LOCAL girl Jackie Elliot brought home the bacon on Tuesday, June 20, at the Kondinin Group and ABC Rural 2023 Australian Farmer of the Year Awards held at Parliament House in Canberra, named Rural Community Leader of the Year.

Before a crowd of hundreds of farmers and agricultural industry experts and stakeholders, recipients from across the country were recognised for their excellence in farming - who go above and beyond to build successful farming enterprises and elevate the agricultural sector.

Ms Elliott is the founder and convenor of the Australian brand of the United Nations International Day of Rural Women - ‘Rural Women’s Day’.

Excited by the announcement that she was named winner of the Rural Community Leader of the Year category, Ms Elliott paid tribute to the other, “many incredible individuals and groups making significant contributions to rural communities across rural Australia.”.

“It was a very surreal experience,” she said.

“To be recognised for my passion and commitment to growing not-for-profit Rural Women’s Day, it has been an honour,”.

“From the moment we arrived in Canberra for the Australian Farmer of the Year Awards, all category winners have been celebrated.

“We (the winners) joined sponsors, judges, media and ministers for an awards lunch at Parliament House.

“We had the opportunity to network and share a little bit of our experiences with Pip Courtney, host of Landline.

“My Mum joined me in Canberra for the awards, which has been so special to have my number one Rural Women’s Day supporter a part of this very special occasion.”

A spokesperson for Kondinin Group said Ms Elliott was selected for the award by independent judges for outstanding commitment, not only to her local community, but how she was impacting a much larger network through the Rural Women’s Day initiative.

Ms Elliott found that after moving to Byaduk in 2011 and living in a rural area connecting and networking was distinctly limited, and she found that finding a community became almost impossible.

“My parents sold our fifth-generation family farm at Barfold VIC to move to Byaduk VIC in early 2011,” she said.

“I decided to move home to our new property at Byaduk after completing a Diploma of Agriculture at Emerald Ag College in Central Queensland in the same year (2011), age 18.

“Not long after moving to Byaduk, I met my now husband Dan Mirtschin who’s a local farmer.”

It was the isolation that many in rural communities experience that spurred Ms Elliott on to find the courage and host a local gathering to recognise United Nations International Day of Rural Women. 

Thus, was born Rural Women’s Day and since Jackie’s inaugural sell-out gathering in 2019, the event has grown enabling more rural and regional women to connect, collaborate and celebrate.

A registered not-for-profit enterprise, Rural Women’s Day has grown from strength to strength with a magazine published in 2020 that saw 700 copies distributed across Australia and New Zealand to connect women during the pandemic.

Rural Women’s Day now boasts a social media community with over 12,000 followers.

As event and project manager, Ms Elliott is looking forward to a bright future for Rural Women’s Day and in October 2023 has planned several Rural Women’s Day events across the country.

“This year in October we are hosting 12 Rural Women’s Day events across Australia,” she said.

“I am also working on our second print magazine, as a fundraising project for Rural Women’s Day which will include stories and photography from across Australia and New Zealand.

“The magazine will be launched at an event in Ballarat on October 1.”

These events will welcome more than 1000 attendees collectively, engaging rural and regional communities in Victoria, Western Australia, South Australia, Queensland and New South Wales.

Rural Women’s Day event hosts are all volunteers and will be supported and mentored by Ms Elliott to ensure they are successful and sustainable to continue well into the future.

“The importance of connection and community is not unique to my region of Victoria,” she said.

“It is something felt by women in rural and regional areas across the country,” Jackie said. “It makes me incredibly proud to know we will help other women who felt like I did - to build friendships and networks, so they feel more confident and happier.

“Because farming isn’t just about what gets planted or nurtured, harvested or sold to market.

“It’s also about community spirit, family wellbeing and mental resilience, and if we can support that through Rural Women’s Day, then that is a legacy I’ll be honoured to be part of.”