2024 WOMEN IN SUGAR AUSTRALIA (WISA) CONFERENCE

One Hundred women gathered at the Hinchinbrook Shire Hall in Ingham for the 2024 Women in Sugar Australia (WISA) Conference from 28th to 30th April with the theme “Women Powering Agriculture.”
There were plenty of opportunities for the attendees to reminisce, renew acquaintances, and meet other like-minded women in agriculture, whether they were the ladies who worked alongside their husbands on the farm, or those who work in industries or companies that support the sugar industry.
A Meet and Greet on Sunday evening started the lively conversations of the women who were eager to network with ladies from Bundaberg, Mackay, The Burdekin, and Herbert River Districts.
On Monday we heard many inspirational speakers telling their stories about their association with business and how they managed to arrive at where they are today, and others that informed us on how the businesses that they work for can assist the sugar or agricultural industries.
The (Women in Sugar Herbert) WISH President, Leah Russo, welcomed all to the conference and was the Master of Ceremonies for the day. Leah is Board Member of Canegrowers and she thanked the Canegrowers organisation for the support that has been given to her to achieve her goals and she encourages more women to stand for election, as she said “There is nothing that they can’t achieve.”
Hinchinbrook Shire Council Mayor, Raymond Jayo pointed out that during the War years, many women were involved with the physical tasks on the farm as many of the men signed up to defend our country. Women have always supported their husbands in some way, and now with mechanisation there are many female haul-out operators and many have farm management roles. Mayor Jayo also informed us that the CEO of the Hinchinbrook Shire Council is the first female to take on this role in the shire. Women often bring different opinions to the boardroom along with their aspirations of perfection.
Ellen Cox, from Green Collar informed the audience about “Introduction to Reef Credits”, Clean Air, Clean Water, Biodiversity, and Healthy Soils.
“Sweet Future Taking Off” was presented by Pia Piggott from Rabobank. She said it is “Not Easy Being Green.”  She reported on Sustainable Aviation Fuel and Sugarcane stockfeed. Pia also gave a quick overview of the Sugar Marketing.
Jodie Mittelheuser, the Chief Financial Officer of Queensland Canegrowers, topic was “Women in Business and the Power of I”. She spoke about her journey to where she is today. Challenge, resilience, respect, confidence and patience are tools that are needed to achieve, she was labelled as a “Perfumed Steamroller” but over time she has been accepted and the title has been removed. She endured many business and family adversities which she has been able to overcome. Her message was “Be able to recognise when you need help.”
The Conference guest speaker was Kate Lamason CPA. She has a career spanning the seafood industry. She is passionate about fostering inclusivity and diversity in the seafood industry. She is a Co-Founder and Director of Little Tuna.
Lisa Hewitt from Elders Rural, outlined the qualities of people you need in Agricultural Industries. In the administration roles, 47 per cent are women. There is a push to change the title from “Women in Agricultural” to “People in Agricultural.”
Anita Davina and Dr Charissa Rixon from Metagen Australia, spoke on the “Simple Solutions to manage nutrient efficiency”.
Karen Edgerton and Lawrence DiBella represented Townsville Lime and Gypsum featuring “What’s your PH.”  Lawrence presented the seven Steps, Understanding the importance of soil, testing and monitoring, understanding nutrient availability, crop-specific PH, calcium and magnesium requirements, adjusting soil PH, calcium and magnesium levels, review the impact of the action and maintaining Soil PH.
Nina West from Wilmar Sugar's topic was “Engaging the next generation of women is sugar”.
On Tuesday the group assembled at RSL Ingham and boarded a bus to visit CD Nursery. Colleen Way gave us an account of the history of their establishment and an in-depth explanation on tissue-cultured sugar cane. We were able to see the various stages of the plants. This was followed by a tour of their green houses. She also specialises in growing Tassel Ferns.
It is CANEGROWERS NETWORK Mackay District’s turn to host the WISA conference in 2025 and a tentative date has been set for 31st March and 1st April.
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Contributed by Mary Wallace

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Ladies from the Mackay Canegrowers Network
Tassel Ferns
Painting in the Paddock

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