Three like-minded members of the TurfBreed community were front and centre at this week’s Women in Turf Conference held at Williamstown in Melbourne.
Queenslanders – Sacha Moncrieff from Paragon Gardens in Townsville and Tessa Baker from GrowTurf in Bundaberg as well as Victorian, Joanna Hulland from Advance Turf in Swan Hill shared their personal stories about the challenges and fulfilments of being involved in the turf industry.
Women in Turf is now in its second year and was developed to bring together a community of women who work or are involved in the turf sector.
Turf Australia’s Jenny Zadro believes the event offers a great opportunity to connect with likeminded women who are involved in a variety of roles that are integral to the decision making and work production of turf businesses.
All three women had three different stories which all resonated with everyone in the room to some degree.
Above: Tessa Baker (Grow Turf), Brooke Ebert (Qualturf) and Pauline Saliba (Qualturf)
Challenges such as managing young children, coping with drought and floods, dealing with family tragedies and trying to find time for yourself were all discussed.
Following a couple of years of droughts and floods Sacha Moncrieff said that: “The fellowship and support from fellow turf women had spurred her on and given her the faith and confidence to carry on.”
Tessa Baker has also experienced similar challenges with the continual drought plaguing her farm. Tessa’s take home message was to “…know your limitations…” but concluded by stressing that “…she loved her job, loved her life and didn’t care if the house was messy”.
Advance Turf’s Joanna Hulland shared an insightful story on the challenges of being new in the turf industry and finding their feet in the market.
Joanna, who comes from a cropping and beef background, has faced many hurdles over the years with a son who suffers from severe epilepsy, continuing staff issues and being diagnosed with breast cancer.
Today Joanna has regained her health and is determined and confident about what lies ahead.
Also, on the program was Paige Fleming, from Fleming Nursery and Landscape, who shared her story on managing the challenges of a multi-generation family business and looking for opportunities in difficult climates.
Jill Rigney from Right Mind International engaged the audience by enlightening them with her expertise and enthusiasm on how to improve communication skills and working in a family business.
And Denise Lusk from Lilydale Turf explained the long but vital process her team went through to improve the systems of transporting turf and the importance of Chain of Responsibility.