Women lunch at Gippsland

An ex-dairy farmer, Allison now leads a team of field services officers for Bulla Dairy Foods. Allison is also a co-founder of the Gippsland women in dairy group and is on the committee to organise the annual lunches.

Each panellist shared their career journeys, discussing how they arrived at their current positions, despite taking non-linear pathways.

In 2025, Carley became the first woman to be selected for the Australian Livestock and Property Agents Association’s Victorian Young Auctioneers Competition. She is a livestock agent with Alex Scott & Staff at Sale and a graduate of Maffra Secondary College and Longerenong College’s agronomy program, with the support of a Gardiner Foundation scholarship.

Carley chose agronomy as her pathway out of school, but two years after graduating from Longerenong College, she realised that was not her calling.

Seeking other career opportunities, she was offered a traineeship with Alex Scott & Staff, at its Sale office.

Carley has been selling cattle at Sale’s livestock exchange throughout 2025, after starting her auctioneering career at clearing sales.

Becky, who was raised in the United Kingdom, aspired to be a veterinarian but was steered in another direction while at school. At university, she befriended a classmate who grew up on a dairy farm in Wales.

Visiting the family farm several times, Becky’s passion for veterinary practice re-ignited, so she started studying chemistry and eventually followed her interest in veterinary science.

After graduating as a veterinarian, Becky moved to Australia 20 years ago, to work at Warragul in large animal practice. Since then she has developed her own business, supporting young veterinarians in rural and farm animal practice.

Anna also grew up in the UK and wanted to be a veterinarian, so sought work experience in relief milking and lambing and studied agricultural sciences at university.

Seeking support for PhD studies, Anna moved into pasture science, which led her to move to Australia seven years ago, to work at Ellinbank, researching forages. She has since been promoted to team leader, mentors PhD students, and continues researching pastures and multispecies forages.

The panellists discussed moments of bravery in their careers, the importance of networks, mentors and role models, strategies for overcoming negative self-talk and advice they would give to their younger selves.

Common themes included trusting one's instincts, embracing discomfort and recognising that traits that some people perceived as negative (such as stubbornness) are also strengths — known as passion and determination in professional settings.

Mentorship was a common theme, as well as the concept of ‘being comfortable with the uncomfortable’ as a strategy for professional growth.

Carley described her first time auctioning cattle — when her colleague suggested she stop holding the rail because it was shaking so much — and when she was asked to auction at a black-tie charity event in Adelaide.

She acknowledged the value of networks and connections — Carley’s mother was a livestock agent and her father ran a transport business. In the local context, they were levers that she could access to find a new career.

Both Becky and Anna moved to Australia despite knowing no-one, started work in regional Victoria and established themselves in their careers.

Becky had to learn Australian farming language and practices from her colleagues. Over time, she also learned to juggle motherhood and a career-limiting shoulder injury, which eventually led her to pivot to establish her own business.

Anna acknowledged a mentor who encouraged her to achieve and who she now modelled, actively acknowledging team members and their contributions. She was taught to trust her ‘gut instinct’ and recognise that problems that seemed large in one’s mind were often small in retrospect.