Rebecca Reardon has spent her entire life in agriculture. Now, after decades working across the industry and 15 years with NSW Farmers, she has been elected president of the state’s peak farming body.
Her appointment marks the next chapter in a career shaped by generations on the land, with a focus on advocating for farmers as the industry faces increasing pressure from competing land uses, changing public perceptions and government policy.
“I’m very pleased to be here. Lots of work ahead, but I’m up for the challenge,” she said.
Farming has always been part of Reardon’s story. Her family has been on the land since arriving from South Australia in the 1840s, and she says agriculture is firmly in her blood.
“We’ve always been farmers.”
She grew up on a mixed farming property at Cootamundra before studying agricultural economics at university. She now lives in Moree with her husband, where the family operates a mixed cropping and sheep enterprise.
Looking back, Reardon said working in agriculture was never in doubt.
“After I finished school, I did ag economics at uni, I always wanted to be involved in agriculture, and my entire career, my entire life, has been in agriculture, and that’s been a very conscious decision.”
“So, in some ways, it’s a natural progression, and I’m at a stage in my life where I want to give stuff back to the industry and do something positive.”
Reardon highlighted former employer Andy Joseph as one of the biggest influences on her leadership style.
“I had one gentleman by the name of Andy Joseph, who was the owner and boss of a company that I worked at, and he, unfortunately, passed away in his 50s, but he was always a mentor to me.”
“The way he listened to people and the way he approached business and the way he surrounded himself by people who could really help guide him, and help him make better decisions, I think that is something I’ve sort of taken through my life,” she said.
“As I step into this role, I want to listen to the farmers and have me surrounded by people who actually want to make the changes for the better.”
After 15 years of involvement with NSW Farmers, Reardon said the timing felt right to put herself forward for the organisation’s top job.
“I just felt the time was right for me and for what the association and the industry were looking to do and what we wanted to achieve. I felt I personally wanted to do that and make a difference out there.”
Reardon’s family has been instrumental in supporting her decision.
“They’re a huge support network. I have the total blessing of my entire family. My children are older now, so they’re self-sufficient and off at university and my husband’s very supportive in this role.”
“He, like me, wants to see change too.”
Hitting the ground running, Reardon said she had already begun listening closely to members across the state.
“Just talking to the members and the farmers out there and understanding what they thought the primary issues were has been really valuable for me to help frame what needs to be done and where those priorities actually lie.”
“So, I continue to do that and to talk to the farmers and what’s affecting them and try and make the impact where we can.”
Among the biggest challenges facing agriculture, Reardon pointed to growing competition for productive farmland and a widening disconnect between decision-makers and those working on the land.
“Certainly the encroachment on land, our right to farm and our ability to farm- as we’re seeing more and more, good quality, agricultural land, being taken across, whether it’s carbon credit plantations, renewables, urban encroachment, or the social ideologies, putting a lot more obstacles in front of us than perhaps what has been in the past.”
Her goal, she said, is to strengthen both the industry and the organisation for future generations.
“I want to leave the industry and the association in a stronger place than where it is today, and that means for my children and for the next generation of farmers out there,”
“That they’re facing fewer obstacles than we’re facing today and have more opportunity and understanding coming from our policy and decision makers about how they’re impacting farming.”
Reardon believes farmers remain highly valued by the broader community, but says they need a stronger voice in discussions affecting agriculture and the environment.
“I think society still values farmers. At the end of the day, we’re vital for them to be able to eat and clothe themselves. But also at heart, farmers are environmentalists. We all would look after our land for the next 500 years, so it continues to be productive.”
“Farmers are being left out of the room for a lot of these discussions,”
“When 50 per cent of the land mass is owned by farmers., you’ve got to have them in the room every single time,”
“If you want good outcomes, you have to have the farmers in the room and consulting with them.”
She also called on farmers to work together to strengthen the industry’s voice.
“I think farmers need to unite and come behind New South Wales farmers, because the more who actually speak up, the more who talk to the decision-makers and put forward their issues, the more influence we’re going to have.”
“Today is more complex and challenging than ever before in advocacy. So, we need farmers to come together and unite and speak up.”
For the wider NSW community, Reardon said she wanted people to understand the values that underpin Australian farming.
“Farmers are fundamentally honest, good people who just want to get on with the business and food and fibre, and at the end of the day, we love our land, we love our animals, and we mustn’t lose sight of that, and we want everyone to believe in what we’re trying to do.”
She also urged people to look beyond misinformation surrounding agriculture.
“Sit down and look at the other side of it, and why perhaps farmers do what they’re doing the way they’re doing, and there’s always something that’s environmental, or viable, and sustainable in what they’re actually doing.”
There is work to be done, and Reardon is steady at ready to lead the charge.
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