Ag in Conversation

Ep 137 | Join us in this episode, Myfi and Emily reflect on their experiences with the Agri-Women's Development Trust Escalator Program, discussing its impact on leadership, confidence, and community. They share personal stories, lessons learned, and the importance of supporting women in agriculture and governance.

Big thanks to our partners Cinta Insights and Ag Assist for supporting our podcast.

Sign up to our newsletter HERE

HOSTS | @‌emilywalker @‌myfanwyalexander

Intro/outro copyright info
Track: "Sunrise Instr"
Music provided by Slipstream - Tell Your Story with Music | 1 million+ Songs & Sound Effects
Free Download / Stream: Sunrise Instr 001 by The Rhinestone Cowgirls | Slipstream
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

136 | Emily and Myfi catch up with first repeat guest Deanne Parks for a wide-ranging conversation about rural women’s mental health, her Inside Out workshops, and how life has changed over the past two years. Deanne also shares a deeply personal update about her son’s severe spinal injury, and the tools, support, and mindset that helped her family through it.

In this episode, we hear how advocacy, community, and simple mental fitness tools can make a real difference when life gets overwhelming. Deanne also explains why women need more space to talk honestly, ask for help, and be included in the mental health conversation.

https://www.facebook.com/DeanneParkesOffical/

https://deanneparkes.com/home/

https://www.instagram.com/deanne_parkes_/

Big thanks to our partners Cinta Insights and Ag Assist for supporting our podcast.

Sign up to our newsletter HERE

HOSTS | @‌emilywalker @‌myfanwyalexander

Intro/outro copyright info
Track: "Sunrise Instr"
Music provided by Slipstream - Tell Your Story with Music | 1 million+ Songs & Sound Effects
Free Download / Stream: Sunrise Instr 001 by The Rhinestone Cowgirls | Slipstream
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

135 | Emily sat down with Kate Cullwick, one half of Foxtrot Home, about how a side hustle between sisters became a thriving homewares business rooted in rural New Zealand. Kate shares the early decisions that shaped the brand, from choosing an online model and visual products for Instagram to prioritising natural fibres, sustainability, and giving back. We also dig into the process of how Kate and her husband have brought wool from their family farm into the business and manufacture beautiful blankets entirely in New Zealand.

She also talks about balancing farming, family life, and business ownership.

Check out their beautiful collections here - https://foxtrothome.co.nz/

Big thanks to our partners Cinta Insights and Ag Assist for supporting our podcast.

Sign up to our newsletter HERE

HOSTS | @‌emilywalker @‌myfanwyalexander

Intro/outro copyright info
Track: "Sunrise Instr"
Music provided by Slipstream - Tell Your Story with Music | 1 million+ Songs & Sound Effects
Free Download / Stream: Sunrise Instr 001 by The Rhinestone Cowgirls | Slipstream
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

00X | show notes

Kerry Johnson on AWDT, quiet leadership, and the future of rural women in agriculture
This episode looks at Keri Johnston's journey from farming near Geraldine to governance, engineering, and co-chairing AWDT. It is a practical and thoughtful conversation about leadership, imposter syndrome, women’s development in rural communities, and how environmental stewardship and productive farming can work together.

Big thanks to our partners Cinta Insights and Ag Assist for supporting our podcast.

Sign up to our newsletter HERE

HOSTS | @‌emilywalker @‌myfanwyalexander

Intro/outro copyright info
Track: "Sunrise Instr"
Music provided by Slipstream - Tell Your Story with Music | 1 million+ Songs & Sound Effects
Free Download / Stream: Sunrise Instr 001 by The Rhinestone Cowgirls | Slipstream
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

EP 133 | How Rural Communities Stay Strong When Everything Is Changing : Kathryn Wright

The advice people give rural communities about mental health is often built for the wrong world.

Kathryn reveals why New Zealand’s rural struggles are different, why young men are not always facing the stressors you expect, and why land-use change can feel less like economics and more like grief.
If you live rural, work with rural people, or love someone who does, this conversation will change how you think about help-seeking, connection, and what really holds a community together. Kathryn shares the research behind her nearly finished 89,000-word PhD, along with the real-world counselling work that keeps her on the ground with farmers, shed hands, and families every week.
You’ll discover:
Why the biggest barrier for rural men is often not shame, but not knowing where to go for help
The surprising main stressor behind rural male distress in New Zealand
How forestry conversions, carbon farming, and dairy change the social fabric of whole regions
Why rural women carry so much invisible emotional labour, and why it matters
What social infrastructure actually looks like in a thriving rural town
Practical pathways to support, including brief intervention therapy, ACC sensitive claims, Rural Support Trust, and more

Kathryn also breaks down the hidden power of connection, the role of female friendship, the reality of succession stress, and why asking for help is not weakness, but one of the smartest things a rural person can do. Her perspective is both deeply personal and backed by years of research, making this essential listening if you want a clearer, kinder, more accurate picture of rural mental health in Aotearoa.

If you need a conversation that is honest, useful, and immediately relatable, this is the one to hit play on. And if you know someone who keeps saying "I'm fine," send this episode to them too.

Follow Kathryn on instagram:
Kathryn Wright rural mental health NZ (@ag_mental_health_nz)

See below for more information and help and advice that may have been prompted from these conversations

ACC sensitive claims service:
Support if you’ve experienced sexual abuse or assault
acc.co.nz

Brief Intervention Services
wellsouth.nz

WINZ funded counselling:

Counselling
workandincome.govt.nz

Rural Support Trust funded counselling:
Ignite
rural-support.org.nz

Big thanks to our partners Cinta Insights and Ag Assist for supporting our podcast.

Sign up to our newsletter HERE

HOSTS | @‌emilywalker @‌myfanwyalexander

Intro/outro copyright info
Track: "Sunrise Instr"
Music provided by Slipstream - Tell Your Story with Music | 1 million+ Songs & Sound Effects
Free Download / Stream: Sunrise Instr 001 by The Rhinestone Cowgirls | Slipstream

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.