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Emma Ayliffe is an expert multi-tasker. When the recently crowned Young Farmer of the Year isn’t working her day-job as an agronomist, she’s developing her social media app Yacker, inspiring generations through public speaking, or helping her partner run their 688-hectare fledgling farm at Lake Cargelligo in Central West New South Wales.
At just 28, the proud advocate is blazing a trail for a new generation considering a career in the agriculture industry.
"It was very cool to be recognised, not just for the work behind the farm gate but also all the work we do beyond," Emma said, speaking of her Farmer of the Year accolade.
Ever since Emma was a young girl, she’s been passionate about all things agriculture, starting with watching her father manage several cropping farms and sheep stations. It was then she first dreamed of owning her own farm when she got older.
Emma graduated from the University of Adelaide with a degree in crop and pasture science and cut her teeth as a farm agronomist at Lake Tandou, near Menindee, focussing on irrigated cotton and wheat production. Back then, she was the minority in a male-dominated world. “When I started doing agronomy it was not uncommon for me to be the only girl in the room," she recalled.
She later went on to co-create Summit Ag with fellow agronomist Heath McWhirter and has spent the past five years working on high-input irrigation of cotton, marginal dryland cropping of winter cereals and everything in between.
Spotting a gap in the market for communication, the pair created the social networking app, Yacker, which aims to connect farmers with one another as well as industry experts to share ideas.
"We thought about how we can create a safe space for information sharing, knowledge building and as a productivity tool to allow people to connect when they have the time to have these deeper conversations,” Emma said.
Sharing knowledge about ag is something Emma carries outside of the app and into the real world with her public speaking and advocacy. Encouraging future generations to consider a career in the industry is a topic close to her heart. "The next generation is 100 per cent of the future whether we like it or not," she told the ABC.
Speaking to NSW Farmers, Emma added: “Don’t be afraid to take risks when it comes to business. Be smart about the risks, weighing the positives and negatives. At some point, or another, you’ve just got to stop thinking and start doing.”
There’s no doubt that Emma will carry her ‘can-do’ attitude long into the future.
Yacker: https://yacker.com.au/
Photo: Marie Raccanello Photography
