WOMEN IN Agriculture as a movement would disappear if women were to step out of the shadows and claim their rightful place in the farming sector – that was the message delivered loud and clear by sheep farmer Joyce Campbell at the annual WIA meeting at the Royal Highland Show.

A stalwart figure in the farming industry, Joyce has been a powerhouse in raising the voice of women working in the sector and co-chairs the WIA task force group in the Scottish parliament, which looks to deliver real change in the industry and ultimately remove the need for such a group.

“We need to encourage women to step out of the shadows so that we don’t need to be talking about this – let’s be ground breakers,” she exclaimed.

She offered some invaluable advice to the packed crowd in Scottish Government pavilion: “Put out the doubting voices in your head and ignore comments from neighbours and others – don’t take no for an answer. It is so important to look for support from the industry and remember what works now might not work in five years’ time,” she continued. “You have to change your road map along the way.”

Cabinet secretary Fergus Ewing, who co-chairs the WIA Taskforce along with Joyce Campbell, voiced his frustration that women are still not receiving the recognition for the work they do within the sector: “We are not realising the potential of over half of our population and although attitudes are changing, there is no question there are glimpses of male chauvinism which still exist.

“Farmers and conservationists are increasingly working together but the female contribution to this change will be crucial moving forward, more than if it was just left to men,” he continued. “The WIA Taskforce has laid the foundation for positive change in Scotland and I believe the recommendations of the group will help us achieve a truly representative Scotland.”

Shetland young farmer and star of This Farming Life, Kirsty Budge, explained that being a young woman hasn’t held her and her sister back from stepping up to take over the family farm when she tragically lost her father five years ago.

“We lost our father in a bad accident in 2014, I was 21, Aimee was 17 – it was during my final year of university. We knew straight away that we wanted to continue his legacy of farming in Shetland – it’s in our blood.

“Through appearing on This Farming Life, we have been given this fantastic opportunity to prove women can succeed in farming and our life had to go on after dad’s passing because we have a job to do as farmers. The commitment to our animals kept us going in those initial dark days,” she explained.

“Although this whole journey has been an emotional rollercoaster and a mental challenge, the help we have received from family and friends along the way has been amazing. We have told ourselves that in order to succeed we need to keep a healthy mental state and part of that is learning not to bottle our emotions up but have those days where you need to cry,” she concluded.