As a child growing up on a mixed farming property, Fiona was always asking questions as she rode shotgun with her father checking sheep and crops. It was there that her love of all things agriculture was born. After studying agriculture and wool classing, the plan was to spend some time away from the books and back in the paddocks, but that got hijacked by a chance meeting with the editor of a rural paper.
Three decades down the track, Fiona still gets to ask questions but uses the information she gains to tell the stories of agriculture, from livestock prices to case studies on farmers to in-depth analysis of issues. Much of her writing experience has been with one of Australia's best known rural newspapers, but she has also worked with CSIRO, Agriculture Victoria, University of Southern Queensland, farmer organisations and livestock breeders. She considers it an incredible privilege to tell those stories, to share information which could make a difference in the lives of those who read them. The greatest challenge, she says, can be to present that information in a clear, concise way but that also engages readers. She's not into jargon, she hates acronyms and loves discovering new words and trying to wind them into her writing.
Away from this, Fiona enjoys supporting her husband, Nick, who is a farm manager, and chasing her two teenage daughters to try to keep up with them.
