International Women's Day 2018
The theme for this year’s International Women’s Day is “The Time is Now: Rural and Urban Activists Transforming Women’s Lives”; so to celebrate a topic close to our hearts, we bring you some of the world’s most notable women in agriculture and farming, and the stories and achievements that have made them remarkable.
Fiona Simson – Fiona Simson is the current president of the National Farmers’ Federation in Australia, and runs a mixed farming enterprise with her husband and family in NSW. Fiona is the first female President of the NFF in its 37-year history.
Catherine Hagel – Catherine Helen Hagel was an American supercentenarian farmer from Dayton Minnesota, who is known to have worked as a farmer till she was 100 years old, and died in 2008 at the ripe old age of 114.
Cheryl Rogowski – Cheryl Rogowski is a farmer from Pine Island (New York) notable for having pioneered a successful community agriculture program that went from 12 members in 1998 to 156 today. She’s also a mentor for Future Farmers of America.
Granny Smith – Maria Ann Smith, better known as Granny Smith, is famous for having discovered the delicious and very popular ‘Granny Smith’ apple – light green in colour, firm, juicy and great for both cooking and eating raw.
Temple Grandin Temple Grandin is a professor at Colorado State University who focuses on animal handling and care. Grandin has garnered notoriety with her autism outreach and was portrayed by actress Clair Danes in a self-titled HBO biographical film. The movie highlighted Grandin’s autism and work with livestock.
Anna Baldwin – In 1868 Anna Baldwin developed one of the world’s first suction milking machine. Contemporary industrial milking machines differ from Baldwin’s design, but her invention was important and paved the way for a revolution in dairy farming practices.
Sara Henderson – Sarah Henderson was a livestock farmer from the Northern Territory, who is most notable for having rebuilt the Bullo River Cattle Station in the late 80’s. When her husband died in 1985 the farm was more than $750,000 in debt, and her work to rebuild it gained her title of Businesswoman of the Year in 1991.
Jennifer Doyle – Jennifer Doyle was named 2017 Viticulturist of the Year at the Women in Wine Awards (AWIWA) and is one of the most prominent producers of sparkling wines in Australia, managing Jansz in Tasmania.
