5 minute read
Women driving the industry
BY ROBYN DEVINE
Grower representation in the sugarcane industry has traditionally been led by males, but over time an increasing number of females have picked up the wheel and continue to drive the industry forward.
Annie Attard has been a vibrant director of Bundaberg CANEGROWERS for eight years and is an integral player in the well-known and respected Attard Family Farms enterprise, located in the lucrative and fertile soil of the Burnett Heads region.
At any given time, Annie has her hands full juggling a multitude of tasks and demands on her time, as the family business grows a range of crops including tomatoes, rockmelons, cane and nuts. Nonetheless Annie manages to navigate her time to be an active representative for the Bundaberg sugarcane community.
Annie and Jason Attard have been married for 23 years and brought up five children on the farm, working alongside Jason’s father Francis. Now their 29-year-old son, Hayden and his partner Tegan, help on the farm and Annie is keenly mentoring them to be more involved in the family business.
While Annie didn’t grow up on a farm, she happily embraced the lifestyle and enjoys working with her family and taking up the undertakings involved with growing such a variety of crops.
“Originally, I’m from New Zealand, I moved to Queensland when I was 22 years old after serving five years in the New Zealand Navy,” Annie said.
“Jason is a third-generation grower, his grandfather Joseph came from Malta and started farming in the Bundaberg district, his son Francis, my father-inlaw, took over the farm when Joseph passed away. Jason left school at 15 and started working on the farm and has been there ever since.
“With Hayden and Tegan involved now, we’re slowly starting to teach the young ones what to do, so we can step back. They really love the farm life and are interested in being involved.”
Annie was approached by Dale Holliss, the previous district manager for Bundaberg CANEGROWERS , to take on a director’s position with the board and she said while initially the experience was a little daunting, she felt extremely well-supported and continues to enjoy the learning experiences that she has undertaken.
“I had never had a lot to do with cane before that, Jason and Francis had always managed that side of the business. I was more involved with the small crops, but this role gave me the opportunity to learn about the industry,” Annie said.
“I was the first female director in Bundaberg, and at first, I was a bit apprehensive. I thought who is going to take me seriously when its mostly a male dominated industry, but I have had so much support, and I don’t get overlooked or people don’t look at me like I don’t know what I’m talking about. “Dale gave me some good advice, he said, ‘every question is a good question— there are no dumb questions.’
“I’d recommend people not to be afraid to step up and take on representative roles, or even when attending meetings make sure to ask the questions you have, you learn more that way.
“I got involved with Bundaberg CANEGROWERS board, and now I’m on the Sugar Services and Women in Sugar boards and I’m the grower representative for QSL—I do wear a few hats.
“I enjoy learning about the industry, because it’s our livelihood.
Annie is also encouraging of the younger generations to get involved in the industry, in any capacity.
“Hayden and Tegan really enjoy the farm life and I get them to come along to the meetings to learn things for themselves,” Annie said.
“Hayden does a lot of the physical work on the farm, he’s the harvest driver, he fertilises, he sprays, he plants, it’s good for him to learn to understand the other side of the business as well as the physical side.
“We are working through the Smartcane BMP modules and have had a program prepared by an agronomist to meet our reef regulations, Hayden and Tegan are managing that for the farm and learning about the N & P budgets. It’s good that they’re both interested in doing that and they enjoy doing it together.”
Tegan agreed that the lifestyle, flexibility and the variety of work available on the farm was what had helped her make the change from her hairdressing career to farm life.
“I needed a change, Hayden and I both wanted to be involved and I enjoy being outside,” Tegan said.
“The chance to do a bit of everything is enjoyable, it’s not the same thing every day.
The family is a good fit, by playing to the strengths of each team member, from the youngest to the oldest, they maintain a highly successful enterprise, even 83-year-old Francis is still actively involved on farm.
Annie’s inclusive leadership supports the family to work successfully together, assisting to navigate any potential challenges that may arise when working across multi generations.
“I am proud of the way our family works, we have been around for a long time, we have a good name, and we do the best that we can with what we have,” Annie said.
“For us it’s just normal to work together, Jason is an only child and Francis lost his wife 13 years ago, so we have always worked together.
“The family that are here, want to be here, it’s not like they have to be here, it’s a choice to be part of the business.”
