A PROGRAM named “Ladies in Livestock”, which will introduce ladies to the practical skills of farming, will begin in August.
Farmer Jackie Laughlin will facilitate the program, which will include a get-together once a month for 10 months in locations throughout North Central and North East Victoria.
Ms Laughlin is a qualified agriculture and horticultural teacher who has worked in agriculture for 50 years.
She said there are many reasons participants may choose to attend a farming course specifically for ladies.
“There are a lot of young women in the area that have no experience in farming,” she said.
Latest Stories
“And the other reason is there's nowhere for them to learn unless they go back to ag college or something like that.
“Also, it's in an environment where it's not intimidating with men yelling and pushing and shoving and in the cattle yards or in the sheep yards.
“And we've had quite a few older ladies and middle aged ladies that feel that their husbands don't have the time to teach them, so they want to learn themselves so they can be of assistance on the farms.
“We've got another lady whose husband died and she said, ‘I really want to learn about the farming side of things, I never did’.
“The kids want her to sell the farm, but she doesn't want to – she wants to learn how to run the farm, not sell it.”
In addition to Ms Laughlin, other experts will contribute to delivering the course, including Gallagher, Vic Ag, Landcare, Cooper’s and All Flex.
Sessions will cover stock tagging and scanning, pasture and crop production, fencing, animal health, plantations and more.
For more information, contact Ms Laughlin on 0429 149 173.
