Tasmanian farmer and farm safety champion Felicity Richards

Terri Cowley speaks with Felicity Richards about her path from Flinders Island to law, government work and eventually back to farming. They cover her leadership roles at FarmSafe and Tasmania’s Biosecurity Advisory Committee, plus the practical realities of running three cattle properties with her husband Mark and raising three children. Felicity shares how volunteering helped her reconnect with rural life, why she believes safety on farms needs to be treated as a choice rather than an inevitability, and what she’s learning about sustainable land management across different environments. The conversation also touches on women’s growing visibility in agriculture and the next generation of farmers. Highlights include: - Felicity’s upbringing on Flinders Island and why she assumed she would not become a farmer - Studying law in Canberra and how administrative law led her toward government accountability work - Calling the ombudsman’s office directly to ask for a job and landing in freedom of information work - Returning to Tasmania, rediscovering farming through her parents’ property near Carrick, and seeing farm business from an administrative perspective - Volunteering at the Launceston harvest market and learning how paddock-to-plate producers connect with consumers - Meeting her future husband while mustering cattle and fixing a fence on the neighbouring property - Running an all-beef enterprise across three properties with roughly 6,000 to 7,000 head of mostly Angus cattle - Managing different land types on Flinders Island, near Launceston and in northwest Tasmania, and learning how each country behaves - Why FarmSafe exists, what it does, and the national focus on reducing fatalities and injuries on Australian farms - The biggest safety risks she sees on farms, especially side-by-side vehicles, tractors, speed and seatbelts - How a near-drowning incident with her daughter Esme changed her understanding of active supervision around water - Tasmania’s biosecurity priorities, including preparation for bird flu - Why she’s stepping back from some commitments while still staying involved with FarmSafe - Her interest in farm waste, silage wrap, hay wrap and the push for better compostable alternatives - The growing visibility of women in agriculture and the importance of acknowledging the admin side of farm businesses See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.