How I catch up with the world has changed over the years.
Still in my mix is the good old fashioned TV news, alongside digitally downloaded newspapers and articles on social media.
This week I came across, It’s Takeover Time, on the Instagram page for Women In Agriculture Scotland (WIAS).
Vicki, a fourth year agriculture student, was posting live updates and taking questions from her lambing nightshift during her stint running the organisation’s Take Over Tuesday session which sees a different woman sharing a day in their farming life with the public.
Vicki’s passion came shining through – despite the lack of sleep.
She took us on a tour of the lambing and calving pens, lambed a triplet which was later twinned on, sooked newborn lambs and all the while tunes played in the background – all before six in the morning.
Her enthusiasm was enough to get me out of bed with a spring in my step.
Agriculture needs more strong communicators and storytellers like Vicki.
Well done WIAS for this refreshing approach. Throughout the pandemic they’ve been running various online events, offering development opportunities and engaging with women right across rural Scotland.
The organisation was formed before the Scottish Government set up the Women in Agriculture Task Force, which I was involved in. It tackled the issues raised in the Women in Farming and Agriculture report 2017, and one of our key recommendations was training targeted specifically at the needs of women. It was controversial to some as it focused on women, but that was the specific area we were asked to look at.
The Scottish Government’s practical training for women in agriculture and women in rural economy provides 100% funding of up to £500 for eligible courses, and funds courses that cost more than that on a case-by-case basis.
I know from personal experience the feeling of imposter syndrome as you enter a room and feel like you don’t belong.
Joyce Campbell
The funds give all women a real opportunity to improve their skills or retrain. This is time limited support so if you haven’t applied yet, get in touch with Lantra Scotland before March 30 to find out more and get the right course to help you.
This is training that meets the needs of women in a constructive environment.
I know from personal experience the feeling of imposter syndrome as you enter a room and feel like you don’t belong. It’s certainly been a barrier to me attending training or knowledge transfer events.
The feeling of being judged by our peers and exposing unseen difficulties can be terrifying. I can’t spell. Despite the best efforts of various teachers over the years, I’d be totally lost without my computer’s spellcheck.
A couple of years ago I attended a training day. In a breakout session one of the organisers handed me a pen and told me I was to be scribe for my group. I panicked and said I had a hospital appointment and I couldn’t wait, so someone else should take over the writing duties.
I should have just admitted that I couldn’t spell but the whole experienced highlighted to me why we need to ensure we have sympathetic training providers, meeting all needs,no matter the gender, age or ability.