Active in Arable Wins Praise
A dedicated discussion group for women in arable farming has had several benefits for one member who has been attending since the very first meeting.
Andrea Chalmers says it's not just the technical side of Active in Arable that has proved valuable for her, although it has given her new insight into the arable business she shares with husband Neville.
"It's also helped me keep up to date with regulatory and compliance issues. These are changing so quickly, and I see it as part of my role on the farm to stay current."
Involvement in the group, which started in 2001 with funding from FAR and the MAF Sustainable Farming Fund, has also proved useful for other activities, like presenting submissions to local planning hearings, Andrea says.
The Chalmers farm 640 ha at Waterton, growing cereals, grass seed, peas and brassicas.
When the first Active in Arable meeting was promoted, Andrea says she could see several good reasons for going along.
"Arable farming is different from livestock farming for women - there are not always the same opportunities to get out and work alongside the men. So even though we're constantly discussing the farm business with our husbands, we don't necessarily have the same hands-on technical understanding."
The opportunity to gain more knowledge of this side of the operation, as well as many other topics related to the business of arable farming, was too good to miss, she says.
"Plus of course it's been great to meet the other people involved!"
Maxine Watson was instrumental in getting the group started and has been the chairperson since. One of the upsides of the Active in Arable programme has been the wide range of topics that have been covered. Many of these topics relate directly to the arable farm businesses but there are large range of topics such as horticulture options and of farm investment which provide excellent background information when planning to the future.
David and Jeanette Montgomery of Agribuild in Ashburton have facilitated Active in Arable since its inception. They say it's been an excellent team to work with, highly motivated and strongly committed to the industry.
With 56 members from throughout Canterbury, meetings usually attract 10-20 for a wide-ranging programme.
"As of July 05, 30 meetings have been held since 2001, with topics as diverse as using computers and email to crop walks, resource management, farm employment, OSH, off-farm investment and irrigation management."
FAR CEO Nick Pyke says he's very happy with the success of the group.
"It's been great to see the concept take shape, and to see how those involved have remained so supportive and enthusiastic. There remain no shortage of new ideas for discussion topics and a number of these topics are complimentary to the information which is being delivered to the male partner in the business. We feel this information is helping the farmers develop more robust businesses that consider a number of new ideas and concepts."
