by Yvette Brand
The extraordinary stories of a gumboot manufacturer and a support group for rural mothers inspired guests at the annual Women in Agriculture luncheon at Farm World on Thursday.

Founder and ceo of Merry People Dani Pearce and founder and ceo of Motherland Stephanie Trethewey shared their inspiring stories of personal challenge and success.
Growing up on a Leongatha dairy farm, Dani said she remembered the dinner table conversations of her self-employed parents Michael and Hyacinth Holloway – how they managed the ups and downs, taking risks and working hard.
Dani grew up in a mixed race family of Indian and Australian parents, understanding the power of diversity and resilience.
"I felt comfortable with being different and that helped me to develop Merry People."
Dani said sport was an important part of her young life, it taught her to lose and taught her to set goals. And, she said, as a student at Methodist Ladies College she was taught she could be what she wanted to be.
Attending the Meredith music festival and her friends buying PVC boots, Dani identified a gap in the market for wet weather footwear. It was a thought put away to draw on some years later.
After completing an arts/journalism degree, Dani's part-time job with ANZ became full-time as an analyst. But, after eight years in the job, she was feeling disenfranchised.
"I felt like I had lost myself. I wasn't passionate about the product I was working for.
"I was walking to Southern Cross station on a wet day and I thought back to that time when I was going to Meredith.
"There was a gap in the market. Waterproof footwear was practical but it hadn't been done."
Dani developed a business plan but her idea was too small for Australian production so she had to look off-shore.
A trip to China, some risk taking and Dani found her factory and a commitment to 4000 pairs of Merry People boots. It took five years to be a profitable business.
"I needed to change people's perception of gumboots that they could wear them as everyday boots.
"I was going to markets every Saturday and Sunday…I had a strong understanding of my customer and who she was.
"I knew I had something that was special and I had to translate that into a digital world," she said.
As Merry People grew, so did Dani's family. She juggled motherhood and her business as everything happened at once.
Merry People now employs 25 full-time staff in Australia, the United State and United Kingdom and sells through 165 retail partners.
From television journalist to rural mum, Stephanie was named 2024 Australian of the Year in Tasmania for her work in establishing Motherland, a national charity to support rural mothers.
While working as a journalist on A Current Affair, Stephanie told her husband Sam, "no matter what job I have after this, it will never be as hard as this."
"But I was wrong. My time on television was not as hard as rural motherhood.
"Motherhood broke me, but motherhood put me back together," she said.
Moving to Tasmania where Sam could continue the tradition as a third generation farmer, with their young son Elliott, Stephanie was battling silently.
She wasn't prepared for her husband to walk out the door every day. She had lost her village - no family, no friends and no mother's group - it was the perfect storm.
"I had two under two, we were growing a beef business and the borders were shut (COVID). I had to wait two months for a mental health appointment."
That's when Motherland was born. "I don't know where I'd be without it. It saved me."
What began as a podcast became sharing stories of vulnerability. "The charity has grown far beyond my wildest dreams."
Stephanie encouraged women to find their village. "We are promoting an individualistic culture. It's damaging, we were not meant to do this on our own."
She also said "we need joy" in our lives. "For so long on the farm my kids never saw me have fun."
She encouraged women to dance in the kitchen when they cooked or at bath time with the kids.
Stephanie said an 80-year-old person lived 4000 weeks and during that time they should take the time to share stories, be vulnerable, build a village and have fun - "because life is short."