**EPISODE SPONSORED BY JOY JOHNS WINES**

Does the farm always HAVE to come first?

We meet two very successful women in agriculture who are challenging this traditional concept of 'the farm comes first'. To do this, they have both come up with unique business models.

Instead of shaping their lives around the farm; they're shaping the farm around their family and other career and business goals.

Hear from:

• Chloe Brown - a dairy farmer in south west Victoria, who has pushed back on the 'get big or get out' mentality of modern dairying to build a business with her husband, that works for their young family. Chloe is also reshaping perceptions of the industry through her podcast, More Than Milk.
  
  
• Claire Booth - while Claire doesn’t like to call herself a farmer, she plays an integral role in her family’s farming business Booth Ag, which is based in Geurie in central west NSW. She also runs her own law firm in Dubbo.

Both Claire and Chloe discuss how they've managed to define their business roles and manage this alongside with their roles as 'wife' and 'mother'. They talk about how they gained confidence and learnt about the business of farming too, as first time farmers.

Thank you to our Episode Sponsor, Joy Johns Wines

** Would you like to sponsor an episode? Get in touch via our website.

This podcast is brought to you by the Rural Podcasting Co

This Episode is Sponsored by: Creative Little Soul

Yes, we invented the term “Bush Podpreneur.” But that’s because there’s a phenomenon that’s been happening in rural Australia that we need to recognise. “Bush Podpreneur” captures the way rural women are producing podcasts in entrepreneurial ways to build community, social connections and even businesses and income.

In this special episode, Kirsten Diprose is joined by guest co-host Dr Maria Rae, Senior Lecturer in Politics and Policy at Deakin University to unpack why and how rural women are starting their own podcasts and what it means for them.

You’ll hear from six rural women podcasters:

• Skye Manson, founder of Manson Podcasting Network, Gunning, NSW
• Kimberley Furness, founder of Oak Magazine, Bendigo VIC
• Katrina Myers, This Rural Life, Barham NSW
• Stephanie Coombes, Central Station Podcast, Katherine, NT
• Stephanie Tretheway, Motherland, TAS
• Samantha Meurant, Rural Compass, Cunnamulla, QLD

We discuss the realities of creating a podcast (including time and money), the opportunities podcasting can bring you and how to manage the duty of care you have to your guests, especially when they’ve emotionally opened up to you.

The podcast market is becoming increasingly saturated, but the listenership continues to grow in Australia. The latest figures (2023) show 43% of Australians regularly listen to podcasts. And that's up quite significantly from four years ago when it was about 25%.

Read the academic paper written by Dr Maria Rae and Kirsten Diprose: Bush Podpreneurs: How Rural Women Podcast Producers Are Building Digital and Social Connectivity

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EPISODE SPONSORSHIP Thank you to Chrissy Symeonakis, founder of Creative Little Soul for sponsoring this episode. If you’d like to sponsor an episode (or a series!) of Ducks on the Pond, get in touch: kirsten@ruralpodcastingco.com

You’ll laugh so hard in this episode, you’ll wet yourself. But then, learn how you can fix that wee problem of yours too!

Many of us probably never thought about our pelvic floor, until we had a baby. Perhaps you were sent home with exercises to tighten it up.But did you know, your pelvic floor can be too tight? Or that stress, hormonal changes, lifting heavy things, and even constipation can all potentially lead to pelvic floor issues?

We meet Courtenay Polock (Wodonga, VIC), who is an accredited exercise physiologist, specialising in women's health. She launched Her Exercise Physiology, which is a virtual clinic, helping women through video consultations.

It makes sense that many of her clients are rural women.

In this episode, we learn what causes pelvic pain, what a prolapse is, what happens if your pelvic floor is too tight and just about the way women's pain is treated in general.

Ever heard of a wandering womb? It's one of those lovely old phrases for women's problems that no one cared to understand back in the day… we talk about that too. So brush aside any awkwardness and hit play!

**Would you like to sponsor an episode of Ducks on the Pond and get your brand out here to thousands of rural women? Email us at ducksonthepond.podcast@gmail.com