2025
Winner: Sarah De Jonge
Founder of 1000 Hearts from Kingston is the 2025 Tasmania AgriFutures Rural Women's Award Winner.
Sarah has a background in psychology and counselling. Sarah has worked in the not-for-profit sector and this experience helped drive her 1000 Hearts project. The project first started in 2016 with Sarah hand stitching 1000 pocket hearts to give away as random acts of kindness. Her strong belief is that the power of kindness has a profound impact on people’s health and wellbeing. Sarah’s mission is to share that kindness with people across the world participating in making hearts and handing them out. Listen to Sarah's story.
Encouragement Award: Toni Coward
Founder of Sheila May Swim from Port Sorell has been awarded the Tasmanian Women in Agriculture Encouragement Award. Toni is a primary school teacher who runs a small business called Sheila May Swim which specialises in women’s swimwear. Toni’s mission is to create swimwear that promotes confidence in women when they are feeling most vulnerable. Sheila May Swim fosters strong community connection by running open nights that bring women together to create a safe and welcoming environment for all to feel confident and empowered.
Development Award: Christina Giudici
Co-Founder of The New Black Biochar from Bream Creek has been awarded the Tasmanian Women in Agriculture Development Award. Christina is an agricultural scientist with a passion for natural systems that can generate and restore healthy soils and landscapes. She co-founded “New Black Biochar”, intending to demonstrate an economically, environmentally and socially sustainable enterprise making biochar from waste products.
The Encouragement and Development Award are sponsored by Tasmanian Women in Agriculture, winners of these awards will receive $2,000 and $1,000 respectively
2024
Winner: Belle Binder
Through her Farm Work Loop project, Belle aims to establish a model of excellence in farm workplaces, promoting sustainability, inclusivity, and community engagement. Her goal is to continue advocating for and implementing practices that uplift the industry, making it a desirable and rewarding career choice. Belle has focused on transforming workplace cultures in agriculture, emphasising productivity and positive environments. Listen to Belle's inspiring story.
Encouragement Award: Emily Armstrong
Emily Armstrong from Devonport, has developed a lifeline for rural mothers and is the recipient of the Tasmanian Women in Agriculture Encouragement Award. Emily’s innovative approach involves creating a comprehensive database encompassing local activities, events, and support services. This lifeline not only serves as a practical resource but also cultivates a sense of community among like-minded individuals who intimately understand the unique experiences of rural motherhood.
Development Award: Tamar Cordover Pritchard
Tamar Cordover Pritchard from South Arm is the recipient of the Tasmanian Women in Agriculture Development Award. Tamar is dedicated to fostering connections and empowering rural women with disabilities. Tamar’s mission is to actively engage these women, enabling their meaningful participation in the growing agricultural sector. Tamar's commitment is a beacon of inclusivity and amplifying the voices and contributions of an often-overlooked demographic. The Compass Inclusive Agriculture Project improves the inclusion of rural women with or without disabilities into agriculture; including micro-enterprise agriculture projects of small-scale commercial viability.
The Encouragement and Development Award are sponsored by Tasmanian Women in Agriculture, winners of these awards will receive $2,000 and $1,000 respectively.
2023
Winner: Melissa Duniam
Melissa created her business, Leading Rein, focussing on connecting teams and organisations with horses and exploring strategies for building stronger connections. Her “herds, to horses, are teams, to people” approach enables clients to gain valuable insights and develop interpersonal and leadership skills. Be inspired by Melissa's story.
Encouragement Award: Belle Binder
Belle's career path took an unexpected turn when she entered the agricultural industry, supplying workers to farms, and soon discovered that she loved farming. Belle is changing farm workplace cultures, driving higher levels of productivity and positive workplace environments.
Development Award: Kitana Mansell and Tamar Cordover
Kitana has been managing palawa kipli / the first Tasmanian Aboriginal food business for three years. Kitana has developed her modern take on Tasmanian Aboriginal food through catering services and cultural food experiences on country.
Tamar works to connect and engage rural women with disabilities in micro-enterprise endeavors, to benefit women in agriculture, rural communities and to build the resilience of rural Australia.
2022
Tasmanian and National Winner: Stephanie Trethewey
Based in Dunorlan in North West Tasmania and co-founder of the Tasmanian Agricultural Company, Stephanie created Motherland Village, Australia’s first personalised online rural mothers’ group.
Motherland Village provides greater opportunities for rural mums across the country to find connection and support, regardless of their location. Be inspired by Stephanie's story.
Encouragement Award: Sally Murfet
With more than 20 years experience working on-farm and with agribusiness companies, Sally received the Encouragement Award for her work assisting farmers in managing their workforce through her human resource business Inspire AG.
Development Award: Kate Field
Kate received the Development Award for her work developing innovative by-product uses in her sustainable farm practices. Kate's own Leap Farm is a carbon positive endeavour producing goat cheese and meat. In alignment with her sustainable ethos, Kate has turned her waste whey into a skincare line: Leapful.
2020 - 2021
Winner: Karen Brock
Karen's project aims to produce plants that are able to reduce input costs, disease resistant plants, climate tolerant plants or that produce higher yields per hectare. Be inspired by Karen's story.
Encouragement Award: Louise Morris
Louise has started Australia's first farm focussed on producing insects for human consumption and her project looks at continuing and expanding this endeavour.
Development Award: Celia Leverton
Celia's project is committed to increasing the uptake of regenerative farming practices across Australia.
Development Award: Robyn Eversole
Robyn works with universities and local communities to bring their knowledge to rural communities and empower local people to create the futures they want.
2019
Winner: Anh Nguyen
Anh’s project aims to roll out a smart farming system using automatic controls and management retrofitted to current farming irrigation and control systems. This will free up labour, optimise resources and maximise productivity. Be inspired by Anh's story.
Encouragement Award: Anita Long
Anita’s vision is to create a strong Australian connected youth beekeeping network and help others develop similar programs nationwide.
Development Award: Sarah Cole
Sarah’s project aims to explore and understand the challenges facing a growing pasture seed industry in Tasmania.
2018
Winner: Allison Clark
Allison's project aims to understand how farming business / agribusiness taps into available research or networks, in addition to understanding the barriers to integrating this information into decision making processes. These learnings can help provide better design, development and commercialisation tools in the early stages of development, to limit risk of failure.
Encouragement Award: Katherine Reed
Katherine’s project aims to bring rural women with disabilities together, allowing them to address their issues in a peer-supported, grass roots environment.
Development Award: Ana Pimenta
Ana’s project aims to develop and deliver a program that would increase the financial literacy of farming businesses on King Island.
2017
Winner: Rebecca Lynd
Rebecca’s project involves a study tour to the USA to research a selection of best practice small-scale, on-farm cattle slaughter facilities. This will involve meeting with farmers, business operators, slaughtermen and butchers to gain an understanding of the contemporary issues and practices associated with small-scale, independently owned and/or community supported slaughter facilities with a major focus on animal welfare, WH&S/ risk management, compliance with regulations, energy use, waste management and consumer needs.
Encouragement Award: Heather Cosgriff
Heather’s project aims to establish a central trial site, or 'in-field learning centre' for the Tasmanian pasture seed industry. The project would involve replicated small plot trials. Trials will test current standard vs potential new inputs and crop management ideas for annual and perennial ryegrass. The site and information generated from it would be available to all seed industry members.