Delving further, however, the saying ostensibly relegates women in agriculture to a supportive role, supplementary to that of the principle operator of the farm. Margaret Alston, author of Women on the Land: The Hidden Heart of Rural Australia argues that women have systematically been omitted when it comes to the history of agriculture in Australia and “are often seen as secondary in their relationships” on the farm.

The role of women in agriculture and farming has been perpetuated, among other factors, by the farming archetype. Like any archetype, it is grounded in truth and furthered by popular discourse.

Traditionally, men have passed the ownership and operating duties of the farm down to the son. Furthermore, the media, particularly in rural areas, presents the farmer as the ‘man on the land’, not to mention the effect of popular advertising campaigns such as the Australian beef industry’s catch-cry, “feed the man meat”.

Whichever way you look at it, events such as World Rural Women’s Day and the Rural Women’s Award and groups including the National Rural Women’s Coalition and Australian Women in Agriculture are doing their part in building the profile of women in rural areas and celebrating the diversity of their views and roles.

Daughter of Campbell’s Forest Farmers in Bendigo, Toni, spoke to the Weekly Times Now about the duties of women on the farm.

“You see them out on tractors, feeding the sheep, carting water, in the stockyards, in shearing sheds…then they’re getting the kids to school,” she says.

It is an “all hands on the wheel” attitude when it comes to Jenny Webb from Boolite. She works with her husband at their piggery and shared her story with the Weekly Times Now about how she broke into the male-dominated truck driving industry.

“You’re there to get the crop in and save on wages…I’ll do what I want,” Mrs Webb said.

Roma Britnell, winner of the 2009 Rural Womens Award (source: http://www.ruralwomensaward.gov.au/)

Roma Britnell from Western Victoria was the 2009 winner of the Rural Women’s Award. Ms Britnell has worked on the farm and at industry level for 10 years. She began with her husband on a dairy farm and is now the president of her district dairy farmers’ council and represents the industry as the Chairman of West Victorian Dairy.

(For more about Roma Britnell, see: http://www.agribusiness-australia.com.au/dairy/200912/606/)

Women certainly are the heart of the country.

What are your thoughts on the contribution of women in rural Australia?

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