Lessons learned from the land: Women in agriculture share their experiences working in the industry.

• Date: 01 March 2020
• Author: Kelly, Lindsay

Anna Regele and her husband, Chris, were just four years into dairy farming when their Earlton operation faced a devastating setback.

On a hot summer night, fire blazed through their barn, razing the structure and leaving their cattle without shelter.

It could have been disastrous, but Regele likes a challenge.

"When the barn burnt, we didn't even look at each other," she recalled. "It was, 'We're rebuilding,' and we jumped on the opportunity.

"We had to learn from it. We had to figure out what we wanted and work through it."

Continuous learning was a key piece of advice contributed by Regele as a panellist during the Women in Northern Ontario Agriculture discussion held at the 2020 Northern Ontario Ag Conference in Sudbury on Feb. 12.

A two-day event, hosted by the Northern Ontario Farm Innovation Alliance (NOFIA), the conference brought together farmers, agri-food producers, and sector specialists to network and share best practices in what has become a renaissance industry in Northern Ontario.

The Women in Northern Ontario Agricultune discussion examined how women at all levels are contributing to the sector, the struggles they sometimes experience, and guidance on how to find success.

For Peggy Baillie, finding her way as a farmer and food business consultant first meant building up her confidence in the industry.

Born on a farm in southern Ontario, her interest in agriculture was sparked at...