We're all scouring the socials, the internet and the shops for 'gifts' right now - pressie giving season is here!

When I think about rural and regional businesses that make great presents - Whitney Spicer immediately comes to mind.

She an artist, who now also makes 'products' - scarves, tea towels, hats, shirts - from her small farm farm at Manildra near Orange in NSW where she lives with her husband and three young boys.

She's been clever in growing her brand awareness through collaborations. And is now looking forward to making wholesaling another pillar of her business.

If you're interested in collaborations, branded products and the world of wholesaling this is a great chat to get your ears around

Find Whitney and her products @whitneyspicer on Instagram or get shopping at whitneyspicer.com

This is a Manson podcasting production in partnership with Rabobank Australia.

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For the last six and a half years Millwoods shoes owned by Jane Robertson has exponentially grown.

From just one type of shoe in 2019 to 37 different styles and colours of shoes 5 years later.

Business has grown 20% year on year at least and her shoes have been stocked in hundreds of stores all over Australia and New Zealand.

This conversation is a raw account of what a beast retail business can become when you're experiencing high growth.

Jane says all this 'getting bigger' might look great from the outside but it’s been so hard - waaaaay harder than she imagined and than many of you would be aware.

And so, she talks you through the in's and out's she's tried to keep up - financially: there's never much profit and banks don't want to lend you money and then there's the personal toll: which nearly sent Jane over the edge on 2024.

But we do start on a great note - talking about her fave part of the business, the shed, 50 metres from her house which has been totally converted to become her own Millwood Warehouse on her farm at Coolamon, a little town in NSW’s Riverina.

Emily Quigley is the founder of Peggy & Twig a luxury jewellery brand that lives in Trangie in central west New South Wales but was a feature on the runway at Paris Fashion Week this year.

What the hell?! How did this happen?

And what's happened to this small bush brand as a result?

This whole story is so not what you think.

The journey has been strategic, and hot and sweaty and intense.

It's a masterclass in ways to cleverly capitalise on 'opportunities' or periods of quick growth.

This is a Manson Podcasting podcast produced in partnership with Rabobank Australia.

How can I help agriculture? How can I use my skills and contacts?

Oh my god. I think this is the eternal question of females who've grown up on the land. I can definitely relate.

Um yes, skills from the runway in New York can help any agricultural business.

And that's how Gabby Neal who founded Intact Co - a capsule of staples made from100% wool - see's it too. She grew up on a wool farm near Condobolin, NSW and now runs her brand from Newcastle in between working at home on the farm.

Her aesthetic is modern, edgy and simple - there are no sheep or woodsheds in sight.

All I can say, is more of this please.

This podcast is produced in partnership with Rabobank Australia.

You can find more episodes and more rural lifestyle podcasts at mansonpodcasting.com

intactco.com.au

Jackie Elliott started Rural Women's Day - an event for rural women to get off the farm - because she was lonely.

Five years later, it's become a nation-wide success with numerous events, hosted in small rural communities all over Australia.

Rural Women's Day is a non-for-profit organisation and amazingly Jackie works as a volunteer. This will change with the inclusion of Squadron Energy as a major partner as of 2024.

Listen to Jackie's story and realise that you don't have to be qualified to make things happen in life you just have to have a 'reason' and enjoy it - and the rest will come.

If you want to host an event in your community get involved at ruralwomensday.com.au

This podcast is produced in partnership with Rabobank Australia.

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Julia Spicer OAM grew up in a small rural community and now lives with her husband Tony on at Goondiwindi, QLD.

Julia, the child of two teachers, has clearly been influenced by her parents vocation. She’s a teacher, a sharer, someone who likes to see others rise and shine - and in some ways this is her life’s work - getting regional Australia and it’s people on the map - and helping others to develop projects and businesses that give opportunity to people living outside of our cities.

Fresh out of an 18 month stint as the first ever regionally based Chief Entrepreneur of QLD, Julia is about to launch something new......

The Connection Table is a really unique and dynamic networking platform developed by Julia in partnership with former Winner of the Agrifutures Rural Woman of the Year award and lady of many projects, Jo Palmer. 

At it’s core, The Connection Table is about shepherding talented people from rural and regional Australia into the best boards, advisories and leadership roles in this country. 

Basically these guys want rural voices to be heard and valued at every level of decision making and they see The Connection Table as the mechanism to make this happen.

It’s designed to become THE place for executives, government, corporates and industry to look to when searching for their next CEO, board of directors, leadership team etc etc. 

FULL DISCLOSURE: I’ve been asked to be an ambassador for The Connection Table - so you will not only see me on board but also be hearing more about it from me in the future.

The Connection Table

Julia's book: Business in the Bush.

This podcast is produced in partnership with Rabobank Australia.

This episode is certainly one to share with the farmer in your life. (Not to say that it’s not uber interesting to all of our regular listeners)

Maria Crawford is a country girl, who’s progressed through the ag industry - with a keen and detailed interest in how supply chains operate. This interest and obvious skill has landed her in her current position as the innovation and sustainability manager for Coles livestock. 

To me, a conversation with a female in a position like this a golden opportunity for me to be able to ask the questions so you, as farming families, or as a person living in a community supported by agriculture, can get an idea of the bigger picture

And Maria delivers. This podcast is a wonderful insight into what kind of meat Coles buys from our farmers and there’s a lot of talk specifically about carbon emissions and how Coles is trying out some new things to try and reach the industry goal of being carbon neutral by 2030. 

Company is produced in partnership with Rabobank Australia.

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Today's guest Nadja Wallington of ChaLou Winery in Orange is about to take you on a journey into the world of wine and how to make it.

This woman and her husband, Steve Mobbs, have just been awarded The James Halliday Dark Horse Award; one of the most prestigious awards of the Australian wine world.

To receive it at such a young age, and for such a young brand of wine – is – I’m told – a huge achievement.

When you listen to Nadja’s story – I think you can just get a feel for how naturally brilliant she is at her vocation.

Today not only will get get a lesson in winemaking  but you’ll get an insight into what drives this woman – Wine, grapes and family farming.

This podcast is produced in partnership with Rabobank Australia.

chalouwines.com.au

Today we meet international speaker and agricultural commentator and all round cool chick, Claire Taylor – who originally hails from a beef farm near Ayr in the south west of Scotland and will soon call Orange in central west NSW home.

Claire started her working life as a producer for the BBC before becoming a political commentator for Scotland's national farming paper. More recently she’s been travelling the world as a Nuffield Scholar researching the ag narratives in countries all over the world in her quest to build a way for more collaborative and positive messaging from the ag sector into the general population.

Generally speaking she’s a women drive to teach farmers how to tell the very best of their stories in the hope of garnering that eternally sought after ‘understanding and recognition from the wider population – not just those in the echo chamber of agriculture.

Today our guest is a scientist – she is not dull, she is super interesting and she has a lot to offer the industry of agriculture.

Nutritional food scientist, Dr Anneline Padayachee took to the stage recently at LambEx in Adelaide recently, comparing consumer perceptions of lamb to those of beef.

Her case study – which she’s been researching for the last few years especially for this Lamb Ex talk – showed the lamb industry some ways in may be able to think differently about marketing it’s main meat product.

Now, stop, before you think you’ve heard this all before – I can tell you you haven’t this is an all-encompassing study – and while you’ll only get a snap shot of it here today, I think you will grow to see Dr Anneline as a great ambassador for our ag industries.

Welcome back to Season 3 of Company for 2024 coming to you in partnership with our friends at Rabobank Australia, without who we would not be bringing you all these wonderful stories with such regularity.

Today the podcast is sounding slightly different. It’s a live recording of my conversation with Emily Riggs, founder and creative woman behind the 100 per cent merino wool clothing brand Iris & Wool.

We were lucky enough to speak on stage at the recent LambEx conference held in Adelaide.

I would describe Emily Riggs as an 'accidentally' astute business woman who also happens to find herself living with 14,000 head of sheep on a merino wool station country in South Australia.

It's serendipitous that she loves fashion and happens to be surrounded by animals that naturally grow the most eco friendly, sustainable, renewable, biodegradable, soft, thermo regulating, easy to work with fibre on the planet.

She's also a great example that your product is nothing if you don't sell the story of it.