, he is part of the Elders Wellbeing Committee, has started up mental health Mondays and takes an active role in chatting with his colleagues and clients around the importance of being mentally healthy.

Welcome to our first check-in for Movember.You're listening in on Sam Fryer and I having a chat and checking in on each other. This month we're encouraging those in our community Using Movember as the month to get your annual check up - check the cherries, visit the doctor, get a skin cancer check, and check in on your own mental health.We also chat about a few ideas for the month that we'd probably be keen to do more often including Unlocking our childlike fun and Mental Health Monday's. Our team is open to everyone and anyone: Link HERE

There's not many people that can pay their way through university through being a cowboy, but my next guest has done exactly that.Today, Luke Chaplain hasn't quite given up the dream but it has taken a bit of a backseat to his work today. From Cloncurry he is running a growing film business alongside his sister while also undertaking a Nuffield Scholarship into the opportunities for Drones in mustering in agriculture. You'll hear:1) How does Luke get ready to ride bucking bronc's on the weekend2) Some of his travels around the world competing3) The role of the Farmers 2 Founders course in getting him up[ to speed in being business ready4) Trialling 1,000 different jobs from acting, to media, professional bronc rider and today a small business owner.

Kristina Hermanson is enjoying a sabbatical currently, so what better time to sit down with her and reflect on her career so far and ask some of those questions about what has driven her and what continues to drive her.Kristina is starting a new role with Nuveen, a natural capital asset Manager in January. Her new role is Head of Natural Capital for Asia Pacific and Africa, so I had to ask her – How does a CEO get ready for their first day of work?Also in this conversation we cover:How her leadership style has changed as she’s transitioned businesses and industriesHow she brings other people within her team onboard with her visionThe balance of showing up and putting on a brave face and being vulnerableWhere she see’s the role of agriculture heading into the futureHow agriculture can be more inclusive as an industryIf you haven't checked out our newest podcast 'In The Know, On The Go' it's helping get the agriculture community across what matters, be sure to follow the links below:Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/in-the-know-on-the-go/id1648678449?uo=4Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0dblOpr5vn4osWip67FoY3

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/in-the-know-on-the-go/id1648678449Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0dblOpr5vn4osWip67FoY3?si=81738e2e45d94aceSick of sifting through the paper? Waiting around only to miss the headlines play through the wireless?In The Know, On The Go by Humans of Agriculture gets you up to speed on the things that matter in Aussie Agribusiness and then join us as we do a deep dive on a topic you want to know more about.

Steph Schmidt is a Farmer, Mum, Psychologist, Small Business owner and incredibly passionate about the future for Agriculture through its people.Steph is the 2020 winner of the Agrifutures Rural Woman's Award for South Australia, the award enabled her to build on her idea focused on making paddock tested psychological tools more accessible to farmers and Rural Australia.  Living through drought in 2019, Steph was asked to run a few community sessions to help people get some skills in resilience and looking after themselves. These sessions were the instigator for her applying for the Rural Woman's Award. Today, her work is bringing proactive measures into the everyday.Rural Woman's AwardsApplications close on Wednesday the 19th of October, 2022. Find out more HERE!!Follow us on Instagram @humansofagriculture_Read more stories at HumansofAgriculture.comRead the press release about our latest podcast partner: https://www.lawd.com.au/post?post_id=10555