Ducks on the Pond

There's sometimes a feeling in agriculture, that “climate” and “climate action” is a dirty word. Despite ‘the weather’ being every farmer’s favourite topic, the word “climate” can be seen as divisive. And you'd certainly better not talk about “climate action!” However, this episode’s guest is not afraid of “climate action”… and also wants the best for farmers. The two aren't mutuall...

It can be a hard case to argue… that your children should be subsidised to attend a private boarding school. But when you live in rural and remote Australia, boarding school is really the only option. The Federal Government doesn’t fund state boarding schools (and you could only imagine the expense if they did). So if you are running a farm 600 kilometres away from the nearest high school, your on...

For too long, we as a society have dealt with the loss of a baby, by almost pretending he or she didn’t exist. But for the mother, that baby is always with her. The love is the same as it would be for any child; it’s just as strong and fierce.  But the grief is unique. The grief is for the baby they love, but also the future they never got to have. This can then be compounded by a healthcare syste...

We get to design some of the chapters of our life… but others we don’t.  Ashley Molloy has been a police officer, worked in marketing, built her own home and now designs  jewellery. Each chapter seems very different on face value. But Ashley sees her life as a continuity of growth; in skills, experience and understanding what’s right for each chapter of life. Her most difficult chapter was the une...

We are hearing more and more about the use of agtech for precision farming tech, for water level monitoring, soil carbon accounting, and so much more. So where do you even start? And is it even worth the time and effort?  In this episode we look at how you can better engage with these emerging technologies - whether that’s on farm, as an investor, or getting involved in the industry itself. In the...

We’re in the middle of a Federal election campaign…and you can already see that issues such as the cost of living, housing, health and crime are going to be crucial areas of focus for pretty much any candidate hoping to get elected. But what if the issue that matters most to you, or to your family or your community… is NOT one of those hot button topics?   And while we are seeing progress being ma...

We're coming back! And we're looking at the BIG issues facing Australian rural women. From healthcare, baby loss to climate change... this Season of Ducks is going even bigger than before. We also introduce out Season 7 Sponsor, Ashley Molloy, the founder of  ByCC Fine Jewellery. .. and announce an exciting giveaway! This is a Rural Podcasting Co. production. Interested in podcasting? We...

Do you have a goal or dream that you want to pursue, but stop yourself because you feel it’s too selfish or you don’t have enough time?  Sometimes we women formulate the idea that we need to be of service to others…  in order to be loved. And it’s not our fault. This idea can come from messages coming from society, or perhaps from the homes we grew up in. The good news is that we can learn how to...

Agriculture isn’t just the act of growing crops or tending to the animals, as the dictionary likes to define it. And it's how outsiders can see it too. A bloke with his sheep and cows.   Rather, agriculture is a complex system, that impacts and is impacted by a variety of things from government regulation, people, climate change, business, politics etc. And it's also integrated with fami...

Tea tree oil and nanotechnology for fly strike and foot-rot resistant sheep…. These are just some of the exciting innovations happening in agriculture. But how do lift an entire sector or industry?  It’s not always easy in farming when most of us work alone or with family. But in this episode, you'll hear about the benefits of taking part in extension programs,  learning from research trials,...

Owning a home these days is hard enough, so what about building your own farm from scratch?  Dr Lexie Leonard is a vet, an animal health trainer and a farmer who is building her own farming business alongside her husband and their young children in Balmoral, Victoria. Originally from the suburbs of Melbourne, Lexie would never have predicted she would grow up to be a farmer. And it has been a stee...

Women have a powerful voice in agriculture, but would you call it equal to men?  In Australia, there are more than 88, 000 women working in agriculture across multiple industries.  The numbers are growing, but women  only make  makes up one third of the overall ag workforce. There are also fewer women in positions of seniority, while research shows daughters only inherit the farm about 10 percent...

New podcast alert!  If you're into film, TV, pop culture, the media, and what it actually means for us, then you'll love Two Smart Blondes.   Kirsten Diprose (who you know from Ducks on the Pond!) is hosting with film-maker Leila McDougall. Each week they also bring on a special guest, who has insight into the media/film world. The first episode has just dropped and we get the inside gos...

Chances are, when you were growing up, the idea of becoming a professional female footballer or even a female footy umpire for men’s games… was simply impossible.  But NOW, it is. And that’s awesome.  However  it’s throwing up a few issues; such as how can women achieve pay parity with the men? How can we ensure women are safe playing the game (acknowledging that women’s bodies are different to me...

If you’ve spent a decade or more building a professional career - the idea of starting a business might seem out of reach. But you have plenty of skills already, in fact you are probably REALLY good at a couple of things… that people will actually pay you for.  In this episode, hear from two rural women who talk about how you can use your established skills, networks and passion to start a busines...

If you can’t get your partner to book a holiday with you… would you just go without them? That’s just one of the tips and tricks we discuss in this episode on how to convince your partner to go on a holiday… because we all know what farmers can be like.  We also look at the research behind the benefits of taking a break and the psychological barriers around taking time away from the farm that our...

When it comes to WHAT you wear, do you ever feel damned if you do care, but also damned if you don’t? Clothing is not trivial, it’s actually an expression of self. This episode is not about needing to look like a supermodel or spend ridiculous amounts of money on clothes (gosh, there’s enough pressure on us as women to do that already!). Rather, it’s about how looking and feeling good has value -...

Episode sponsor:  Dimity Smith, Founder of GRO Rural  If you’ve moved to a small town or even moved back to your hometown, after a long time away… how do you make friends?  There are suggestions that Australia is in the middle of a loneliness epidemic; in fact one in three people experience it. Country towns are pretty good at welcoming people in, but making close, meaningful relationships takes t...

Does how we talk about men influence the massive problem of violence against women? There are conversations we need to have in broader society about family violence. But where are the men? How do we get our men to actively participate in a stand to stop violence against women?  This is a tricky conversation. Clearly, it would be great if men just stop being violent. But telling men to simply ‘stop...

With gender roles for men not being as defined as perhaps they once were, what does this mean for our rural men who grew up with certain ideas of 'what a man should look like?' Does how we talk about our blokes matter too? Whether that's whinging about our husbands who seem to always miss kids bath time... or on a broader societal level about what men should or shouldn't be? Th...

**EPISODE SPONSOR: Moore Australia ** Being diagnosed with a chronic illness is a massive change. And most people who have experienced this, speak about a grieving process for your old life and even your old identity, especially if it was based on being physically active. But our two guests insist a medical condition is not the end of your life. In fact, they say their illnesses have forced them t...

**EPISODE SPONSOR: Rural Women’s Day **  There’s this persistent notion that starting up a retail store in the main street of town is just too hard. From the high rents, cost of living crisis, to the relatively low foot traffic in country towns, finding a physical space to sell things, the ‘ye olde way’ can seem impossible. But in this episode, we meet three business owners who have found success...

** Episode Sponsor: Cheeky Mac Productions - do the 1000 Rural Women Survey! We’re full of good ideas here in the country. So how do you access the funds and the people to make it happen?  It’s important for community projects and local businesses to come from the bottom up. It’s the people on the ground who know what’s actually needed and how to best deliver it. But so many grants and programs ar...

**Sponsored by the Victorian Women’s Trust - Check out Rural Women Online , free digital skills platform. There’s this idea that if you want to make it in film, you need to move to the city. But is that really true?  In this episode, we meet Jospehine Croft. She’s a film producer and actor, based in Melbourne, but is part of a movement that’s making film more accessible to women. This includes job...

Is parenting on a farm different to parenting in the city? What are our farm kids missing out on... and do the benefits of farm life out way the drawbacks? In this bonus episode we welcome the hosts of The Barnyard Language podcast , which is an American podcast, focused on 'real talk about running farms and raising families.' But don't be fooled into thinking they are cutesy farm l...