How SA Dairy Farmer Narelle Zanker's "Dairy Adventures" Led Her to the National Stage
Just over two years on from launching a unique and educational agritourism venture on her family's dairy farm, South Australian dairy farmer and former teacher Narelle Zanker has been named the National Winner of the 2026 AgriFutures Rural Women’s Award.
Narelle was announced the winner out of a pool of seven national finalists (one woman from each Australian state and territory) at a gala dinner in Canberra’s Parliament House on Tuesday September 8 - a black-tie event that brought together more than 500 government officials, industry representatives, members of the Award’s alumni, and the finalists' friends and families.
Speaking with FlowFM's Jessica Dempster on the Country Viewpoint a few days after the event, Narelle said she was still coming to terms with the achievement.
“It’s been a very full-on week, to say the least. It’s so many emotions to process, but I feel very blessed and honoured to be recognised for such a unique award.” Narelle said.
“In the moment, it was definitely surreal. I knew I was amongst some amazing women and to hear my name called, your heart skips a beat and you go, ‘Wow, that’s my name,'"
Narelle said it means a lot to her and her mission to see the dairy industry represented on the national stage, and that she gets to be part of that representation.
“It means a lot to have someone in the dairy industry (win an award like this), and I feel very fortunate that it’s actually me, to represent dairy.”
“It’s nice to get the word out there that dairy is good and it’s nice to promote the industry far and wide.”
For Narelle, that representation started two years ago, where after four years of working in the classroom as a teacher, she had the idea to start an agritourism business that would merge all the things she loved into one.
"I think as a teacher, I found that I was teaching so many different subjects that I wasn't always the most passionate about," Narelle said.
"But the thing I loved the most was when I was ag teaching - bringing kids out to farm, educating them and giving them a hands-on experience."
"So I was thinking outside the box, how can I merge all these things into one? And then the idea of an agritourism business was what came to mind. So I thought, why not give it a go and see what happens?”
From there, her and her husband Joel launched Dairy Adventures, an agritourism venture delivering interactive and educational on-farm tours across the Zanker family's 4,000-acre mixed property in Mannum, where visitors can get firsthand experience of life on a dairy farm.
In its first year of operation, the business welcomed more than 1200 guests, ranging from kindergarteners and school kids up to aged-care and disability groups - running up to four tours a week and earning a silver medal in the New Tourism Business category at the 2025 South Australian Tourism Awards.
"It's all about fun, interactive and educational experiences where people are able to bottle feed calves, milk cows, tour the farm, see how our cows get milked and learn the ins and outs of dairy farming and everyday life on the farm," Narelle said.
“The best thing I think is people coming to the farm and just seeing all the different reactions, the questions, and just seeing the joy that I guess people get when they come and they leave going, ‘Wow, what an experience.'"
“We get a huge variety of guests and the age group varies heaps as well - from young families to grandparents with their grandies, seniors groups, school groups - you name it. Most people come and they love it.”
“It makes me really excited to do another one and just keep going and see what impact we can make on people - whether from the country or from the city - by showing them what we love and what farming day-to-day is like."
Through being named the National Winner of the 2026 Agrifutures Rural Womens Award, as well as the South Australian winner earlier in the year, Narelle has received up to $35,000 in Westpac Grants to help further develop Dairy Adventures.
"(This award has been) an incredible launching pad that I wasn't necessarily expecting," Narelle said.
"Now, going forward, it's even more of a platform to promote the dairy industry and connect people back with the land and the farmer and the consumer, bridge that gap between the two to create a better understanding of what farmers really do.”
She said with the award money her and Joel plan on expanding Dairy Adventures' on-farm experiences to make them more inclusive and immersive for guests, and also take their teachings beyond the farm back into classrooms to help kids get a better understanding of the dairy industry.
"We plan on expanding our experiences on-farm to make them more inclusive - so people can get up close and personal with the animals - for example a tractor trailer ride so people can immerse themselves with the animals on the farm, but we also want to start creating content and resources for schools to access before and after excursions, or if they're on a virtual classroom with us on Dairy Australia.”
As a Dairy Australia ambassador, Narelle said she'll be "running virtual classrooms with schools all over Australia, where I'll set up on the farm and be on screen and be able to educate students in the classroom virtually, which will be pretty cool".
She also said her and Joel will upgrading and adding more on-farm development signage to her family's property, to help add more "educational displays" to their farm tours.
"We've got plenty of projects on the go to help make out whole Dairy Adventures experience more inclusive, immersive and educational, lot's to do behind the scenes which is keeping us on our toes, but things are going really well and we love what we get to do," she said.
To hear Narelle's full chat with Jess on the Country Viewpoint, check out Episode 230 2026 of the Country Viewpoint podcast.
More on the Agrifutures Rural Women's Award:
The AgriFutures Rural Women’s Award is Australia’s premier award recognising and supporting the vital role women play in rural and regional businesses, industries and communities. Since its inception it has celebrated hundreds of women transforming their industries and helped propelled them and their ventures even further.
AgriFutures Australia Managing Director, Brianna Casey AM said the award celebrates women creating lasting impact where it matters most.
“The AgriFutures Rural Women’s Award recognises women who are shaping the future of rural and regional Australia through innovation, enterprise and leadership. Narelle’s work is a compelling example of how agritourism and education, when done well, can transform public understanding of farming and strengthen the connection between producers and consumers.”
Applications for the 2027 AgriFutures Rural Women’s Award open Wednesday, September 9 2026 and close Wednesday, November 4 2026 (Wednesday, January 20 2027 for NT applicants). See the AgriFutures Australia website for more details.
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