Women in Agriculture
Kathryn Bargwanna
GEAFTAU After Sales Support, Australia
As an After Sales Support, she answered questions about motivation, purpose, and the future of dairy farming and of women in agriculture like a one person pit stop crew—precise and efficient—just how she is always delivering the right parts at the right moment in a steady cycle of support to secure the longevity of equipment and increase of productivity.
Read about the questions we provided and her insight into them all.
What brought you into agriculture / farm technologies?
I spent the later years of my childhood living on a small farm and I loved it. When deciding what to study at University I knew I enjoyed science and I loved animals so I thought I would give Agricultural Science a try. Since graduating University I’ve worked in a number of roles across Agriculture, mostly within the Dairy industry and I’ve really enjoyed it.
What makes your work meaningful to you?
I really enjoy working within the dairy industry and supporting farmers. Agriculture is such an important and often overlooked industry and being able to contribute to that makes my work feel worthwhile.
How does your role contribute to the future of dairy farming?
The focus of my role is on providing service and spare parts support to our dealerships to help them support farmers to get the most out of their dairy equipment. Supporting the longevity of equipment and helping farmers to increase productivity helps them stay ahead and continue producing premium quality milk into the future.
What will modern dairy farming look like in 10 years in your opinion?
I think that the use of technology within dairy farming will continue to increase, allowing labour to be focused on jobs beyond milking the cows. I believe the industry will continue to focus on ways to increase productivity.
What change would you most like to see for women in agriculture?
I would love to see more representation of women within technical equipment service roles. I think the industry overall has taken huge steps and I have seen an increase in representation of women in dairy farming since I started working in the dairy farming industry, however within the technology and servicing field the representation is limited.
International Year of the Woman Farmer
The United Nations declared 2026 the International Year of the Woman Farmer to promote action toward closing gender gaps and improving women’s livelihoods worldwide, while also raising awareness of the vital role women play in agriculture.
GEA Farm Technologies spoke with women in agriculture across the globe to talk about their experiences, their upbringing, as well as their motivation, purpose, predictions for the future, and has asked them about the change they would like to see for women in this line of work.
