Westpac Agribusiness honours success of rural women agri leaders

2015 RIRDC Rural Women’s Award Queensland winner Sherrill Stivano

Westpac Agribusiness will celebrate the achievements of the state winners of the Rural Industries Research & Development Corporation (RIRDC) Rural Women’s Award by honouring the quintet at the Women in Business High Tea at Beef Australia 2015.

“We are thrilled to welcome Sarah Powell from South Australia, Katie Finlay from Victoria, Sherrill Stivano from Queensland, Tress Walmsley from Western Australia and Dr Sally Isberg from Northern Territory to the ranks of extraordinary winners from past years of the award,” said Susan Bower, Head of Agribusiness at Westpac, which is a long-term sponsor of the RIRDC Rural Woman of the Year Award.

“This award, the highest recognition for rural women in Australia, highlights the ability of women to lead their communities, bring about change, drive innovation and build resilient rural communities.

We are therefore delighted to be celebrating their success at Beef Week, the highlight in the beef industry annual calendar.”

Each winner will receive 12 months of leadership support, plus a $10,000 financial bursary to implement their award vision, and participation in the Australian Institute of Company Directors Company Directors Course.

Queensland winner Sherrill Stivano, a cattle feedlot operator from Roma, said she was thrilled to receive such practical and valuable support for her project, initially focusing on education and connection, to now developing CoOL (country of origin labelling) that focuses on the start of the food chain, with farmers.

“My project is about highlighting Australia’s excellent production methods,” she said. “We need to ensure that consumers can easily identify Australian products, knowing they are produced with environmental stewardship and sustainability, excellent animal welfare practices, and traceability systems that ensure food safety.”

Peta Ward, Westpac’s QLD Regional General Manager, said the bank was proud to continue its strong support of women in agriculture by hosting the annual Westpac Agribusiness Women in Business High Tea at Beef Australia 2015, which brings highly skilled women into agribusiness settings to share their skills and provide inspiration to rural women.

“This year we have two inspirational guest speakers, Turia Pitt and Juliette Wright.” she said. “Turia, who was short-listed for the 2014 Young Australian of the Year and the winner of the recent NSW Woman of the Year Award, is a philanthropist, burns survivor, engineer, author, and a must-hear motivational speaker.

Juliette, Founder and CEO of GIVIT, was a finalist in the 2014 Westpac Community Leader Awards and most recently announced as Australia’s Local Hero 2015 at the Australian of the Year Awards. She created the portal to ensure quality goods get to where they are needed most by safely connecting and inspiring an online network of givers.

“We’re also delighted that Sherill Stivano will be attending the High Tea so we can celebrate her selection as RIRDC Rural Woman of the Year in Queensland and wish her all the best in the national award finals later in the year.”
Laura Carr Account Manager | Sefton & Associates