Ann Jarvis

Running a farm typically takes a combined effort of all family members. But traditionally it has been men who have taken lead roles on farming's industry bodies. So it was quite a breakthrough in 1997 when the 11th International Farm Management Conference in Canada listed Ann Jarvis and her husband Lindsay, from a dairy farm in the Kiewa Valley of north east Victoria, as joint presenters of a paper on issues they faced heading into the 21st century.

Two years later, after presenting a paper on how Australian farm women share their management skills in South Africa, Ann became the first woman appointed to the International Farm Management Association Council. This was recognition for the decades of hands-on involvement.

Farm management has been at the heart of her activities since becoming a foundation member of the Albury / Wodonga branch of the Australian Farm Management Society in 1972. From the early 1980s Ann ran succession planning workshops for farmers and she became the Society's first female national president in 1990. But rural life involves many facets and Ann has always been willing to pitch in. Examples include the Country Fire Authority (communications role since 1967), scouts and guides, as the relieving church organist and church secretary, and as a branch delegate to the Victorian Farmer's Federation state conference.

Another passion has been Ann's involvement in education which has stretched from 1973 to the present. Her contributions have been valued locally, as well as more widely in roles such as Vice President of the Victorian Federation of State Schools Parents' Clubs and her involvement in the Dookie Agricultural College and Goulburn Ovens Murray Adult Community and Further Education Council.

In a valuable union of her interests, Ann was acknowledged in 2000 with a successful travelling tutor program to improve the literacy of adult farmers. She remains a vocal and visible advocate for women on the land - and rural women in general - and urges them "to take a greater interest in issues outside their homes and to speak up about those subjects that affect their communities". With her willingness to provide advice and support across the community, Ann will continue to rally rural women to remain a force in Australia.