The 2026 AgriFutures Rural Women’s Awards

There is something very special about bringing together women from every corner of Australia who are making a real difference in their rural and regional communities.

This year, Merino Country owner Kerrie Richards and her mum, Sandra, travelled to Canberra for the 2026 AgriFutures Rural Women’s Award Gala Dinner and National Announcement, held in the Great Hall at Parliament House on 8 September. During the day they also caught up with other Alumni at a Professional Development Breakfast and also a lunch where the finalists from last year all spoke about their journey over the last 12 months

For Kerrie and Sandra, the Rural Women’s Award has a particularly special place in their hearts. Both are alumni of the Award, and being part of the Rural Women’s Award network has connected them with an extraordinary group of women involved in agriculture, rural businesses, regional communities and industries right across Australia.

This year they headed to Canberra particularly to support Queensland State Winner and National Finalist Angie Nisbet, an outback Queensland grazier whose work is drawing attention to a health issue that affects so many people who spend their lives working outdoors.

The black-tie Gala brought together more than 500 people, including Rural Women’s Award alumni, government and industry representatives, families and supporters, to celebrate the seven women representing the states and territories in the 2026 National Award.

Seven women making a difference across Australia

One of the wonderful things about the Rural Women’s Award is the incredible diversity of the women, their backgrounds and the problems they are working to solve. This year's seven National Finalists were no exception.

Queensland – Angie Nisbet, FarmHer Hands

Our Queensland representative, Angie Nisbet, lives with her family on a 13,000-hectare cattle station near Hughenden in central-western Queensland.

After seeing the devastating impact of skin cancer on family and friends, Angie became determined to improve sun safety awareness for people working in agriculture. Through FarmHer Hands and The AgriSkin Project, she is encouraging practical sun protection, regular skin checks and better access to services for people living in rural and remote communities.

Angie is using the opportunity provided by the Rural Women’s Award to progress a national awareness campaign and investigate options such as virtual skin checks for people who may live hours from specialist services.

We were incredibly proud to be in Canberra supporting Angie as she represented Queensland on the national stage.

South Australia – Narelle Zanker, Dairy Adventures – 2026 National Winner

South Australian teacher-turned-farmer Narelle Zanker was named the 2026 AgriFutures Rural Women’s Award National Winner.

Narelle co-founded Dairy Adventures on her family's 4,000-acre mixed farming property at Mannum. After spending four years as a teacher, she returned to the family farm and combined her love of education with agriculture.

Dairy Adventures brings children, families and community groups onto a working dairy farm to discover where their food comes from and learn about animal care, food production and modern farming. More than 1,200 visitors came through the farm in its first year.

Narelle plans to make the experience even more accessible, develop educational resources and extend Dairy Adventures beyond the farm gate, including through virtual classrooms that can reach children throughout Australia.

Northern Territory – Kelly Shotton, Stationly – 2026 National Runner-Up

Northern Territory representative Kelly Shotton was named the 2026 National Runner-Up for an idea born from first-hand experience of working on remote cattle stations.

Having worked as a ringer, bore runner and station pilot, Kelly understood just how difficult it could be to keep accurate records of water and other critical infrastructure spread across enormous properties.

She initially developed BoreWatch, now known as Stationly, a digital platform that enables station teams to monitor tanks, bores, troughs, fuel and infrastructure rather than relying on paperwork that can easily be lost or become outdated.

It is a great example of practical rural innovation — identifying a problem experienced every day and developing technology specifically to solve it.

New South Wales/ACT – Kristie Ivone, Boas Language Academy

Kristie Ivone represented NSW and the ACT with Boas Language Academy, a social enterprise using language education to build stronger and more inclusive regional communities.

Based in the Albury-Wodonga region, Kristie's model tackles two issues at once: improving access to language education in regional areas while creating meaningful employment opportunities for skilled migrants who can share their language and culture.

Her Award grant is helping expand the Academy's language offerings, train more migrant teachers and explore how the model could be replicated in other regional communities around Australia.

Victoria – Becky Dickinson, Veterinary Support Services

Victorian representative Becky Dickinson is a mixed-animal veterinarian with around 15 years of experience in regional veterinary practice.

Through Veterinary Support Services, Becky is addressing a major challenge facing rural Australia  attracting and retaining veterinarians in regional communities.

Her model provides early-career livestock veterinarians with structured training, mentoring and on-the-road support, helping young vets build their skills and confidence while also strengthening the rural practices and communities that rely upon them.

Becky has already secured funding for a two-year Victorian graduate training program supporting veterinary graduates across regional clinics and hopes to expand the support model nationally.

Tasmania – Amy Vickers, Well Beyond Service

After 26 years in the Royal Australian Navy and rising to the rank of Chief Petty Officer, Amy Vickers found herself facing the difficult transition from service life following a medical discharge.

Living in the small rural Tasmanian community of Gladstone, Amy established Well Beyond Service, using the peace and connection of the rural environment to help Defence and emergency services personnel transition into civilian life.

Her retreats incorporate activities including bushwalking, equine therapy, yoga, creative pursuits and opportunities for participants to reconnect with themselves and others. Amy hopes to expand the program so that more veterans and service personnel around Australia can benefit.

Western Australia – Angela Teale, Starsite Australia

From regional Western Australia to the Moon!

WA representative Angela Teale is a space industry professional and co-founder of Starsite Australia, which is developing satellite ground-station infrastructure from regional Western Australia.

The Mullewa project near Geraldton is supporting international space and lunar missions while demonstrating that high-tech industries don't have to be based in capital cities.

Angela is also passionate about encouraging the next generation into STEM. She plans to use her Rural Women's Award platform and funding to deliver rocket and STEM education programs in schools and help develop emerging female leaders in the space industry.

A familiar face leading the evening

There was another special Merino Country connection at Parliament House this year.

The Gala Dinner was emceed by Carol Mudford, the 2025 AgriFutures Rural Women’s Award National Winner, who many in the Merino Country community may recognise because Carol has also modelled for Merino Country in our fabulous Poncho which she wore in Canberra.

Carol is a shearer, wool handler, registered nurse and mental health advocate. She founded sHedway, a national not-for-profit working to improve mental health awareness and suicide prevention within the shearing industry.

It was wonderful to see Carol return to the national stage a year after winning the Award herself, this time helping celebrate the next group of rural women.

 More than an Award

The AgriFutures Rural Women’s Award is much more than one evening at Parliament House.

For more than 25 years it has recognised women who are contributing to rural, regional and remote Australia and given them the opportunity to develop their ideas, businesses and community projects.

Each state and territory winner receives a $15,000 grant, together with professional development opportunities and access to the Rural Women’s Award alumni network. The National Winner receives a further $20,000 and the National Runner-Up an additional $15,000.

But perhaps one of its greatest strengths is the network it creates.

Women who may live hundreds or thousands of kilometres apart -  and work in completely different fields - become connected through their shared desire to make their industries and communities stronger.

This year's finalists demonstrate just how broad "rural women" really is. Their work spans cattle stations, dairy farming, veterinary services, health and sun safety, veterans' wellbeing, multicultural communities, technology and even the international space industry.

Proud to remain part of the Rural Women’s Award family

For Kerrie and Sandra, returning to Canberra is also a reminder of how enduring the Rural Women’s Award network can be.

Years after their own involvement in the Award, they continue to meet and support women who are prepared to have a go, solve problems and create opportunities in rural and regional Australia.

This year was particularly special - supporting our Queensland representative Angie Nisbet from North West Qld, where Merino Country started, catching up with fellow alumni and friends, seeing former National Winner and Merino Country model Carol Mudford take the stage as MC, and hearing the stories of another seven remarkable Australian women.

Congratulations to all of the 2026 National Finalists and especially to National Winner Narelle Zanker and National Runner-Up Kelly Shotton.

The projects may be very different, but they share something important: they started with someone in regional Australia seeing a problem or an opportunity and deciding to do something about it.

That spirit of innovation, resilience and community is something we are very proud to celebrate at Merino Country.

Applications are now open for the 2027 Rural Women's Awards - more more information Click HERE