July 18, 2025 • 46 mins
On this week's episode of The Rural Woman Podcast™, you'll meet Sonia Navvuru, Sonika Pariyar, Patti Durand, Carly Hilbert, Lacey Drozdowich, Monika Robertson, Brittany Sigfusson, Desaray Skretting and Jessica Larsen.
I’m excited to share Part 1 of a special two-part series. Back in March, I had the honour of attending the Advancing Women in Agriculture Conference in Calgary, Alberta, where I connected with an incredible group of inspiring women.
During the event, I had the privilege of sitting down with several attendees for mini-interviews. This week, you’ll hear the powerful stories of 9 women as they share pieces of their journeys. Don’t miss Part 2 coming next week!
For full show notes, including links mentioned in the show, head over to wildrosefarmer.com/awcwest2025pt1
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This week's episode is brought to you by AWC East 2025
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:40):
Hi, I'm Katelyn Duban and thisis the Rural Woman Podcast. I'm a
first generation farmer whomarried into agriculture. Born and
raised in a city, I was sounfamiliar with where my food came
from, but I was determined tofigure it out. Through my journey
into agriculture, I saw womenwho were strong but humble, often
(01:03):
taking a backseat to me. Thesewomen were leaders who deserved a
seat at the table. I createdthe Rural Women Podcast to share
the voices of women in anindustry whose stories often went
untold. The ruralentrepreneurs who live and breathe
their work full of grit andpride. We come here to share our
(01:26):
stories, to be in communitywith each other, to be challenged
and inspired, but mostimportantly, to be celebrated and
to be heard. We may not alllive farm, ranch or homestead the
same, but we are allconnected. We are rural women and
(01:46):
our stories are worthy ofbeing told. Hey everyone. Welcome
back to the Rural WomanPodcast. We are sharing a special
two part series featuring miniinterviews recorded live from the
2025 Advancing Women inAgriculture West Conference held
(02:11):
this spring in Calgary,Alberta. While attending the conference,
I had the opportunity to sitdown with a handful of incredible
women who showed up to learn,connect and share their passion for
agriculture. These short butmeaningful conversations highlight
just a few of the powerfulvoices within this vibrant Whether
(02:32):
you're listening to part oneor part two, I hope these stories
inspire you the same way theyinspired me. Without further ado,
my friends, let's dive intothis special series of the 2025 Advancing
Women in Agriculture West Conference.
(02:54):
Welcome. Tell us your name,where you're from.
And what your connection toagriculture is.
Hi, my name is Sonia Navvuru.I'm a graduate student at University
of Alberta. I'm doing mysecond year PhD in plant science,
so I'm working with theclubroot resistance in canola and
I'm trying to use plantbreeding and genetics to improve
(03:16):
canola against the pathogen. Clubroot.
Very cool. What is yourconnection with agriculture? What
made you decide that youwanted to do your master's in this?
So I'm from India, so myparents are not agriculturists but
my grandparents are and when Isaw them working in the field and
(03:37):
they're having theirconnection with the nature really
made me so calm and happy towork with them. And when I started
having my education I gotinterest into research and especially
research into plants andtrying to improve their resistance
against any type of stressesincluding abiotic and biotic stresses.
(03:58):
And when I got the opportunityto do my master's, I did research
on APHID resistance ofBrassica juntia, which is a related
species of Canola. And lateron I got the opportunity to do research
on clubroot resistance inCanola. So I really am happy and
I'm very passionate aboutresistance breeding and using genetic
(04:20):
technologies and plantbreeding to improve crops. That's
how I came into this field.
Very cool. What have been someof your biggest takeaways from the
Advancing Women's Conference?
It has been a pleasure to be apart of this wonderful conference
where I got to meet so manyinspiring farmers, women farmers
(04:41):
who are not only farmers buthave the family they are, businesswoman,
they're having their ownbusiness. And it's truly inspiring
what all a woman can do. Andit really inspires me to work hard
and also do whatever I'm doingin a more passionate way, more hardworking
way so that I can contributeto agriculture and improve crops
(05:05):
against this pest and pathogens.
Absolutely. Thank you so muchfor sharing your story with us. I
really appreciate it.
Thank you.
Welcome. Tell us your name,where you're from and what your connection
to agriculture is.
Hi everyone, I'm SonikaPariyar. I'm originally from Nepal.
(05:29):
Currently I'm doing mymaster's degree at University of
Alberta. I just knew aboutthis AWC through the email. I thought
it's very interesting why notto try. Then I tried and I got selected
and here I am now. It's a veryunique experience I will say because
(05:51):
it's my first any conference.Like I have never been to any conference,
not even academic. Then it'svery interesting to know that the
university is such a smallworld but outside the university
there are a lot of things thatis going on which we student are
not aware of. Though it was agreat experience. I met a lot of
(06:14):
people and farmer industry andacademia people. It was a great experience.
I am taking a lot of things tomy home.
What are you currentlystudying for your master's degree?
What's your master's degree on?
Yeah, currently I am workingin the seed coating for the field
P I'm looking managementpractice Seed coatings. It's a geolite
(06:37):
seed coating and we arelooking if it works for a certain
root disease which isAphenomyces. Root disease. Yeah,
that's what I'm working on now.
And what have been some ofyour biggest takeaways from the conference
so far?
I would say the best thing isto be motivated with the other people,
the way they talk, the waythey share about their story. And
(07:01):
me personally, I'm very underconfident person. It takes Me a lot
of time to talk with thepeople and but I see people standing
in the stage and talking andthey are very good. We as a student,
it's a very good big thingthat if someone talk with us and
(07:22):
listen to us and listen to ourstories. So I think one thing I'm
taking is to be the confidenceand developing the more leadership
skill the workshop on theleadership and many other topics
has made increased myconfidence. I'll say that I'm taking
more confidence and more connection.
(07:43):
That's amazing. And honestly,I promise sharing your story gets
easier the more that you doit. And sitting down here today with
me, you've just proven that.So thank you so much for sharing
your story with us and thank you.
Thank you, thank you forhaving me.
(08:07):
Welcome my friend. Tell us whoyou are, where you're from and what
your connection to agriculture is.
Thanks, Katelyn. My name isPatti Durand. I am based in Humboldt,
Saskatchewan and I am theowner of Bright Track Consulting.
My connection to agricultureis deep and wide and lifelong. Born
on a farm, raised to Tulon,Manitoba and agriculture degree at
(08:30):
University of Manitoba andI've spent my career consulting and
advising farms and mostrecently really drilled down and
focused on coaching farmfamilies in transition and succession
discussions.
Amazing. And if longtimelisteners of the Rural Woman podcast
are like, I think I've heardthis story before, it's because you
(08:51):
have. And now I've just got tomeet my friend Patti IRL at the Advancing
Women Conference. And you didsome presentations yesterday. Let's
talk about them. What were youpresenting on?
So it is a topic that is nearand dear to my heart and really well
suited to workshops. The topicwas start where you are and lead
the way. The concept beingthat our global or world perspective
(09:15):
about leadership is that we'reaspiring to this title when we become
the president, when we becomethe manager, when we become the CEO.
And in fact, leadership is aset of behaviors that you can start
wherever you are.
And.
And so we dug into that andhad a ton of fun with it.
So good. What was the feedbackthat you received from the participants?
(09:38):
So one of the principles Ihave in presenting and I it's important
to me as an audience member isI want to both be inspired but also
have some things I can sink myteeth into. What can I do with this?
And so the feedback frompeople was just that. So Patti, you
made me think about thisdifferently. I have been waiting
to become a leader and I'mlike realizing now, wait a minute,
(10:00):
I can do this right now. Andthis was actually from women of all
ages, so university students,all up to women who had been in their
career for 20 years. Thatmoment for me is so exciting to help
people just embrace andrecognize their opportunity no matter
what their title is right nowand where they are. It's yeah, I
(10:20):
hope inspiration and goodmodeling is what I hope to do is
give them an example to followand the words to do it.
Absolutely. And I love thepart about like, what can I sink
my teeth into and when I leavehere, what are my next steps? Right.
Not just the feel good. We alllive a good feel good moment. Don't
get me wrong. But having toolsto take with me into my everyday
(10:42):
life after we leave theconference setting is so important.
How has it been being apublished author?
Rewarding in ways I neverimagined. It's very vulnerable writing
a book. These are my personalbeliefs and thoughts and ideas that
I want to put in people'shands, but they don't have to take
(11:05):
it. And lo and behold, theyare. And so what has been happening
is that people are reading itand then coming back to the website
and ordering a set for theirfamily or advisors are ordering it
for their clients. And thecommentary is this is what our family
needed. This is startingconversations we know we've needed
to start, but they haven't yet.
And.
And it's giving us somelanguage or how did you know that's
(11:27):
what we sound like? Did youhave a microphone in our office?
Like, yeah, no, but wow. Likethat's what I would hope for. The
other piece of feedback that Ireally is precious to me is that
they're saying these are hardtopics that are discussed in a safe
way. I got to the end of thebook and it was, it was difficult
(11:49):
in terms of some of thecontent, but it did. Wasn't triggering
or damaging. I was able toabsorb it and. And reflect on where
it applied to me. And that'smusic to my ears.
So amazing. And honestly,gangbusters for your first book.
Has this inspired you for yournext book? Is that the big question?
(12:09):
You know, I would say that I'mgetting a little itchy right now.
Meaning I. There's another. Ithink this is the first of books.
And the overarching theme thatI think about that I would like to
aspire to is, is kind of howcould I know? So often what I encounter
are smart, intelligent, caringpeople that have just never done
(12:30):
this before. And so it's notlack of capability, but lack of resources
or understanding. They justdon't know what they don't know.
And so I think about messagesthat would help advisors in preparing
for how they might best servebusinesses and family businesses
in particular. Is my, myfocus, I think, I think about maybe
the senior generation and somemessages that they seem to be missing
(12:53):
in their own process. So someideas are trickling. Oh, here's one
other idea. The commandmentsof farming that are no longer serving
us.
Ooh, that one on a pillow. Patti.
Yes.
Love that. And you're gonnahave to come back when you publish
that one.
I can't wait.
For the listeners listening,head Back to episode 217 with Patti
(13:15):
Durand if you want to learnmore about Patti and her book, the
Future. Patti, thanks for.Thanks for coming to say hi. So happy
to see you irl.
My pleasure.
Welcome. Tell us who you are,where you're from, and what your
(13:36):
connection to agriculture is.
Yeah, so my name is CarlyHilbert. I'm a student who just finished
up my degree at the Universityof British Columbia. So coming here
from Canada or coming fromVancouver, Canada, and my connection
to agriculture is reallywithin the veterinary industry. I
work been involved in theveterinary industry since I was 14
and have been around horsesespecially, but also lots of cows,
sheep, goats, pigs, cats,dogs, the whole nine yards. And I,
(13:59):
it became very apparent to methat clinic was never, for me, it's
never going to be like aveterinarian. Veterinarian, boots
on the ground. But what I didfall in love with was the policy
and how we're actually goingto govern kind of like veterinarian
practices and how we're goingto set farmers up for success and
set really most sectors up forsuccess, especially around zoonotic
diseases and how we're goingto manage those.
Very cool. Congratulations onrecently graduating. Very exciting.
(14:23):
What's the next steps for you?
The next steps is a Master'sand combined PhD in September, also
hopefully at UBC, possibly atSFU, which is another university
in Vancouver. So still in thesame spot doing very similar things.
Gotten a couple go aheads towork with a couple municipalities
and try out some ideas thatI've had on how to increase surveillance
and increase communicationbetween stakeholders. Be that industry,
(14:46):
be that community members,really just anybody who wants to
know actually has theinformation and talking around this
conference. A lot is peoplewant to have this information. It's
good information to have. Andit's right now very hard to get.
Yeah, absolutely. I want tobring in a conversation that you
and I were both part ofearlier today. We were sitting around
a roundtable and we weretalking about Essentially women in
(15:07):
leadership roles and going onboards or being a part of boards.
And you mentioned some reallyimportant things for the folks listening
who have considered joining aboard or being a part of the bigger
conversation in agriculture.What is your biggest advice? And
I ask this of you because youneed to know that this incredible
(15:30):
woman has been a part ofgovernment and boards and everything
since the age of 14 years old.That's the background information
I know about Carly. So what'syour biggest piece of advice for
women who, who want to date?Dip their toe into this.
Yeah, so when I was 14, Ishadowed somebody and followed his
kind of foray and learned hispolicy and started to kind of tack
(15:51):
on my own ideas as I got ahand on it. And the biggest thing
that he said to me was don'tself reject. And I have, my mom is
the main breadwinner of myfamily and she took us all around
the world growing up. And mymom, between my mom and my old boss
was always, if the answer isno, it's because you got a no, not
because you said no. Like youare never going, like your rejection
(16:13):
is going to be in that letter.Don't let the thought of like, I
don't have enough experience,I'm not the right fit. They'll tell
you that if it's something youwant to do, you're going to do it
and you're not going to stopuntil you get a no. And that, you
know, put the anxiety in a boxfor me it's like, oh, that's not,
I can't self reject. That'snot allowed. And that has opened
up a lot of doors for mebecause I, I'll just apply, like
I'll just be a little ballsyand apply and see where I go.
(16:35):
And honestly, like I look atlike little Katelyn, like 14 year
old Katelyn. And if I wouldhave heard that then, like what would
we be doing now? I don't knowif I'd be sitting here doing this,
but like I think we'd be doingbig things. So I just, I love that
piece of advice. And you'resitting in a room filled with women
(16:56):
with years and years ofexperience on top of yours and mine
and all of these things. Andwhen you said that, Carly, I just
saw the light bulb moments forevery woman in that room. So I want
to personally thank you forsaying that. That is something that
I'm going to take away fromthis conference. Was that right there?
What are you taking away fromthis conference?
(17:19):
I'm going to take away thefact that, like, we are not as siloed
as we think we are. There's alot of industry here, and we all
come together under the branchof ag. And I don't know where I got
this idea or who maybe told methis idea, but I really thought we
were all in our very bigsilos. And we were like, okay, cool,
that's great. You do calf cow.That's so good. I do grain over here.
We're going to stay over hereand. No, no, no. We're actually going
to collaborate and we're goingto collaborate and we're going to
(17:41):
look at these systematicproblems on a very big level and
actually start working onthem. You know, there is an attitude
of all the women are in thisroom together. We're all learning
how to be better women.Better, better in our careers, you
know, better people toourselves. Let's also start looking
at the systems that we'reworking in because, you know, we
can talk about ourselves allday long, but ultimately we are in
(18:02):
a system still. And so whatare we going to do to make that better
and how are we going to makethat better for the next people?
And it's amazing to be in aroom full of women who have worked
so hard to make the industrybetter for me. Like, I'm the up and
coming generation, and there'sbeen so much work, and I'm so in
awe of everybody and all thesacrifices and hard work they've
put in to create such abrilliant future for me.
I was recently at anotherconference, and there was a comment
(18:24):
made that the women who arehere now, we're not doing this for
us. We're not doing this forour daughters. We're not even doing
this for our granddaughters.We are doing this for the women far
down the road, just as thewomen have done for us to be able
to come here. I. I always,like, think like, we would have been
(18:47):
witches in another lifetimeand we would have been burned at
the stake. Don't tell anyone, okay?
But if you weren't gonna be.If you are a woman and you weren't
gonna get burned at the stakein the 1400s, are you really living
your best life? I don' is myfamily's hot takeaway. You know,
living in Europe, we're veryfamiliar with witch hunts. And it's
like, look, you got to pushthe envelope a little bit. My mom
(19:07):
worked her butt off for me tohave the opportunities that I have
in industry and all themisogyny she faced. And my. I was
really lucky. I was raisedwith my great grandmother and the
things that I was talkingabout, she's like, oh my God, like,
women can do that now. Like,that's incredible. And I've had been
so fortunate to have all thesewonderful, strong women in my life.
Open the door and be like,step on in. Here's where, here's
(19:30):
where the fight is, honey. Andget like, figure out what you're
gonna do and start fightingfor it. Because it like nothing here
gets rolled out on a, on a redcarpet for you. You're gonna go up,
you're gonna take it, you'renot gonna. Not self reject. You're
gonna, you know, as Melodysaid during our conversation earlier
today, like, you're gonna pullup the seat yourself because you
need to. That's yourresponsibility to everybody later
(19:50):
down the line.
Absolutely. You are aninspiration to me and I, I really
appreciate you.
So.
So thank you for all you do.
Yeah.
Thank you. Welcome. Tell uswho you are, where you're from, and
what your connection toagriculture is.
Awesome. So my name is LaceyDrozdewich. I grew up and was raised
(20:14):
in Abbotsford, B.C. and I'mcurrently a student at Olds College.
My connection to ag has beenthrough the different jobs I've had.
And then I decided to pursuean education in agriculture, and
that's led me to manydifferent opportunities, including
this conference.
Very cool. What were some ofyour jobs that led you to pursue
agriculture education?
(20:35):
Back in high school, I wasapproached by my friend's dad and
he asked me if I wanted towork scooping ice cream for the summer.
And I said, sure, like thatsounds really fun. And it led me
to working at a demonstrationdairy farm as a tour guide. So I
was teaching other people,mostly kids, about agriculture and
I really enjoyed it. I've alsospent time milking cows. I also worked
(20:58):
at a lab back at that farm aswell. Basically just a lab tech for
a little while, but yeah,that's about it.
Very cool. I'm curious. Youmentioned you were teaching kids
at this dairy farm, doingtours and everything. As a kid yourself,
where did you think ice creamcame from?
When I was a kid, I knew itcame from a cow, but then I'm sure
(21:21):
as a kid, I probably justthought it came from that ice cream
parlor, really. But I learnedat a very young age how all of that
stuff was just made and likethat cow's milk turns into so many
different products that we allenjoy. And growing up in the city,
very much surrounded by somany dairy farms, there's very like
(21:42):
quite a few places that maketheir own products on site. And so
I was very grateful to like goand tour those places and actually
understand that farm to tableconcept, but in a more modern atmosphere,
I guess you could say.
Cool. So tell me what you aretaking in school and what you plan
on doing with it after.
Yeah, so I'm currently in myagribusiness degree program. So prior
(22:03):
to that I did my diploma withagriculture management. And so my
goal is always to go back toB.C. and and find a job there hopefully
in like a agricultureeducation kind of realm or back to
dairy, maybe genetics,something like that. I don't know
exactly, but those are kind ofmy ideas at this point in time.
(22:24):
I always hated the questionlike, what are you going to do when
you grow up? And I used towork in post secondary education
and it was like, I don't knowwhat I'm doing, like two weeks from
now kind of thing. I don'tknow what to do as an adult. Like
nobody tells you so. Youanswered that very well.
Thank you. Every time I gohome, my family says, so what are
you actually doing with yourdegree and when do you go back? It's
(22:46):
like, great, okay.
Yeah. Have you been to theAdvancing Women's Conference before?
I have not, no. This is myfirst year.
What do you think so far?
It's very cool. I've made somereally great connections, especially
with other students. I willsay it's been really great to meet
other people who are the sameage as you, also pursuing the same
(23:09):
like, direction of education,but maybe at a different institution.
So getting to like comparenotes kind of thing, what you're
learning, what they'relearning. But also like connecting
with different industryexperts has been really cool because
we just don't get that chanceto do the thing that on campus. Like
obviously some of our teachersdo come from industry and then come
and teach us what they know.But this is a very different atmosphere
(23:31):
and I've been really enjoying it.
Awesome. Thank you so much forsharing your story with me and good
luck in your studies.
Thank you.
(25:10):
inaudible
Welcome to the Rural Womanpodcast. Tell us who you are, where
you're from, and what yourconnection to agriculture is.
Yeah, so my name is MonikaRobertson and I am from Winnipeg,
Manitoba. I grew up on a. On asmall horse farm, hobby farm in Binsgarth,
(25:37):
Manitoba. So right by theManitoba Saskatchewan border. So
that is my connection toagriculture. While my dad did not
farm in your typical farmenvironment, he grew up on a farm.
And I was exposed to it at avery young age because My uncles
farmed and my grandpa farmedand, and he just chose a different
path in life. But we still ownour land out there and it's still
(25:59):
my farm is what I call it. Andthat led me to actually my career
in agriculture.
What, what are you doing inagriculture today?
I am the corporate marketingmanager for Parrish and Heinbecker
Limited. I think it's maybenot a well known company even though
we are the third largest graincompany in Canada. We buy grain and
sell crop inputs to farmersall the way from Alberta to Ontario.
(26:22):
We also have several terminalsacross Canada and we divisions of
Parish and Highbacker includePNH Milling and New Life Mills. So
we are actually the largestflour miller in Canada. So we're
a fully integrated company andagriculture is really at the core
of everything that Parrish onHyde Baker stands for.
(26:43):
Absolutely. Tell me how yougrew into this position. What made
you interested in marketingand specifically in agriculture?
Yeah.
So I have an ag businessdegree from the University of Manitoba
because I actually started,went to school and I was like I want
to be a veterinarian becauseevery little girl wants to be be
a veterinarian. Ruralizingquickly that maybe science wasn't
(27:04):
necessarily a strength ofmine, but creative being creative
and sharing, communicating wasdefinitely something that was a strength
of mine. So I quicklytransferred to the business department
of ag business and that'swhere my education came from. Right
out of school I worked for BigAg for Monsanto and spent a number
(27:26):
of years learning about moreabout herbicides and seed. Spent
most of my career on the seedside of the business, really realizing
that communication wassomething that I wanted to do. Went
back to school part time andgot a public relations diploma and
worked for a producerassociation in Manitoba and then
(27:47):
looking for somethingdifferent. I never worked on the
retail side of the business orgrain. I really didn't understand
how grain moved around andstarted with Parish just over five
years ago and really enjoyinga whole different aspect of the business.
So you know, probably like 13,14 years into my career learning
(28:08):
something new aboutagriculture again, which here I thought
I knew it, but clearly Ididn't because the grain and flour
milling like food production,also not something that I experienced
earlier on in my career.
Right. And I even just thinkof it from a farmer's perspective,
the understanding of whathappens to your grain after it leaves
the farm. You know, sometimesit can be just as simple as well,
(28:30):
I'm gonna go drop it off atthe elevator and then Jesus, take
the wheel after that, like whoknows where it's going. But and for
some crops, us specifically,like we, we sell it direct to the
buyer. Like we don't have themilling because we have the specialty
crop and all of the things. Soit's all, oh, it's so different and
it's so different in everyindustry. And I love what you said.
(28:51):
You know, you've been in theindustry, you grew up around the
industry, but you're always learning.
Yes.
And that's what, you know, Ithink coming to Advancing Women or
really any conference, I'mtaking something away and learning
every step of the way. So whatare you taking away with you from
Advancing Women this time?
What I'm taking away is, well,the connections that I'm building
(29:13):
with my fellow colleagues. Soat pnh, we, we every year invite
our women to attend thisconference and I am one of the lucky
ones that get to choose choosethe women to attend with me. So I'm
taking away the connectionsthat I'm making with my fellow employees.
Because we have 700 employeesacross Canada. I don't get to meet
(29:34):
them on a regular basis. Imight email them periodically, but
I don't get to meet them. Sothose connections and just understanding
how they, they operate and howthey do work in their, in their elevators
or in their office or whereverthey are and then I'm relishing the
information that they'rereceiving from these conferences.
So I am very lucky that I getto attend conferences with my job
(29:56):
on a regular basis. A lot ofmy colleagues don't necessarily attend
them. They're, you know, anadmin at an elevator or a grain ordinator
at an elevator. And so theydon't have the opportunities that
I am lucky to have in mycareer. So I am relishing experiencing
it with them and learning andmaking other connections with watching
(30:16):
them making the connectionswith the other women in ag. I love
the inspirational stories andthe entrepreneurs. So I am not an
entrepreneur. I always like,wow, it would be super cool to be
an entrepreneur. I'm not sureI'm brave enough to do that. But
I love to hear about theentrepreneurs and how are they are
making their path inagriculture and the women entrepreneurs
(30:39):
in agriculture. I think thatis truly an inspiring story.
Yeah, absolutely. And kudos toPNH for, for doing this for their
employees. From the the bottomto the top and everywhere in between.
Leadership is within everyoneand to note that and to cherish that
and to promote that within acompany. I bravo to you guys. So
(31:00):
thank you.
It's something that I workhard for and thankfully we have a
number of women leaders withinour company ourselves, and they 100%
support us hosting women atboth the west and the east conference.
Yeah. Very good. Awesome.Thank you for so much for sitting
down and chatting with metoday. I appreciate it. Thank you.
(31:24):
Hello. Welcome. Tell us whoyou are, where you're from, and what
your connection to agriculture is.
So I'm Brittany Sigfusson. Ilive in Strathmore, Alberta. I'm
a beef cattle veterinarian outof Veterinary AgriHealth Services,
which is just south ofCrossfield. So we do cow, calf and
feedlot medicine. I grew upwith agriculture my whole life. My
(31:46):
parents didn't have cattle,but all of my mom's siblings had
beef ranches, so that's whereI spent my summers and where my love
for beef cattle came from.
What made you decide to gofull in and become a full veterinarian?
I kind of have always wantedto be a veterinarian since I was
little. I just always lovedanimals. And as I got older, I realized
(32:07):
more and more that I wanted todo cattle and be involved with agriculture.
One thing is that I just lovethe people that I work with and working
with producers, really salt ofthe earth people. You can't find
more humble, hardworkinggroup. So I just. I. That's one of
the highlights of my job isthe people that I get to work with.
(32:29):
But I also love just gettingmy hands dirty, being outside every
day, you know, getting coveredin all of the bodily fluids, but.
All of the fluids.
But, yeah, I just. I love it all.
Yeah. Yeah. What has been someof the biggest challenges you've
faced as a woman, as a largeanimal vet?
Oh, you know, there'sdefinitely been places where I have
(32:52):
shown up on the farm and, youknow, get a sideways look or get
the comment from the old guylike, oh, how come we never get the
male vet? Or, you know, thatsort of thing, and you kind of just
have to brush it off. Andusually it's not an issue once you
pull a calf for them and theyrealize that you actually know what
you're doing. So, you know, weget pushback constantly from that.
(33:15):
At my clinic that I'm at now,we have really good, great clients,
so that's not so much an issueanymore. But that was definitely
one of the struggles. Anotherone is that the four large animal
vets currently, if you go to aconference, like the Western Canadian
association of BovinePractitioners conference, which I'm
actually on the board for now,but if you go to that conference,
(33:36):
it's an old boys club, youknow, and it's intimidating being
a young woman coming intothat, you know, feeling like you
have to prove yourself to thisold boys club. So it's just kind
of getting over that andknowing that, you know, I know what
I'm doing and I do a great jobat it and to push through that, you
(33:56):
know, self doubt, I guess.
Yeah, absolutely. Okay. I'mgoing to be remiss if I don't say
this out loud because I wassitting at a round table this morning
with the government and toquote Callie, to describe a board,
it was male, pale and staleand I will forever stitch that on
a pillow because I was like,oh my gosh, that is the perfect way
(34:20):
to describe a lot of boards in agriculture.
Absolutely, absolutely. So oneof my goals with joint like I've
been on the board now for ayear for this WCABP and one of my
goals is to get more youngpeople, young vets involved in large
animal medicine. Because we'redefinitely, it's an area where we're
(34:41):
lacking, where we don't haveenough rural vets, especially cat
like cattle vets. So trying toget vet students and young vets interested,
that and welcoming them intothe industry, you know, letting them
know that they have a placeand that they don't need to be intimidated,
you know, because I'm surethat there's people that have started
out, I mean I have classmatesthat started out as mixed vets and
(35:04):
are now only doing smallanimal and you know, I think it's
a couple different factors asfar as income and stuff like that.
But I also think it's probablymaybe they didn't feel welcome in
the industry.
Yeah, absolutely. Have youbeen to the Advancing Women conference
before?
No, this is my first year andit's been great. I am really loving
it. It's nice to be at aconference with all women. I mean
(35:27):
basically all women. I have my2 month old baby with me, so to be
able to just nurse him and notfeel any judgment. I've had probably
10 offers to hold him while Iget a bite to eat and it's just,
the support is just amazing.
Yeah, absolutely. I have tojust note and say thank you for bringing
the cutest little farmer tothis. Not only for the personal like
(35:51):
oohing and awing of howadorable he is, but I think there
are so many women that thinkthat their child is a barrier, that
they cannot come to aconference or they can't go somewhere
because they have a child.I've host, I've been on a lot of
stages in a lot of places.Bring your babies because we would
(36:12):
love to hold them.
I agree. There's more supportthan you know. And this year I'm
actually also in the CanadianCattle Young Leaders Program. And
my mentor, Andrea Brocklebank,she. She obviously knew was having
a baby in January and knewthat I was coming to these conferences.
And she, like, really pushedme. She's like, you need to. You
need to bring your baby andlike, take him and not be ashamed
(36:36):
and, you know, just.
Yep.
Just do the mom thing andjust, yeah, rock it. So that's what
I'm trying to do.
Got you. We got you. Thank youfor sharing your story with me. I
appreciate it.
Yeah, you're welcome.
Welcome. I'm so excited to besitting with you. Tell us who you
(36:57):
are, what your name is, whereyou're from, and what your connection
to agriculture is.
Yeah, my name is DesaraySkretting. I am one of the sponsored
students here at awc. I amwith Yorkville University, so I'm
in my master's of counselingpsychology program. I am just about
to start my practicum in Mayhere while I'll actually be taking
my first clients. And myconnection with agriculture is I
(37:18):
grew up on a beef production.We also had crops and cereal grains
in southern Alberta, close toLethbridge. And. And I've been working
in the veterinary industrypart time while I've been going back
to school. So a few differentfeelers out into the agricultural
industry there, but this isjust the perfect conference to kind
of bring it all together.
Absolutely. What. What was itabout psychology? What was the draw
(37:40):
there?
Yeah, so I definitely did notstart in psychology. I started it
with my major in biology. AndI wasn't quite sure the route I wanted
to take. After my first fewpsychology classes, though, in university,
I switched my majors. So Igraduated with my undergraduate in
psychology, my minor inbiology, and then I was hooped. I
didn't know where I wanted togo from there, and I knew I wanted
(38:03):
to work with people. And I hada love and a passion for biology
as well. And I had no ideawhere that was going to go. And it
wasn't until I just restartedmy master's program after working
in the veterinary field for alittle bit that I wanted to somehow
find something someday thatwould blend the two together. The
end goal now is to open up ananimal assisted therapy practice
(38:24):
that while it incorporatesanimals into a therapeutic program,
also works with people thatperhaps have come from the veterinary
industry. Veterinarians, vetAssistants and now a little bit into
the farmer and agriculturalworld as well. I help volunteer with
the National Farmers MentalHealth alliance, who I'm sure you've
had on here as well. Andthat's been an amazing opportunity
(38:45):
to kind of connect those twoareas as well.
Tell me what you taking awayfrom the Advancing Women's Conference.
Oh, man, what am I not takingaway? The biggest thing that stood
out to me was last night atthe supper and I got to sit at a
table with amazing women andthey were talking about things that
were powerful in the sensethat I had never heard women talk
(39:09):
about such regular things likethe importance of communication,
but also, you know, justpolitics. I had never felt so empowered
sitting around these women andlistening to them talk about things
in an interesting way. I hadonly ever heard these kind of conversations
come from a primarily maleaudience. And I'll be honest, it
(39:31):
kind of sounded like CharlieBrown's Adults when I had sat and
talked about it before, wherethey just start talking. And these
women made me interested.These women made me think that my
opinion was valued. And comingup as a student, your opinion usually
is just, you know, sit andlearn and listen. And then I was
asked my opinion on things andI was included and I felt valuable
(39:52):
and I felt like I wanted tocontribute to the conversation. And
that more than anything was sopowerful and encouraging and inspiring.
And then even after the supperhad concluded, they spent time lifting
me up and encouraging me andasking about me and wanting to invest
in my future and my wellbeing. And that meant more than anything,
I think I, I probably learnedat the conference was that connection.
(40:13):
I know what table you weresitting at and the women in which
you are speaking of. And onceyou are in that circle, they don't
let you go. And that issomething that I think is very special
not only about women inagriculture. Well, no, I'm going
to say specifically aboutwomen in agriculture because we are
so isolated in a lot of thingsand things can seem really abstract
(40:37):
and abnormal to the, quote,regular person. But once you find
these people who are able tosupport you, we got you. So we got
you. Desiree, thank you somuch. Thank you for sharing your
story with me. Hello, welcome.Tell us who you are, where you're
(41:00):
from, and what your connectionto agriculture is.
My name is Jessica Larsen. I'moriginally from pei. I go to school
in Nova Scotia at DalhousieSchool, Faculty of Agriculture. I'm
a fourth year agriculturebusiness student. So coming up on
the end of the school year,very quick here, I grew up on a beef
cattle and potato farm. I havethree older brothers and my mom and
dad are all on the farm andvery big family, all in agriculture.
(41:23):
One side of my family had 26,I have 25. I guess there's 26 first
cousins and only seven women.So surrounded by men was a very big
part of my life and now I'mjust trying to find that spot for
me.
Absolutely. Very cool. Sogrowing up in a fairly large operation
and predominantly men, whatkind of role models did you have
(41:46):
from your family or even inyour community of different women
and what they were doing in agriculture?
Yeah, definitely. I got a lotthrough 4H was probably the biggest
thing. And of course my mom aswell. She worked a full time job
and kept up with the books onthe farm. And then eventually when
we knew we wanted to grow andmy brothers wanted to farm, she came
home full time to make surethat was possible. So that's really
(42:08):
good to see and nice to seethat there's always a place for women.
And I guess just in the 4Hprogram, just seeing women and women
leaders and being taught bythem growing up was a big help.
Very cool. What are you hopingto do once you're done school?
So right now my path, I'vedone research the last three summers.
(42:29):
One summer with Ag Canada andBible Hill, two summers with the
P.E.I. department ofAgriculture. So I like that research.
I like being out in the field,I like helping the farmers, I like
finding solutions or beingpart of finding the solution. So
right now just looking and I,I guess more into the plant science
side of things. So justlooking for a route there. Right
(42:49):
now just looking at jobs withag Canada Again, McCain's and other
local businesses and small companies.
Very cool. Is this your firsttime at the Advancing Women Conference?
Yeah, it is. Yeah.
What do you, what do you thinkso far?
It's really nice. It's reallycool to hear all the stories and
get to meet everybody. Andagain, people that are a little bit
older and have the experiencein the industry, but as well to hear
(43:11):
other students and theirpathways, where they are, what they're
taking, whether it be they'restill an undergrad, a master students
or a PhD student, justlearning what they're doing, where
they've come from, how theygot to, where they are. And again,
the older generations and theinfluence, just seeing how they got
to where they are as well,it's really inspiring being in a
conference, a hotel full ofwomen that all have something in
(43:33):
common.
Right. Well, and youmentioned, you know, finding that
place for yourself inagriculture and to be surrounded
by so many incredible womendoing essentially different things
but having that place. And forme, even still, it's inspiring to
know that we can make our ownplace. We can pull up the extra seat
at the table if we need to. Soit was really great chatting with
(43:57):
you. Thank you so much forbeing here.
Thank you.
Thanks for listening to theRural Woman Podcast. The Rural Woman
Podcast is more than just apodcast. We are a community. A huge
thank you to the Rural WomanPodcast team. Audio Editor Max Hofer.
(44:18):
A special thanks to ourPatreon Executive Executive Producers
Sarah Riedner From Happinessby the Acre to learn how you can
become a Patreon ExecutiveProducer or other ways to financially
support the show, head on overto wildrosefarmer.com to learn more.
Be sure to hit the Follow orSubscribe button wherever you listen
(44:39):
to the podcast to get thelatest episodes directly on your
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sure to leave a rating andreview on Apple Podcast or any other
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us on social media, theworldwoman Podcast, and with me,
(45:00):
ildrosefarmer. One of the bestways you can support the show is
by sharing it. Send thisepisode to a friend or share on your
social media. Let's strengthenand amplify the voice of women in
agriculture together. Untilnext time my friend. Keep sharing
your story.
Hi, I'm Katelyn Duban and thisis the Rural Woman Podcast. I'm a
first generation farmer whomarried into agriculture. Born and
raised in a city, I was sounfamiliar with where my food came
from, but I was determined tofigure it out. Through my journey
into agriculture, I saw womenwho were strong but humble, often
(01:03):
taking a backseat to me. Thesewomen were leaders who deserved a
seat at the table. I createdthe Rural Women Podcast to share
the voices of women in anindustry whose stories often went
untold. The ruralentrepreneurs who live and breathe
their work full of grit andpride. We come here to share our
(01:26):
stories, to be in communitywith each other, to be challenged
and inspired, but mostimportantly, to be celebrated and
to be heard. We may not alllive farm, ranch or homestead the
same, but we are allconnected. We are rural women and
(01:46):
our stories are worthy ofbeing told. Hey everyone. Welcome
back to the Rural WomanPodcast. We are sharing a special
two part series featuring miniinterviews recorded live from the
2025 Advancing Women inAgriculture West Conference held
(02:11):
this spring in Calgary,Alberta. While attending the conference,
I had the opportunity to sitdown with a handful of incredible
women who showed up to learn,connect and share their passion for
agriculture. These short butmeaningful conversations highlight
just a few of the powerfulvoices within this vibrant Whether
(02:32):
you're listening to part oneor part two, I hope these stories
inspire you the same way theyinspired me. Without further ado,
my friends, let's dive intothis special series of the 2025 Advancing
Women in Agriculture West Conference.
(02:54):
Welcome. Tell us your name,where you're from.
And what your connection toagriculture is.
Hi, my name is Sonia Navvuru.I'm a graduate student at University
of Alberta. I'm doing mysecond year PhD in plant science,
so I'm working with theclubroot resistance in canola and
I'm trying to use plantbreeding and genetics to improve
(03:16):
canola against the pathogen. Clubroot.
Very cool. What is yourconnection with agriculture? What
made you decide that youwanted to do your master's in this?
So I'm from India, so myparents are not agriculturists but
my grandparents are and when Isaw them working in the field and
(03:37):
they're having theirconnection with the nature really
made me so calm and happy towork with them. And when I started
having my education I gotinterest into research and especially
research into plants andtrying to improve their resistance
against any type of stressesincluding abiotic and biotic stresses.
(03:58):
And when I got the opportunityto do my master's, I did research
on APHID resistance ofBrassica juntia, which is a related
species of Canola. And lateron I got the opportunity to do research
on clubroot resistance inCanola. So I really am happy and
I'm very passionate aboutresistance breeding and using genetic
(04:20):
technologies and plantbreeding to improve crops. That's
how I came into this field.
Very cool. What have been someof your biggest takeaways from the
Advancing Women's Conference?
It has been a pleasure to be apart of this wonderful conference
where I got to meet so manyinspiring farmers, women farmers
(04:41):
who are not only farmers buthave the family they are, businesswoman,
they're having their ownbusiness. And it's truly inspiring
what all a woman can do. Andit really inspires me to work hard
and also do whatever I'm doingin a more passionate way, more hardworking
way so that I can contributeto agriculture and improve crops
(05:05):
against this pest and pathogens.
Absolutely. Thank you so muchfor sharing your story with us. I
really appreciate it.
Thank you.
Welcome. Tell us your name,where you're from and what your connection
to agriculture is.
Hi everyone, I'm SonikaPariyar. I'm originally from Nepal.
(05:29):
Currently I'm doing mymaster's degree at University of
Alberta. I just knew aboutthis AWC through the email. I thought
it's very interesting why notto try. Then I tried and I got selected
and here I am now. It's a veryunique experience I will say because
(05:51):
it's my first any conference.Like I have never been to any conference,
not even academic. Then it'svery interesting to know that the
university is such a smallworld but outside the university
there are a lot of things thatis going on which we student are
not aware of. Though it was agreat experience. I met a lot of
(06:14):
people and farmer industry andacademia people. It was a great experience.
I am taking a lot of things tomy home.
What are you currentlystudying for your master's degree?
What's your master's degree on?
Yeah, currently I am workingin the seed coating for the field
P I'm looking managementpractice Seed coatings. It's a geolite
(06:37):
seed coating and we arelooking if it works for a certain
root disease which isAphenomyces. Root disease. Yeah,
that's what I'm working on now.
And what have been some ofyour biggest takeaways from the conference
so far?
I would say the best thing isto be motivated with the other people,
the way they talk, the waythey share about their story. And
(07:01):
me personally, I'm very underconfident person. It takes Me a lot
of time to talk with thepeople and but I see people standing
in the stage and talking andthey are very good. We as a student,
it's a very good big thingthat if someone talk with us and
(07:22):
listen to us and listen to ourstories. So I think one thing I'm
taking is to be the confidenceand developing the more leadership
skill the workshop on theleadership and many other topics
has made increased myconfidence. I'll say that I'm taking
more confidence and more connection.
(07:43):
That's amazing. And honestly,I promise sharing your story gets
easier the more that you doit. And sitting down here today with
me, you've just proven that.So thank you so much for sharing
your story with us and thank you.
Thank you, thank you forhaving me.
(08:07):
Welcome my friend. Tell us whoyou are, where you're from and what
your connection to agriculture is.
Thanks, Katelyn. My name isPatti Durand. I am based in Humboldt,
Saskatchewan and I am theowner of Bright Track Consulting.
My connection to agricultureis deep and wide and lifelong. Born
on a farm, raised to Tulon,Manitoba and agriculture degree at
(08:30):
University of Manitoba andI've spent my career consulting and
advising farms and mostrecently really drilled down and
focused on coaching farmfamilies in transition and succession
discussions.
Amazing. And if longtimelisteners of the Rural Woman podcast
are like, I think I've heardthis story before, it's because you
(08:51):
have. And now I've just got tomeet my friend Patti IRL at the Advancing
Women Conference. And you didsome presentations yesterday. Let's
talk about them. What were youpresenting on?
So it is a topic that is nearand dear to my heart and really well
suited to workshops. The topicwas start where you are and lead
the way. The concept beingthat our global or world perspective
(09:15):
about leadership is that we'reaspiring to this title when we become
the president, when we becomethe manager, when we become the CEO.
And in fact, leadership is aset of behaviors that you can start
wherever you are.
And.
And so we dug into that andhad a ton of fun with it.
So good. What was the feedbackthat you received from the participants?
(09:38):
So one of the principles Ihave in presenting and I it's important
to me as an audience member isI want to both be inspired but also
have some things I can sink myteeth into. What can I do with this?
And so the feedback frompeople was just that. So Patti, you
made me think about thisdifferently. I have been waiting
to become a leader and I'mlike realizing now, wait a minute,
(10:00):
I can do this right now. Andthis was actually from women of all
ages, so university students,all up to women who had been in their
career for 20 years. Thatmoment for me is so exciting to help
people just embrace andrecognize their opportunity no matter
what their title is right nowand where they are. It's yeah, I
(10:20):
hope inspiration and goodmodeling is what I hope to do is
give them an example to followand the words to do it.
Absolutely. And I love thepart about like, what can I sink
my teeth into and when I leavehere, what are my next steps? Right.
Not just the feel good. We alllive a good feel good moment. Don't
get me wrong. But having toolsto take with me into my everyday
(10:42):
life after we leave theconference setting is so important.
How has it been being apublished author?
Rewarding in ways I neverimagined. It's very vulnerable writing
a book. These are my personalbeliefs and thoughts and ideas that
I want to put in people'shands, but they don't have to take
(11:05):
it. And lo and behold, theyare. And so what has been happening
is that people are reading itand then coming back to the website
and ordering a set for theirfamily or advisors are ordering it
for their clients. And thecommentary is this is what our family
needed. This is startingconversations we know we've needed
to start, but they haven't yet.
And.
And it's giving us somelanguage or how did you know that's
(11:27):
what we sound like? Did youhave a microphone in our office?
Like, yeah, no, but wow. Likethat's what I would hope for. The
other piece of feedback that Ireally is precious to me is that
they're saying these are hardtopics that are discussed in a safe
way. I got to the end of thebook and it was, it was difficult
(11:49):
in terms of some of thecontent, but it did. Wasn't triggering
or damaging. I was able toabsorb it and. And reflect on where
it applied to me. And that'smusic to my ears.
So amazing. And honestly,gangbusters for your first book.
Has this inspired you for yournext book? Is that the big question?
(12:09):
You know, I would say that I'mgetting a little itchy right now.
Meaning I. There's another. Ithink this is the first of books.
And the overarching theme thatI think about that I would like to
aspire to is, is kind of howcould I know? So often what I encounter
are smart, intelligent, caringpeople that have just never done
(12:30):
this before. And so it's notlack of capability, but lack of resources
or understanding. They justdon't know what they don't know.
And so I think about messagesthat would help advisors in preparing
for how they might best servebusinesses and family businesses
in particular. Is my, myfocus, I think, I think about maybe
the senior generation and somemessages that they seem to be missing
(12:53):
in their own process. So someideas are trickling. Oh, here's one
other idea. The commandmentsof farming that are no longer serving
us.
Ooh, that one on a pillow. Patti.
Yes.
Love that. And you're gonnahave to come back when you publish
that one.
I can't wait.
For the listeners listening,head Back to episode 217 with Patti
(13:15):
Durand if you want to learnmore about Patti and her book, the
Future. Patti, thanks for.Thanks for coming to say hi. So happy
to see you irl.
My pleasure.
Welcome. Tell us who you are,where you're from, and what your
(13:36):
connection to agriculture is.
Yeah, so my name is CarlyHilbert. I'm a student who just finished
up my degree at the Universityof British Columbia. So coming here
from Canada or coming fromVancouver, Canada, and my connection
to agriculture is reallywithin the veterinary industry. I
work been involved in theveterinary industry since I was 14
and have been around horsesespecially, but also lots of cows,
sheep, goats, pigs, cats,dogs, the whole nine yards. And I,
(13:59):
it became very apparent to methat clinic was never, for me, it's
never going to be like aveterinarian. Veterinarian, boots
on the ground. But what I didfall in love with was the policy
and how we're actually goingto govern kind of like veterinarian
practices and how we're goingto set farmers up for success and
set really most sectors up forsuccess, especially around zoonotic
diseases and how we're goingto manage those.
Very cool. Congratulations onrecently graduating. Very exciting.
(14:23):
What's the next steps for you?
The next steps is a Master'sand combined PhD in September, also
hopefully at UBC, possibly atSFU, which is another university
in Vancouver. So still in thesame spot doing very similar things.
Gotten a couple go aheads towork with a couple municipalities
and try out some ideas thatI've had on how to increase surveillance
and increase communicationbetween stakeholders. Be that industry,
(14:46):
be that community members,really just anybody who wants to
know actually has theinformation and talking around this
conference. A lot is peoplewant to have this information. It's
good information to have. Andit's right now very hard to get.
Yeah, absolutely. I want tobring in a conversation that you
and I were both part ofearlier today. We were sitting around
a roundtable and we weretalking about Essentially women in
(15:07):
leadership roles and going onboards or being a part of boards.
And you mentioned some reallyimportant things for the folks listening
who have considered joining aboard or being a part of the bigger
conversation in agriculture.What is your biggest advice? And
I ask this of you because youneed to know that this incredible
(15:30):
woman has been a part ofgovernment and boards and everything
since the age of 14 years old.That's the background information
I know about Carly. So what'syour biggest piece of advice for
women who, who want to date?Dip their toe into this.
Yeah, so when I was 14, Ishadowed somebody and followed his
kind of foray and learned hispolicy and started to kind of tack
(15:51):
on my own ideas as I got ahand on it. And the biggest thing
that he said to me was don'tself reject. And I have, my mom is
the main breadwinner of myfamily and she took us all around
the world growing up. And mymom, between my mom and my old boss
was always, if the answer isno, it's because you got a no, not
because you said no. Like youare never going, like your rejection
(16:13):
is going to be in that letter.Don't let the thought of like, I
don't have enough experience,I'm not the right fit. They'll tell
you that if it's something youwant to do, you're going to do it
and you're not going to stopuntil you get a no. And that, you
know, put the anxiety in a boxfor me it's like, oh, that's not,
I can't self reject. That'snot allowed. And that has opened
up a lot of doors for mebecause I, I'll just apply, like
I'll just be a little ballsyand apply and see where I go.
(16:35):
And honestly, like I look atlike little Katelyn, like 14 year
old Katelyn. And if I wouldhave heard that then, like what would
we be doing now? I don't knowif I'd be sitting here doing this,
but like I think we'd be doingbig things. So I just, I love that
piece of advice. And you'resitting in a room filled with women
(16:56):
with years and years ofexperience on top of yours and mine
and all of these things. Andwhen you said that, Carly, I just
saw the light bulb moments forevery woman in that room. So I want
to personally thank you forsaying that. That is something that
I'm going to take away fromthis conference. Was that right there?
What are you taking away fromthis conference?
(17:19):
I'm going to take away thefact that, like, we are not as siloed
as we think we are. There's alot of industry here, and we all
come together under the branchof ag. And I don't know where I got
this idea or who maybe told methis idea, but I really thought we
were all in our very bigsilos. And we were like, okay, cool,
that's great. You do calf cow.That's so good. I do grain over here.
We're going to stay over hereand. No, no, no. We're actually going
to collaborate and we're goingto collaborate and we're going to
(17:41):
look at these systematicproblems on a very big level and
actually start working onthem. You know, there is an attitude
of all the women are in thisroom together. We're all learning
how to be better women.Better, better in our careers, you
know, better people toourselves. Let's also start looking
at the systems that we'reworking in because, you know, we
can talk about ourselves allday long, but ultimately we are in
(18:02):
a system still. And so whatare we going to do to make that better
and how are we going to makethat better for the next people?
And it's amazing to be in aroom full of women who have worked
so hard to make the industrybetter for me. Like, I'm the up and
coming generation, and there'sbeen so much work, and I'm so in
awe of everybody and all thesacrifices and hard work they've
put in to create such abrilliant future for me.
I was recently at anotherconference, and there was a comment
(18:24):
made that the women who arehere now, we're not doing this for
us. We're not doing this forour daughters. We're not even doing
this for our granddaughters.We are doing this for the women far
down the road, just as thewomen have done for us to be able
to come here. I. I always,like, think like, we would have been
(18:47):
witches in another lifetimeand we would have been burned at
the stake. Don't tell anyone, okay?
But if you weren't gonna be.If you are a woman and you weren't
gonna get burned at the stakein the 1400s, are you really living
your best life? I don' is myfamily's hot takeaway. You know,
living in Europe, we're veryfamiliar with witch hunts. And it's
like, look, you got to pushthe envelope a little bit. My mom
(19:07):
worked her butt off for me tohave the opportunities that I have
in industry and all themisogyny she faced. And my. I was
really lucky. I was raisedwith my great grandmother and the
things that I was talkingabout, she's like, oh my God, like,
women can do that now. Like,that's incredible. And I've had been
so fortunate to have all thesewonderful, strong women in my life.
Open the door and be like,step on in. Here's where, here's
(19:30):
where the fight is, honey. Andget like, figure out what you're
gonna do and start fightingfor it. Because it like nothing here
gets rolled out on a, on a redcarpet for you. You're gonna go up,
you're gonna take it, you'renot gonna. Not self reject. You're
gonna, you know, as Melodysaid during our conversation earlier
today, like, you're gonna pullup the seat yourself because you
need to. That's yourresponsibility to everybody later
(19:50):
down the line.
Absolutely. You are aninspiration to me and I, I really
appreciate you.
So.
So thank you for all you do.
Yeah.
Thank you. Welcome. Tell uswho you are, where you're from, and
what your connection toagriculture is.
Awesome. So my name is LaceyDrozdewich. I grew up and was raised
(20:14):
in Abbotsford, B.C. and I'mcurrently a student at Olds College.
My connection to ag has beenthrough the different jobs I've had.
And then I decided to pursuean education in agriculture, and
that's led me to manydifferent opportunities, including
this conference.
Very cool. What were some ofyour jobs that led you to pursue
agriculture education?
(20:35):
Back in high school, I wasapproached by my friend's dad and
he asked me if I wanted towork scooping ice cream for the summer.
And I said, sure, like thatsounds really fun. And it led me
to working at a demonstrationdairy farm as a tour guide. So I
was teaching other people,mostly kids, about agriculture and
I really enjoyed it. I've alsospent time milking cows. I also worked
(20:58):
at a lab back at that farm aswell. Basically just a lab tech for
a little while, but yeah,that's about it.
Very cool. I'm curious. Youmentioned you were teaching kids
at this dairy farm, doingtours and everything. As a kid yourself,
where did you think ice creamcame from?
When I was a kid, I knew itcame from a cow, but then I'm sure
(21:21):
as a kid, I probably justthought it came from that ice cream
parlor, really. But I learnedat a very young age how all of that
stuff was just made and likethat cow's milk turns into so many
different products that we allenjoy. And growing up in the city,
very much surrounded by somany dairy farms, there's very like
(21:42):
quite a few places that maketheir own products on site. And so
I was very grateful to like goand tour those places and actually
understand that farm to tableconcept, but in a more modern atmosphere,
I guess you could say.
Cool. So tell me what you aretaking in school and what you plan
on doing with it after.
Yeah, so I'm currently in myagribusiness degree program. So prior
(22:03):
to that I did my diploma withagriculture management. And so my
goal is always to go back toB.C. and and find a job there hopefully
in like a agricultureeducation kind of realm or back to
dairy, maybe genetics,something like that. I don't know
exactly, but those are kind ofmy ideas at this point in time.
(22:24):
I always hated the questionlike, what are you going to do when
you grow up? And I used towork in post secondary education
and it was like, I don't knowwhat I'm doing, like two weeks from
now kind of thing. I don'tknow what to do as an adult. Like
nobody tells you so. Youanswered that very well.
Thank you. Every time I gohome, my family says, so what are
you actually doing with yourdegree and when do you go back? It's
(22:46):
like, great, okay.
Yeah. Have you been to theAdvancing Women's Conference before?
I have not, no. This is myfirst year.
What do you think so far?
It's very cool. I've made somereally great connections, especially
with other students. I willsay it's been really great to meet
other people who are the sameage as you, also pursuing the same
(23:09):
like, direction of education,but maybe at a different institution.
So getting to like comparenotes kind of thing, what you're
learning, what they'relearning. But also like connecting
with different industryexperts has been really cool because
we just don't get that chanceto do the thing that on campus. Like
obviously some of our teachersdo come from industry and then come
and teach us what they know.But this is a very different atmosphere
(23:31):
and I've been really enjoying it.
Awesome. Thank you so much forsharing your story with me and good
luck in your studies.
Thank you.
(25:10):
inaudible
Welcome to the Rural Womanpodcast. Tell us who you are, where
you're from, and what yourconnection to agriculture is.
Yeah, so my name is MonikaRobertson and I am from Winnipeg,
Manitoba. I grew up on a. On asmall horse farm, hobby farm in Binsgarth,
(25:37):
Manitoba. So right by theManitoba Saskatchewan border. So
that is my connection toagriculture. While my dad did not
farm in your typical farmenvironment, he grew up on a farm.
And I was exposed to it at avery young age because My uncles
farmed and my grandpa farmedand, and he just chose a different
path in life. But we still ownour land out there and it's still
(25:59):
my farm is what I call it. Andthat led me to actually my career
in agriculture.
What, what are you doing inagriculture today?
I am the corporate marketingmanager for Parrish and Heinbecker
Limited. I think it's maybenot a well known company even though
we are the third largest graincompany in Canada. We buy grain and
sell crop inputs to farmersall the way from Alberta to Ontario.
(26:22):
We also have several terminalsacross Canada and we divisions of
Parish and Highbacker includePNH Milling and New Life Mills. So
we are actually the largestflour miller in Canada. So we're
a fully integrated company andagriculture is really at the core
of everything that Parrish onHyde Baker stands for.
(26:43):
Absolutely. Tell me how yougrew into this position. What made
you interested in marketingand specifically in agriculture?
Yeah.
So I have an ag businessdegree from the University of Manitoba
because I actually started,went to school and I was like I want
to be a veterinarian becauseevery little girl wants to be be
a veterinarian. Ruralizingquickly that maybe science wasn't
(27:04):
necessarily a strength ofmine, but creative being creative
and sharing, communicating wasdefinitely something that was a strength
of mine. So I quicklytransferred to the business department
of ag business and that'swhere my education came from. Right
out of school I worked for BigAg for Monsanto and spent a number
(27:26):
of years learning about moreabout herbicides and seed. Spent
most of my career on the seedside of the business, really realizing
that communication wassomething that I wanted to do. Went
back to school part time andgot a public relations diploma and
worked for a producerassociation in Manitoba and then
(27:47):
looking for somethingdifferent. I never worked on the
retail side of the business orgrain. I really didn't understand
how grain moved around andstarted with Parish just over five
years ago and really enjoyinga whole different aspect of the business.
So you know, probably like 13,14 years into my career learning
(28:08):
something new aboutagriculture again, which here I thought
I knew it, but clearly Ididn't because the grain and flour
milling like food production,also not something that I experienced
earlier on in my career.
Right. And I even just thinkof it from a farmer's perspective,
the understanding of whathappens to your grain after it leaves
the farm. You know, sometimesit can be just as simple as well,
(28:30):
I'm gonna go drop it off atthe elevator and then Jesus, take
the wheel after that, like whoknows where it's going. But and for
some crops, us specifically,like we, we sell it direct to the
buyer. Like we don't have themilling because we have the specialty
crop and all of the things. Soit's all, oh, it's so different and
it's so different in everyindustry. And I love what you said.
(28:51):
You know, you've been in theindustry, you grew up around the
industry, but you're always learning.
Yes.
And that's what, you know, Ithink coming to Advancing Women or
really any conference, I'mtaking something away and learning
every step of the way. So whatare you taking away with you from
Advancing Women this time?
What I'm taking away is, well,the connections that I'm building
(29:13):
with my fellow colleagues. Soat pnh, we, we every year invite
our women to attend thisconference and I am one of the lucky
ones that get to choose choosethe women to attend with me. So I'm
taking away the connectionsthat I'm making with my fellow employees.
Because we have 700 employeesacross Canada. I don't get to meet
(29:34):
them on a regular basis. Imight email them periodically, but
I don't get to meet them. Sothose connections and just understanding
how they, they operate and howthey do work in their, in their elevators
or in their office or whereverthey are and then I'm relishing the
information that they'rereceiving from these conferences.
So I am very lucky that I getto attend conferences with my job
(29:56):
on a regular basis. A lot ofmy colleagues don't necessarily attend
them. They're, you know, anadmin at an elevator or a grain ordinator
at an elevator. And so theydon't have the opportunities that
I am lucky to have in mycareer. So I am relishing experiencing
it with them and learning andmaking other connections with watching
(30:16):
them making the connectionswith the other women in ag. I love
the inspirational stories andthe entrepreneurs. So I am not an
entrepreneur. I always like,wow, it would be super cool to be
an entrepreneur. I'm not sureI'm brave enough to do that. But
I love to hear about theentrepreneurs and how are they are
making their path inagriculture and the women entrepreneurs
(30:39):
in agriculture. I think thatis truly an inspiring story.
Yeah, absolutely. And kudos toPNH for, for doing this for their
employees. From the the bottomto the top and everywhere in between.
Leadership is within everyoneand to note that and to cherish that
and to promote that within acompany. I bravo to you guys. So
(31:00):
thank you.
It's something that I workhard for and thankfully we have a
number of women leaders withinour company ourselves, and they 100%
support us hosting women atboth the west and the east conference.
Yeah. Very good. Awesome.Thank you for so much for sitting
down and chatting with metoday. I appreciate it. Thank you.
(31:24):
Hello. Welcome. Tell us whoyou are, where you're from, and what
your connection to agriculture is.
So I'm Brittany Sigfusson. Ilive in Strathmore, Alberta. I'm
a beef cattle veterinarian outof Veterinary AgriHealth Services,
which is just south ofCrossfield. So we do cow, calf and
feedlot medicine. I grew upwith agriculture my whole life. My
(31:46):
parents didn't have cattle,but all of my mom's siblings had
beef ranches, so that's whereI spent my summers and where my love
for beef cattle came from.
What made you decide to gofull in and become a full veterinarian?
I kind of have always wantedto be a veterinarian since I was
little. I just always lovedanimals. And as I got older, I realized
(32:07):
more and more that I wanted todo cattle and be involved with agriculture.
One thing is that I just lovethe people that I work with and working
with producers, really salt ofthe earth people. You can't find
more humble, hardworkinggroup. So I just. I. That's one of
the highlights of my job isthe people that I get to work with.
(32:29):
But I also love just gettingmy hands dirty, being outside every
day, you know, getting coveredin all of the bodily fluids, but.
All of the fluids.
But, yeah, I just. I love it all.
Yeah. Yeah. What has been someof the biggest challenges you've
faced as a woman, as a largeanimal vet?
Oh, you know, there'sdefinitely been places where I have
(32:52):
shown up on the farm and, youknow, get a sideways look or get
the comment from the old guylike, oh, how come we never get the
male vet? Or, you know, thatsort of thing, and you kind of just
have to brush it off. Andusually it's not an issue once you
pull a calf for them and theyrealize that you actually know what
you're doing. So, you know, weget pushback constantly from that.
(33:15):
At my clinic that I'm at now,we have really good, great clients,
so that's not so much an issueanymore. But that was definitely
one of the struggles. Anotherone is that the four large animal
vets currently, if you go to aconference, like the Western Canadian
association of BovinePractitioners conference, which I'm
actually on the board for now,but if you go to that conference,
(33:36):
it's an old boys club, youknow, and it's intimidating being
a young woman coming intothat, you know, feeling like you
have to prove yourself to thisold boys club. So it's just kind
of getting over that andknowing that, you know, I know what
I'm doing and I do a great jobat it and to push through that, you
(33:56):
know, self doubt, I guess.
Yeah, absolutely. Okay. I'mgoing to be remiss if I don't say
this out loud because I wassitting at a round table this morning
with the government and toquote Callie, to describe a board,
it was male, pale and staleand I will forever stitch that on
a pillow because I was like,oh my gosh, that is the perfect way
(34:20):
to describe a lot of boards in agriculture.
Absolutely, absolutely. So oneof my goals with joint like I've
been on the board now for ayear for this WCABP and one of my
goals is to get more youngpeople, young vets involved in large
animal medicine. Because we'redefinitely, it's an area where we're
(34:41):
lacking, where we don't haveenough rural vets, especially cat
like cattle vets. So trying toget vet students and young vets interested,
that and welcoming them intothe industry, you know, letting them
know that they have a placeand that they don't need to be intimidated,
you know, because I'm surethat there's people that have started
out, I mean I have classmatesthat started out as mixed vets and
(35:04):
are now only doing smallanimal and you know, I think it's
a couple different factors asfar as income and stuff like that.
But I also think it's probablymaybe they didn't feel welcome in
the industry.
Yeah, absolutely. Have youbeen to the Advancing Women conference
before?
No, this is my first year andit's been great. I am really loving
it. It's nice to be at aconference with all women. I mean
(35:27):
basically all women. I have my2 month old baby with me, so to be
able to just nurse him and notfeel any judgment. I've had probably
10 offers to hold him while Iget a bite to eat and it's just,
the support is just amazing.
Yeah, absolutely. I have tojust note and say thank you for bringing
the cutest little farmer tothis. Not only for the personal like
(35:51):
oohing and awing of howadorable he is, but I think there
are so many women that thinkthat their child is a barrier, that
they cannot come to aconference or they can't go somewhere
because they have a child.I've host, I've been on a lot of
stages in a lot of places.Bring your babies because we would
(36:12):
love to hold them.
I agree. There's more supportthan you know. And this year I'm
actually also in the CanadianCattle Young Leaders Program. And
my mentor, Andrea Brocklebank,she. She obviously knew was having
a baby in January and knewthat I was coming to these conferences.
And she, like, really pushedme. She's like, you need to. You
need to bring your baby andlike, take him and not be ashamed
(36:36):
and, you know, just.
Yep.
Just do the mom thing andjust, yeah, rock it. So that's what
I'm trying to do.
Got you. We got you. Thank youfor sharing your story with me. I
appreciate it.
Yeah, you're welcome.
Welcome. I'm so excited to besitting with you. Tell us who you
(36:57):
are, what your name is, whereyou're from, and what your connection
to agriculture is.
Yeah, my name is DesaraySkretting. I am one of the sponsored
students here at awc. I amwith Yorkville University, so I'm
in my master's of counselingpsychology program. I am just about
to start my practicum in Mayhere while I'll actually be taking
my first clients. And myconnection with agriculture is I
(37:18):
grew up on a beef production.We also had crops and cereal grains
in southern Alberta, close toLethbridge. And. And I've been working
in the veterinary industrypart time while I've been going back
to school. So a few differentfeelers out into the agricultural
industry there, but this isjust the perfect conference to kind
of bring it all together.
Absolutely. What. What was itabout psychology? What was the draw
(37:40):
there?
Yeah, so I definitely did notstart in psychology. I started it
with my major in biology. AndI wasn't quite sure the route I wanted
to take. After my first fewpsychology classes, though, in university,
I switched my majors. So Igraduated with my undergraduate in
psychology, my minor inbiology, and then I was hooped. I
didn't know where I wanted togo from there, and I knew I wanted
(38:03):
to work with people. And I hada love and a passion for biology
as well. And I had no ideawhere that was going to go. And it
wasn't until I just restartedmy master's program after working
in the veterinary field for alittle bit that I wanted to somehow
find something someday thatwould blend the two together. The
end goal now is to open up ananimal assisted therapy practice
(38:24):
that while it incorporatesanimals into a therapeutic program,
also works with people thatperhaps have come from the veterinary
industry. Veterinarians, vetAssistants and now a little bit into
the farmer and agriculturalworld as well. I help volunteer with
the National Farmers MentalHealth alliance, who I'm sure you've
had on here as well. Andthat's been an amazing opportunity
(38:45):
to kind of connect those twoareas as well.
Tell me what you taking awayfrom the Advancing Women's Conference.
Oh, man, what am I not takingaway? The biggest thing that stood
out to me was last night atthe supper and I got to sit at a
table with amazing women andthey were talking about things that
were powerful in the sensethat I had never heard women talk
(39:09):
about such regular things likethe importance of communication,
but also, you know, justpolitics. I had never felt so empowered
sitting around these women andlistening to them talk about things
in an interesting way. I hadonly ever heard these kind of conversations
come from a primarily maleaudience. And I'll be honest, it
(39:31):
kind of sounded like CharlieBrown's Adults when I had sat and
talked about it before, wherethey just start talking. And these
women made me interested.These women made me think that my
opinion was valued. And comingup as a student, your opinion usually
is just, you know, sit andlearn and listen. And then I was
asked my opinion on things andI was included and I felt valuable
(39:52):
and I felt like I wanted tocontribute to the conversation. And
that more than anything was sopowerful and encouraging and inspiring.
And then even after the supperhad concluded, they spent time lifting
me up and encouraging me andasking about me and wanting to invest
in my future and my wellbeing. And that meant more than anything,
I think I, I probably learnedat the conference was that connection.
(40:13):
I know what table you weresitting at and the women in which
you are speaking of. And onceyou are in that circle, they don't
let you go. And that issomething that I think is very special
not only about women inagriculture. Well, no, I'm going
to say specifically aboutwomen in agriculture because we are
so isolated in a lot of thingsand things can seem really abstract
(40:37):
and abnormal to the, quote,regular person. But once you find
these people who are able tosupport you, we got you. So we got
you. Desiree, thank you somuch. Thank you for sharing your
story with me. Hello, welcome.Tell us who you are, where you're
(41:00):
from, and what your connectionto agriculture is.
My name is Jessica Larsen. I'moriginally from pei. I go to school
in Nova Scotia at DalhousieSchool, Faculty of Agriculture. I'm
a fourth year agriculturebusiness student. So coming up on
the end of the school year,very quick here, I grew up on a beef
cattle and potato farm. I havethree older brothers and my mom and
dad are all on the farm andvery big family, all in agriculture.
(41:23):
One side of my family had 26,I have 25. I guess there's 26 first
cousins and only seven women.So surrounded by men was a very big
part of my life and now I'mjust trying to find that spot for
me.
Absolutely. Very cool. Sogrowing up in a fairly large operation
and predominantly men, whatkind of role models did you have
(41:46):
from your family or even inyour community of different women
and what they were doing in agriculture?
Yeah, definitely. I got a lotthrough 4H was probably the biggest
thing. And of course my mom aswell. She worked a full time job
and kept up with the books onthe farm. And then eventually when
we knew we wanted to grow andmy brothers wanted to farm, she came
home full time to make surethat was possible. So that's really
(42:08):
good to see and nice to seethat there's always a place for women.
And I guess just in the 4Hprogram, just seeing women and women
leaders and being taught bythem growing up was a big help.
Very cool. What are you hopingto do once you're done school?
So right now my path, I'vedone research the last three summers.
(42:29):
One summer with Ag Canada andBible Hill, two summers with the
P.E.I. department ofAgriculture. So I like that research.
I like being out in the field,I like helping the farmers, I like
finding solutions or beingpart of finding the solution. So
right now just looking and I,I guess more into the plant science
side of things. So justlooking for a route there. Right
(42:49):
now just looking at jobs withag Canada Again, McCain's and other
local businesses and small companies.
Very cool. Is this your firsttime at the Advancing Women Conference?
Yeah, it is. Yeah.
What do you, what do you thinkso far?
It's really nice. It's reallycool to hear all the stories and
get to meet everybody. Andagain, people that are a little bit
older and have the experiencein the industry, but as well to hear
(43:11):
other students and theirpathways, where they are, what they're
taking, whether it be they'restill an undergrad, a master students
or a PhD student, justlearning what they're doing, where
they've come from, how theygot to, where they are. And again,
the older generations and theinfluence, just seeing how they got
to where they are as well,it's really inspiring being in a
conference, a hotel full ofwomen that all have something in
(43:33):
common.
Right. Well, and youmentioned, you know, finding that
place for yourself inagriculture and to be surrounded
by so many incredible womendoing essentially different things
but having that place. And forme, even still, it's inspiring to
know that we can make our ownplace. We can pull up the extra seat
at the table if we need to. Soit was really great chatting with
(43:57):
you. Thank you so much forbeing here.
Thank you.
Thanks for listening to theRural Woman Podcast. The Rural Woman
Podcast is more than just apodcast. We are a community. A huge
thank you to the Rural WomanPodcast team. Audio Editor Max Hofer.
(44:18):
A special thanks to ourPatreon Executive Executive Producers
Sarah Riedner From Happinessby the Acre to learn how you can
become a Patreon ExecutiveProducer or other ways to financially
support the show, head on overto wildrosefarmer.com to learn more.
Be sure to hit the Follow orSubscribe button wherever you listen
(44:39):
to the podcast to get thelatest episodes directly on your
playlist. And if you areloving the show, please please be
sure to leave a rating andreview on Apple Podcast or any other
platform that accepts ratingsand reviews. You can connect with
us on social media, theworldwoman Podcast, and with me,
(45:00):
ildrosefarmer. One of the bestways you can support the show is
by sharing it. Send thisepisode to a friend or share on your
social media. Let's strengthenand amplify the voice of women in
agriculture together. Untilnext time my friend. Keep sharing
your story.
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