The herd of Angus cows and calves wait, tails swishing, for Nikki Gilder to reach the gate. Low bellows begin to rumble across the paddock as they catch a glimpse of her yellow side-by-side. The 35-year-old grazier’s arrival signals a move into a new paddock. The herd is now so accustomed to the rotational cell grazing system on the 2,500 hectare farm Nikki runs with her father Mike, 57, that all she needs to do is drive to the next gate and the glossy black cows follow, eager for the fresh pick on the other side of the fence.

Nikki’s decision to return to the family business —10 kilometres north of Merriwa, in the Upper Hunter of New South Wales — was a gradual one. It was partly thanks to Covid, but also because, after studying a Bachelor of Business (Agribusiness) at Marcus Oldham and then working in Melbourne as the Livestock Supply Chain Manager at beef processor Greenham, forming relationships with farmers across southern Australia, she was eager to bring her new skills home.

“After working at Greenham, I worked with Hunter Local Land Services on a Future Drought Fund program, identifying how to support farmers to manage drought. These experiences gave me an increasing restlessness to be the person applying those learnings at home on our property,” she explains.

Nikki has an insatiable curiosity that will help guide the three-generation family business, The Gilder Group, into the future. Her thirst for knowledge began in childhood, growing up alongside her brother Tim, 33, who now works as a helicopter pilot and lives on the property with his wife, Meg, 34, and their two children, Lily, three, and Angus, two.

“Even before I could write, Tim and I carried farm notebooks everywhere we went,” Nikki recalls fondly. “Whether we were in the cattle yards tallying cows and calves or riding in the tractor with Dad, we were always scribbling important notes.”

In 2000, when Nikki was nine and Tim was seven, their mother Lou died from a brain tumour. She was the one who fostered Nikki’s early love for animals.

“We always had a few poddies to feed, with the dogs and kittens dancing around hoping for a lick of milk. I think after mum passed, I withdrew from farm life a little. Later, I was encouraged to pursue other interests through boarding school — even moving to China when I finished school. But those early farm experiences stayed with me and I have always had a deeper pull to return.”

In 2020, when Nikki returned to the farm, she began part time, working with her father managing the breeding, finishing and trading of cattle. Just before starting full time as the Livestock Manager, Nikki co-founded Nourish, a network for women in the Upper Hunter working in agriculture. It was the catalyst for her to connect with other local women seeking a group to provide support, share ideas and build confidence to lead strategic decisions on their own farms.

In 2024, Nikki applied for a Nuffield Australia scholarship, hoping to find the assistance she needed to travel and do further research into how best to support women who want a more strategic role in their farming operations.

“I first heard about the Nuffield Australia scholarship in 2015. The idea of researching something meaningful in agriculture while travelling the world really stuck with me,” explains Nikki. “When I left my job to work on the farm, I also left behind formal support networks. That shift highlighted for me the importance of building strong networks.”

In September 2024, with the financial support of the Yulgilbar Foundation, Nikki was awarded a 2025 Nuffield Australia scholarship. She was one of 25 Australians who, along with other scholars from around the world, received a 2025 Nuffield.

In 2025, Nikki spent five months travelling to 17 countries, — including New Zealand, Italy, Belgium, The Netherlands, Qatar, Norway, Scotland and Brazil.

“It has been an amazing opportunity,” beams Nikki. “It was always important to me to meet people from different parts of the world in order to better understand how culture, social expectations and local pressures shape who makes decisions on farms.”

Now back home, Nikki is undertaking the enormous task of collating hundreds of conversations and research into a 10,000-word thesis to present at the 2026 Nuffield Australia conference in Darwin in September. After speaking with everyone from farmers to policymakers in parliament, she has found the issue remains complex and multilayered.

“The experience of women is not monolithic, and while ability and commitment are often flagged as barriers, I’ve found the deeper challenges are structural and psychological,” explains Nikki. “Individuals are often ready and capable, but the identity of ‘strategic decision-maker’ is tightly held, and many family farms do not have a system in place to share or transfer the authority that comes with these roles.”

Nikki’s time away from the farm observing global agriculture trends and speaking with other farming families, has given her new perspectives. “There is still so much to decipher from my travels. Ultimately, I hope that part of my farm legacy will be creating space for more voices to be heard around the strategy table.”

The last of the cows and their calves saunter through the gate Nikki has left open for them. The Merriwa district has had a dry few months and the dark clouds rolling in from the south hold promise. As she watches the mob, loyal kelpie Tilly by her side, there is optimism to her plans for the next quarter. The bulls need to be taken out, having finished their joining, and later in the week finished cattle will be trucked to Cargill to process for Woolworths. If the rain comes, there will be moisture for early sowing of crops and eventually enough feed to justify buying trade stock for finishing.

This is what Nikki loves about the possibility of a long-term career on the farm. The ability to work at home, making decisions alongside her father, Mike, but also the opportunity to travel and learn.

“Receiving a Nuffield has been life changing,” says Nikki. “And I’m energised about 2026, as it is the United Nations International Year of the Woman Farmer. Not only is the international recognition incredibly significant, but it offers time to reflect on how far we have come in agriculture. It has been within my lifetime, and only since 1994, that women in Australia have been formally recognised as ‘farmers’ by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. I believe women are one of agriculture’s most underutilised assets, and together men and women can strengthen the industry by recognising and making space for all perspectives, helping ensure the long-term sustainability of farming, which is ultimately what feeds and clothes us all.”

For more information on Nikki’s Nuffield Australia research, visit nuffield.com.au or follow her on Instagram @nikki_wedecideag.

Zoe Lamont’s contagious and joyful laugh resonates through a cluster of alfresco diners partaking in the inaugural Riverina Good Food Weekend. The weekend celebrates the growers and makers behind farm gates in one of the country’s most productive and fertile food bowls, the Riverina of New South Wales. Zoe is passionately explaining the reason she and her husband, Frank Coorey, started the event and how important it is to promote local produce.

Together, the couple own Farm Door, a ready-made meal and wellness company — though working side by side with her husband of 11 years in a business like this was never part of Zoe’s original life plan.

“I’m more of a people person than a product kind of person,” says Zoe. “If I am going to be working alongside my husband selling a product, I am so glad that it is food. I love food and I love how food connects people and communities.”

Born and raised at Harefield, 25 kilometres north of Wagga Wagga, the 42-year-old lived on a sheep and cropping property with her mother, Nar, father, David, and brother Andy. When she was growing up, most of her time was spent outside on their property, Glenmoira, running around with the neighbours. “They used to call us ‘the six pack’,” remembers Zoe. “We would go around to each other’s houses, but everyone loved coming to ours because Mum always had the Anzac biscuit jar full.”

In 2005, after completing a degree in communications at Charles Sturt University in Bathurst, New South Wales, Zoe headed overseas and volunteered for humanitarian projects in Thailand, Burma and Zambia. She was in awe of the hospitality shown to her by those she was helping.

“I became very immersed in those communities and their culture,” says Zoe. “They really had nothing, but they would always try to give you something, even if it was their last piece of betel nut.”

This time spent overseas had a big impact on Zoe’s career. In 2008, while living in Sydney, she launched her own communications and financial wellbeing consultancy company, which focused on working with startup social enterprises who wanted to create genuine change, rather than simply on financial profits. Zoe began to see a clear pattern emerging of what made a successful startup.

In 2014, Zoe, Frank and their children, Freddie and Alice, moved from Sydney to Cootamundra for Frank’s work as a meat trader. But four years later, the abattoir where Frank was employed closed. It forced the couple to reevaluate and they quickly decided to start their own business.

“Frank and I have always loved cooking,” adds Zoe. “We started hunting around for a business in food, but we wanted something that wouldn’t require us to work evenings or on weekends. That was when we found My Chef in Wagga.”

Zoe soon started drawing on her startup experience as the pair realised what potential My Chef had. “We learned the ropes and developed a plan to grow the business. It meant we could build our own facility so we could make and sell the meals at a larger capacity — which meant we could work with more local producers,” says Zoe.

But their dreams didn’t stop there. The pair wanted to be able to tell their customers more about people producing the ingredients for their meals.

“We always used local produce when we could, but we weren’t marketing it,” says Zoe. “For example, we live 10 minutes from Wollundry Grove Olives where the olives for our olive oil are grown and pressed. That’s something we should be shouting about loudly from the rooftops.”

The desire to connect producers with consumers and create a more wholesome paddock-to-plate environment for the meals they were making led them to rebrand the business as Farm Door. “Rebranding was a huge but great move for us,” explains Zoe. “To stand out in an increasingly competitive market, we had to communicate what we do differently.”

This new direction has been a game changer. Zoe and Frank have grown Farm Door’s output of ready-made meals from 500 a day to 3000, employing more than 40 people and collaborating with chefs and restaurants such as Three Blue Ducks.

Driven by their love for small-scale producers, Zoe and Frank launched the inaugural Riverina Good Food Weekend in September 2025, kicking off with the Terra Firma Long Lunch and the Canola Trail x Growers Sunday Drive, celebrating more than 50 local makers and their products. Over the next five years, Zoe and Frank hope to make Farm Door a hub for agritourism.

“I’d love to run women’s wellbeing programs out here on our property that focus on nature and food as well school holiday farm-based food programs for kids.”

While Zoe thinks her career has been a “bit of a dog’s breakfast”, she has woven her experiences through everything she has done. She’s a provider; she helps others and gives the smaller businesses, those paddock-to-plate producers, a helping hand whenever she can.

“I just hope that through our business and events we can help shift the mindset around how we source food,” says Zoe. “For me, food has always been about feeling good and part of that is knowing where your food has come from — and of course, who you’re eating with!”

To learn more visit Farm Door or Riverina Good Food Weekend, or visit their Instagram.

Jerrybang Lane mimics the undulating slopes of the New South Wales Hilltops region. Roughly 18 kilometres long, the road has recently been graded, and its smooth surface makes for effortless driving. Vast plains of fertile cropping and grazing country hug the lane, with the permanently running Bulla Creek snaking along the western side. The scenery is breathtaking; the drive is picturesque. Home to Steph and Mike Colman, Rosewood sits halfway along the lane. Little glimpses of the granite homestead can be caught from the lane, and so too can Bulla Creek Brewing Co, the brewery in the middle of nowhere that is owned and operated by the couple.

Steph, 37, is the youngest of four children: her parents Mary-Louise and Tony Fowler are the fourth generation to own Rosewood. The 1400 hectare sheep, cattle and cropping enterprise consists of three properties — Rosewood, Mountview and Melrose — in Monteagle between Young and Grenfell. Steph and her three older brothers Richard, 44, David, 42, and Tim, 40, all have fond memories of growing up there.

“We used to play down near the creek, making up games and building cubby houses,” reflects Steph. “Mum and Dad would pack a picnic, and we’d cook sausages on an old plough plate over the fire.” Working in Melbourne for a management consultancy firm, Steph always believed that one day she would return home to Rosewood.

“I always felt this huge pull to return home. I just didn’t know in what capacity I wanted that to be,” Steph says. “We loved Melbourne, and while I always wanted to come home, neither Mike nor myself wanted to run the property, so I just thought life on the land wasn’t going to possible for us.”

But Steph wasn’t the only family member interested in returning home to beloved Rosewood. Her brother Tim was working as a landscape architect and living in Melbourne, a mere five minute drive from Steph and Mike. Returning to the farm was always at the back of Tim’s mind.

“I had thought about it for a long time, but I hadn’t worked out when I wanted to come home,” says Tim.

But fate has a way of making things fall in place. Mike, 38, a structural engineer, was eager to explore the idea of setting up and running his own brewery, a space to brew small-batch beers. It became a light-bulb moment for Steph, a chance for each of them to have what they wanted.

“This was a way for me to move back home and for Mike to get his dream of setting up and running a brewery,” says Steph.

For Tim, the opportunity to move back came when his father Tony and his uncle John were splitting the partnership to enable succession planning for the next generation.

“Since we were kids, Mum and Dad had been in partnership with our uncle John and aunt Mandy. When dad began to set up Rosewood Pastoral, I thought this would be a good time for me to come home and help him take over the day-to-day management of the business.”

In March 2020, after many years of planning while also working full time in Melbourne, Steph and Mike submitted a development application to the Hilltops Council to build a brewery and taproom in the paddock next to the house. Eighteen months later, with the application approved, the couple moved to Rosewood and work began on the brewery.

All those memories Steph had growing up at Rosewood now return as déjà vu as she watches her daughter, Isla, four, and son, Patrick, two, play in the same spaces she did. “It’s such a strange feeling, but in a good way,” she explains. “We have this big arched window in our living room where I used to sit and play with my doll’s house, and now Isla sits there in the same spot and plays with her doll’s house.”

Six months later, Tim and his wife, Clemency, also moved home. They renovated a four-bedroom house on nearby Mountview, where they live with their two-year-old twins, Thomas and Lily. Tony and Mary-Louise are on the third family property, Melrose.

“Even though I helped out Dad a lot as a kid, I had been away for a very long time, so it took me a while to find my feet again and learn about the business,” says Tim. “But we love it. It’s very rewarding to be a part of the family farming history and to be raising our children here.”

In June 2023, Steph and Mike opened the doors of their brewery to visitors. Visible from Jerrybang Lane, the grey building stands on a grassy knoll. Towering eucalypts filter the sunlight that beams through the west-facing brewery while visitors get a front-row view of the sheep and cattle grazing the perennial grasses in the paddock.

In the two years since opening, Mike has been able to leave his role as a structural engineer to manage the brewery full time. The taproom is open every Saturday with up to 12 beers on tap to sample and enjoy. Rotating food trucks provide lunch. You don’t have to look far to see what people think of the rural enterprise. Recent 5 star reviews include: “A great little find in the middle of nowhere!” said Emma; “Great selection of beers on tap… It’s a wonderful setting amidst the farm,” Luke enthused.

“It certainly was a big risk setting up a brewery in a rural location that is not on a main road,” admits Steph. “But, ultimately, there are no other breweries within a two-hour radius of us, and only a handful across Australia that are built on a working property, so we always knew that was going to be a huge drawcard.”

Steph and Tim are a wonderful example of two siblings coexisting on the family farm. Rosewood Pastoral and Bulla Creek Brewing Co are two separate enterprises, but they operate cohesively. Visitors to the brewery get to enjoy the stunning scenery of Rosewood, and Tim, Clemency, Mary-Louise and Tony have the bonus of never having to go too far for a cold beverage.

“There are certainly little things that have changed since we opened the brewery,” Steph says. “For example, Tim and Dad can’t move sheep down Jerrybang Lane on a Saturday any more! But from the moment we put the idea to Mum, Dad and my brothers, they were all for it.”

“It’s funny because the thing we were all most worried about when Steph and Mike told us about their plans to build the brewery has turned out to be the best thing about it: its isolation,” adds Tim. “What Steph and Mike have built has become such a great addition not only to our property, but to the local community. I really hope it continues to do well.”

Find out how to visit at bullacreekbrewing.com.au or follow @bullacreekbrewing on Instagram.

On the banks of the Murrumbidgee River stands Holly Wilson, her loyal kelpie, Luke, sitting by her side. This is one of the 20-year-old’s favourite places to have a quiet moment to herself; to admire the scenery and take it all in. Cockatoos soar above, fluttering and landing among the branches and hollows of the colossal river red gums that stand as pillars along the banks.

At this time of day, the setting sun turns the bark of the gums a striking orange tone where the Murrumbidgee winds itself through the property, known as Yarragundry West. It is this scenery that reminds Holly of childhood visits, when the property was owned by her grandfather, George Wilson.

“We lived in town when I was younger. Dad worked in the merino industry as a classer and consultant. He was often on the road,” Holly explains. “I have fond memories of my school holidays visiting my grandfather at Yarragundry West as well as going on work trips with dad to the Monaro region.”

The property, 21 kilometres west of Wagga Wagga in the New South Wales Riverina, is now home to Holly, her younger brother Tom, 17, and her parents Craig and Karen. In September 2019 her parents purchased a poll dorset stud, Kentish Downs Poll Dorsets, which they also manage from Yarragundry West.

Holly is now deeply involved in the workings of the stud. But a year ago she wasn’t on the property helping with the stud’s day-to-day operations, but in Melbourne, a far cry from this home among the gum trees.

“I finished my schooling years in Wagga and a lot of my friends were from farming backgrounds. We all studied ag at school and I loved it.” After graduating as dux of The Riverina Anglican College, Holly felt she was expected to continue along an academic path. And so she did, moving from Wagga to Melbourne to commence a double degree in Law and International Politics.

“No-one was pressuring me to do that degree. But I suppose when you live in a regional town and do quite well you think, ‘Oh well, I’d better go study something big’. I did enjoy living in Melbourne, but every time I came home, I was so happy to be here and all I wanted to do was get out in the ute with Dad and help him with the stock work.”

Even when Holly was away at university, she would keep in touch with what was happening on the property and helped with the marketing of the stud. It was a way for her to stay connected. “I was halfway through the first year of my degree, and I found I was trying to force myself to enjoy it,” Holly explains.

“It took time over the summer break of 2022 to realise that all I wanted to do was come home, study agriculture and work with Dad on growing the poll dorset stud.”

Holly moved back to Wagga in March 2023. She can’t hide her joy at being back home and working with her father, and it’s a sentiment he’s more than happy to match.

“It’s unreal having Holly home,” says Craig, who has just walked in to grab a cup of tea. There’s a smile from ear to ear on his face. “Yeah, I can’t explain it. Our stud is still growing, and we’ve got to lay the groundwork. We’re like any farming enterprise. There’s so much to do here, so to have Holly home will be a huge help.” Cup of tea finished, he’s now back out the door again.

When the Wilson family bought the Kentish Downs Poll Dorsets Stud, it was operating on a property near Holbrook. They moved the stud flock to their 101 hectare property and have been focusing on expanding the breeding program. This has seen them increase their joining numbers from 440 ewes in 2019 to 1200 ewes in 2023. They hope to join 1400 in 2024. To accommodate this expansion, they leased a property across the road, providing them with an extra 161 hectares for their growing flock.

“The genetic advancement within the dorset industry is exciting,” explains Holly. “There has been a lot of technological growth and innovation within the breeding of poll dorsets, which will greatly benefit lamb producers,” she adds.

This is the side of the industry that Holly is passionate about. It’s a combination of being aware of climate change and the impact livestock can have on the environment. These two factors led her to realise the importance of data. How to record it, analyse it and incorporate it into long-term, successful livestock management practices. She hopes to be able to provide valuable and innovative data insights to new and returning clients when they come to select their rams, to ensure that they are breeding for profit and not just for the sake of breeding.

“Last year we ran a workshop in collaboration with Meat & Livestock Australia, called ‘Bred Well, Fed Well’, which focused on educating livestock producers on maximising productivity and profitability,” explains Holly. “We were able to clarify the figures behind the data, which was beneficial for farmers interested in learning more about data but feeling overwhelmed at understanding it or lacking the time to learn.”

“The agriculture industry experiences such a varied number of adversities,” Holly adds. “The only way we can tackle these changes is by breeding the best possible animal and running them well. We hope to continue doing these types of on-farm education programs over the coming years and collaborate with other meat and livestock producers so that we can all share our knowledge and further promote the benefits of data analysis.”

For Holly, 2024 will see her take on a larger role managing the day-to-day operations of the stud. This will free Craig to focus on growing the commercial aspect of the enterprise, as well as continuing his research into implementing innovative techniques in breeding management.

The groundwork for this starts during lambing season in April, Holly’s favourite time of the year. “Lambing season is when we commence our data tracking for every ram that we breed,” says Holly. “Each day we go around on the quad bike and record every new lamb that is born. We record whether the ewe has had a single or twins, the lamb’s weight and then we tag it. It’s important for us to know what our ewes are doing and their lambing percentages so that we can look to see where we can improve.”

Holly is now starting a degree in business and agriculture at the University of New England, which she will complete remotely. This will enable her to stay at home, at Yarragundry West, where she wants to be — devoted to increasing her on-farm practical knowledge by working with her dad and connecting with other producers who share similar interests in progeny testing, data recording and genetic gain.

“To ensure longevity within the agricultural industry, we, as primary producers, need to run the most productive and profitable animals,” concludes Holly. “We can make the industry better, and that’s what I am looking forward to the most.”

For more information about Kentish Downs Poll Dorsets Stud, visit to kentishdowns.com

A two-way tarred road rolls towards Collinsvale in the Kunyani/Mount Wellington ranges of southern Tasmania. It becomes narrower as it passes through the tiny town and ascends into the range. Now a single lane of dirt, it’s a weave of twists and corners and—in the middle of the day, dapple-lit due to the dense eucalyptus species that envelope the mountains.

When the road widens ever so slightly, it reveals a wonky weatherboard one-car garage. Firewood is stacked neatly and to the left is a sturdy pine picket fence. Lilac hydrangeas border the gate, which two small black beady eyes peek through. They belong to Puddin’, a staghound cross who’s keen to know who’s arrived. Liz Dunlop appears from the weatherboard home, followed by her husband James MacAlpine. You can hear the trickling sound of Myrtle Creek echo from within the valley below.

“The draw to Tassie for Liz and I was the environment,” James says. “We’d both lived and worked in Sydney and Wollongong and were looking for something that enabled us a bit more space. We grew up in rural areas on farms and were keen to be based near a capital city but have the freedom to live in a more quiet and secluded area.”

Liz and James are what Tasmanians refer to as mainlanders. Born and raised in New South Wales, the recently-wedded couple decided on a move interstate during the Covid lockdowns. Liz works in marine policy for the federal government in Hobart, and James is a civil engineer at an infrastructure planning company.

After their initial move, they inspected the three-acre hobby farm 20 km north west of the city. In awe of Myrtle Forest which canvased their view from all angles, they fell in love with the heritage red-trimmed 1914 weatherboard home that sat on the side of Collins Cap and fringed the border of the national park. With the homestead, came riparian water rights to the use of Myrtle Creek and three run down, heritage-listed picker huts. Myrtle Creek Farm was established.

Liz and James dream of creating a natural immersive space for visitors, to spread awareness of how to live sustainably and work with the land rather than forcing it to be something it isn’t.

James’ engineering attributes shine through as he pulls out a very detailed laminated project plan showcasing their aspirations. “There’ll be three stages, which will happen over two to three years,” he says. “The first will be the installation of a spa and sauna located near Myrtle Creek—purely for relaxation purposes. Visitors will be amongst Myrtle Forest, listening to the sounds of the creek.

“The second stage will be renovations to our own home. Then the last stage will be renovating the pickers huts to provide self-contained accommodation for visitors.”

“One of the huts will pose as an interpretation hut,” Liz adds. “We’ll have the story of Collinsvale and Myrtle Creek Farm inside it and the process of developing our business.”

Collinsvale was formerly known as Bismark, but changed its name during World War II amid anti-German sentiment. The mountain ranges were popular for potato and hops cultivation—as well as logging that nearly wiped out the endemic myrtle beech.

“A lot of [them] were lost in the 1900s, but luckily the forest still holds unique pockets,” Liz says. “We’re trying to regenerate the tree by planting them around our home and down near the huts.”

Introduced species like foxglove, holly trees and radiata pines have infiltrated the pristine environment of these ranges, and threaten endemic flora.

“Because we’re on the border of Kunyani/ Mount Wellington National Park, we’re conscious that whatever we do plant, could spread into the National Park,” James says. “This is why we’re committed to regenerating the area with endemic species such as Australian blackwoods, myrtle beeches and Tasmanian pepperberry trees.”

The pair are are equally conscious of their access to the unspoiled Myrtle Creek, where the water glistens and the sun peeks through the leafy forest hollows above. They hope to install hydro electricity generators that will power their home and the pickers huts.

“Our home and our property are only small,” Liz says, “but we’re using all the space and incorporating as much of the natural environmental as we can. Our end goal is to be fully off-grid.”

The couple’s commitment to their home and the land creates hope the untamed mountain ranges and regions of Tasmania will remain just that —and those who choose to live there will do so with little impact.
“Whatever we add, we want it to be sympathetic to what’s already here,” Liz says. “We don’t want to over-commercialise our home. We just want people to see how you can live with the land.”