South Australia has every reason to be proud of Mannum dairyfarmer and educator Narelle Zanker, who was named the 2026 AgriFutures Rural Women’s Award National Winner earlier this month.
Narelle’s achievement is outstanding in its own right.
But what makes it especially significant is the work for which she has been recognised: helping people understand where their food comes from and connecting them directly with farming.
Through Dairy Adventures, Narelle has combined her background as a teacher with life on a working dairy farm to create practical, memorable experiences that bring agriculture to life.
Since launching Dairy Adventures in 2024, Narelle has welcomed more than 1200 visitors – from preschoolers to retirees – through the farm gates, turning everyday milking and calf-feeding into powerful lessons on food safety, animal care and where food actually comes from.
That matters.
For those of us who work in ag, it is easy to assume the connection between paddock and plate is obvious.
Increasingly, it is not.
As fewer Australians have a direct connection with farming, we must work harder to ensure young people understand how food and fibre are produced, the science and technology behind modern agriculture, and the enormous range of careers available across our industries.
This has long been part of Primary Producers SA’s mandate.
PPSA has supported agricultural education through initiatives including Educating Kids About Agriculture and our Farm Safety for Kids resources, and we have consistently advocated for stronger, coordinated food and fibre education in SA schools.
Importantly, that means supporting teachers as well as students.
SA’s Lead Ag Teacher, Sue Pratt, deserves particular recognition for her work helping teachers confidently introduce, strengthen and deliver ag across the curriculum.
The program enables school visits to offer support to internal teams to deliver high quality, engaging food and fibre content.
Sue’s role is unique and there are no other programs like it in Australia.
The only Australian state with a centralised assistance role is Tasmania, which has a government-funded teacher role supporting the implementation of the Revitalising School Farms funding.
Sue’s practical knowledge, enthusiasm and ability to connect schools with industry have made her an invaluable champion for agricultural education.
We have also just come off the back of another highly successful Royal Adelaide Show – perhaps our state’s biggest annual opportunity to connect city and country.
Among the animals, competitions and displays were thousands of conversations with children about farming, food production and regional life.
School agriculture teams were there in force, demonstrating what can happen when students are given meaningful, hands-on opportunities to learn.
The challenge is to ensure that engagement does not finish when the show gates close.
Agricultural literacy is important to our future workforce, but it is about more than recruitment.
It builds understanding of the people, practices and innovation behind the food and fibre every Australian relies upon.
Narelle Zanker’s national recognition is therefore something our whole sector should celebrate.
She is showing that one of the most powerful ways to advocate for ag is simply to open the farm gate, invite people in and help the next generation understand what we do – and why it matters.
This column was written by PPSA CEO Caroline Rhodes and originally appeared in the 24 September 2026 edition of Stock Journal.
Image courtesy of Heidi Who Photography / AgriFutures Australia.
