A Cuppa with Rachael Treasure, Australia's Best Selling Author and Regenerative Agriculturist

On This episode, I am joined by literary royalty,  My guest  is Australia’s bestselling author and regenerative agriculturalist, Rachael Treasure

Rachael has been dubbed an agricultural activist, farm feminist and literary pioneer and has worked as a rural journalist, radio broadcaster, jillaroo, professional wool classer, veterinary nurse, stock camp cook, high country cattle drover, truffle sniffer dog handler and family farm manager.

Rachael sparked a publishing boom in 2002 when her first novel Jillaroo woke the world up to contemporary women’s stories beyond the city lights   ‘Jillaroo’  has become an iconic work of contemporary fiction, changing the face of Australian publishing, and kick-starting a boom of rural women’s fiction.

Her 8th novel “Milking Time” is due for release in May 2024

She is also co-founder of Ripple Farm Landscape Healing Hub, a 100-acre regenerative farm in Southern Tasmania that showcases Natural Sequence Farming, soil health principles, ecological restoration, and holistic farming. 

Rachael shared: 

• Her fascinating upbringing and how she arrived at now.

• ‘an agricultural activist, farm feminist and literary pioneer’, is that how you would describe yourself?

• You have certainly had some interesting jobs.  including, jillaroo, professional wool classer, veterinary nurse, stock camp cook, high country cattle drover, truffle sniffer dog handler and family farm manager.  How did these all come about?

 

• Where did the passion for writing come?   And at what age?

 

• As a rural journalist she saw an absence of contemporary rural women from Australia’s narrative and resolved to write a best seller about the women in her rural world.  Whilst its fiction,  Who were you inspiration?

• Her 8th novel “Milking Time” is due for release in May 2024

• In addition to be being a best selling author, you have written a screen play and have self published but you have also entered the world of adult entertainment………an adult colouring in book ’50 Bales of hay’   I love the play on words, what was the inspiration behind this?

• Manifesto for new path in agriculture ‘Down the Dirt Road’

 

• She also saw a growing disconnection emerging between nature and people, and a decline in human and landscape health due to modern industrial agricultural practices. Rachael uses storytelling in popular fiction form to awaken mass consciousness towards caring for our planet, particularly within agriculture. 

• Rachael sells meat, eggs and other produce directly to conscious consumers via Open Food Networks – an online system offering an alternative to major supermarkets.

To learn more about Rachael, her views on agriculture and to buy her products, head to her website https://www.rachaeltreasure.com/