national agday 2021 - A COLLABORATION WITH CBH GROUP

WORDS BY BEC BIGNELL

As Summer approaches the gum leaves curl and the Australian landscape transitions from green to gold. The heat sets in, the flies return and beyond the city, harvesters do circle work in wide open paddocks, they move round and round like hands on a clock. It’s a very special time of year that evokes a very special kind of feeling for anyone who has had some connection to harvest.

Harvest always brings a unique buzz – the farm is a hive activity, the household turns up a notch; eskies and thermos are packed and repacked, encouraging words are exchanged to keep energy up over long shifts, the bins swarm with new recruits and old faithfuls back for another season of good banter and great yields.

For most of the year the work people on the land undertake can go largely unnoticed from the outside. However, harvest makes the contribution of agricultural participants very tangible as the activity is highly visible to onlookers – whether it’s the golden carpets of canola that extend for miles, or the flurry of paddock activity that can be seen from the road, the trucks that amble, ships dotted on the horizon as they sail from the port across the big blue…the impact of harvest is not limited to country towns. The impact of harvest is also felt in homes and cities everywhere, both here and overseas. Harvest is a poignant time to pause and reflect on the remarkable contribution that the Australian agricultural industry makes on the world.

Today is NATIONAL AGDAY so it’s a very fitting day to celebrate harvest. It’s also a very fitting day to celebrate the regional creatives in our RURAL ROOM MEDIA STRINGERS NETWORK as many of the people in our network are closely connected to the Australian Agricultural industry and play a very important part in sharing the stories of the industry with the rest of the world. The Rural Room Media Stringers are driven by a shared passion for raising increased awareness of the many different aspects of regional Australia, and the agricultural industry is a critical part of the regional story. The stories we co-create with the Rural Room Media Stringers enable increased connection between agricultural stakeholders and the people who benefit from what the industry provides.

Over the past year we’ve been very fortunate to work with a suite of Australian businesses who understand what we’re trying to achieve. Their support of Rural Room and our Media Stringer Network not only raises the profile of regional Australia, but it also builds capacity within the regional creative sector and keeps creative work on the ground. This is not only valuable because it contributes to local economies (instead of keeping dollars in the cities) but it also means the regional Australian voice is strengthened and empowered as the people telling the stories or creating the media are actually members of the communities and experiences they are promoting.

When people think of the agricultural industry they often visualise the people in the paddocks; those out in the open. However, it’s vital that we also acknowledge the many moving parts that are hidden below the surface – the story tellers, the creatives, the media makers; the people working hard behind closed doors to build exposure, release the stories and humanise the agricultural industry by promoting the ecosystem of people and parts that enable this industry to flourish.  

We recently had the pleasure of collaborating with CBH Group on a range of initiatives to celebrate the Western Australian grain industry, including a showcase of beautiful imagery highlighting harvest that was captured by Media Stringers Astrid Volzke, Ellie Morris and Angie Roe, that was broadcast on a super screen in the centre of Perth, and today we are thrilled to be able to launch the above video that we co-created to celebrate WA harvest.

This video has been primarily ideated, created and edited by regional creatives and it’s a nod to all the different people involved in the grain supply chain; those dedicated to a vibrant and diverse industry which delivers grain from Australian paddocks to people and places all over the world.

We hope you enjoy this short video and we hope it’s a meaningful reminder of the love and devotion that is fuelled into the Australian agricultural industry.

Happy National AgDay!

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THANK YOU TO THE FOLLOWING PEOPLE FOR CONTRIBUTING TO & PARTICIPATING IN THIS VIDEO:

Sophia Armstrong, Rosie Henderson, Lauren Bird, Brianna Peake, Todd Cardy, Bec Bignell, Patrick Harris, Jennene Riggs, Socratis Otto, Wendi Graham, Jacob Morgan-de Laine, James Brock, Caleb Whitehurst, Cockatoo Colab, Grace Taylor, Josh Taylor, Georgie Lumsden, Chelsea Zadow, Leigh Lucev, Jamie McVee, Kyan Lucev, Josh Smith, Yola Bakker, Elverina Johnson, Helen Bignell, Michaela Hendry, Zita Boyle, Brendan Boyle