What happens when a love of dairy farming meets a passion for teaching?

For Narelle and Joel, it's Dairy Adventures an agritourism business welcoming visitors onto the family dairy farm in South Australia to learn where their milk comes from.

In part one of our conversation, Narelle shares her journey from growing up on the farm to primary school teaching and back again, bringing her two passions together. Joel grew up in a sheep and cropping business and shares what it meant to make the move into dairy, find his place within a family farming operation and build a future together.

From bottle feeding calves to exploring the milking shed, their experiences give families, school groups and visitors of all ages a chance to connect with farming, ask questions and meet the people behind their food.

There's plenty happening behind the scenes, too. Narelle and Joel talk openly about the trial and error of developing their tours, fitting visitors around daily farm jobs, and the practical considerations of biosecurity, insurance and pricing. They also share how running Dairy Adventures as a separate business is helping them build their own foundation while family farm succession is still being worked through.

In this episode, we chat about:

• Combining a background in teaching with a love of cows and farming.

• Moving into dairy and finding your role within a family business.

• Starting small, testing ideas and learning what visitors enjoy.

• The realities of welcoming people onto a working dairy farm.

• Answering questions honestly and helping visitors better understand dairy.

• Working together as a couple and drawing on different strengths.

• Building a business through social media, word of mouth and being yourself.

• Taking opportunities, finding support and growing at a manageable pace.

At the heart of this conversation are two people finding their own way in dairy, building something together and sharing an industry they're proud to be part of.

And the story continues: this conversation was recorded before Narelle went on to win the national AgriFutures Rural Women's Award. Don't miss Part two to hear what that recognition has meant and what's happened since this first chat.

To find out more about their farm experiences, look for Dairy Adventures on social media.

If you know someone who you think would be great on the podcast, or you would like to share your story, please get in touch by sending an email to podcast.morethanmilk@gmail.com or stay connected by following us on Instagram or Facebook and send us a message - I'd love to hear from you.

In the spirit of reconciliation we would like to acknowlegde the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their Elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

Danielle Wright farms alongside her husband Tom in Southwest Victoria, but her path into dairy began with a career in graphic design and no agricultural background. Danielle shares how she found her feet in the industry, built confidence through study and established Gully View Dairy, producing bottled milk and hand-churned butter on farm.

The conversation explores the practical realities of turning an idea into a value-adding business, from setting up a processing facility and navigating licensing to pricing products and finding customers. We also chat about raising three young children, navigating family succession and creating your own role in a business with six generations of history.

We discuss:

• Danielle's journey from graphic design to dairy farming

• Returning to Tom's family farm and starting out in 2016

• Building knowledge and confidence through study and industry involvement

• Finding complementary roles within the farming business

• The New Zealand study tour that sparked an idea to process their own milk

• Establishing Gully View Dairy and setting up an on-farm processing facility

• Navigating licensing and food safety requirements

• Producing bottled milk and hand-churned butter, and exploring cheesemaking

• Pricing products, finding wholesale partners and selling at markets

• Connecting consumers with the people and story behind their food

• Balancing farming, a growing business and three young children

• Finding mentors and support beyond the farm

• Navigating succession and the emotional connection to family land

• Danielle's advice for farmers considering value adding

In the spirit of reconciliation, we would like to acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respects to their Elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

If you know someone who you think would be great on the podcast, or you would like to share your story, please get in touch by sending an email to podcast.morethanmilk@gmail.com or stay connected by following us on Instagram or Facebook and send us a message — I'd love to hear from you.

Andrew Jeffers, interim CEO of Food and Fibre Great South Coast, shares his insights on water security challenges facing Southwest Victoria's $4.6 billion agricultural sector. From his unique perspective bridging water management and agriculture, Andrew discusses climate adaptation strategies, infrastructure needs, and the current Western Sustainable Water Strategy

The conversation also explores the broader challenges facing regional agriculture, including labour and workforce shortages, the role of technology, leadership development and the importance of investing in the skills and productivity of the people already working within the industry.

We discuss:

• Andrew's journey from the water sector into agricultural advocacy

• The role of Food and Fibre Great South Coast

• Why natural rainfall has historically been a competitive advantage for the region

• What recent dry conditions have exposed about water security

• The infrastructure challenges facing Southwest Victorian agriculture

• Why dairy farms require such large and reliable volumes of water

• Preparing farm businesses for a drier and more variable climate

• The Western Sustainable Water Strategy and its 50-year outlook

• Why farmer and community input is essential

• Labour shortages and the future agricultural workforce

• The role of technology in attracting people to agriculture

• Investing in leadership, education, efficiency and on-farm productivity

Visit the Food & Fibre Great South Coast website for all of the resources and factsheet or complete the farmer survey about water security

Submissions to the Western Region Sustainable Water Strategy are open until 30th August, please access this here

In the spirit of reconciliation we would like to acknowlegde the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their Elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

If you know someone who you think would be great on the podcast, or you would like to share your story, please get in touch by sending an email to podcast.morethanmilk@gmail.com or stay connected by following us on Instagram or Facebook and send us a message - I'd love to hear from you.