Welcome back to The Ultimate Farm Wife Podcast! Today’s episode dives deep into identity, values, rural life, and what it really means to be a woman integrating into a family farming business.

I’m joined by the incredible Melinda Guest — rural psychologist, director, lecturer, mentor, speaker and proud farm-raised mum from Narrabri.

Melinda brings decades of experience in rural mental health, family dynamics, relationships, and what shapes our sense of self as women living and working in agriculture.

This conversation is packed with truth, laughter, and powerful tools for any woman navigating farming, family, marriage, motherhood, or life in a rural community.

💬 In This Episode We Cover:

🌱 Identity, Roles & Values for Rural Women

• Why understanding your core values is crucial when joining or returning to a family farm
• How to figure out who you are in the farming business
• Why so many women “headbutt” with in-laws — and how values misalignment plays a role
• The pressures, expectations and myths around being a “farm wife”

🌾 Growing Up Rural

• Melinda’s upbringing on a generational Narrabri farm
• How moving away (and back) shaped her view on rural identity
• Her journey into psychology during a time when mental health wasn’t openly discussed

📍 Challenges for Women on the Farm

• Gender biases and outdated assumptions women still face in 2025
• Why contractors still ask for “the husband” even when the woman is the director
• The UNE research showing only 10% of farm daughters are considered in succession planning
• How daughters and daughters-in-law can navigate their place on the farm

🤝 The Power of Connection

• Why rural isolation and loneliness is one of the biggest mental health challenges in agriculture
• How the inaugural Harvest Her Power Conference created lifelong networks
• Why Melinda said YES to joining the 2026 conference committee

❤️ Relationships & Intimacy on Farm (Sneak Peek of 2026 Workshop!)

• The reality of relationships during harvest, calving, cropping & chaos
• Intimacy through different stages of marriage
• How to reconnect when you’re exhausted, overwhelmed or simply annoyed with each other
• The hilarious 1933 marriage questionnaire Melinda uses to show how far we’ve come

Harvest Her Power; Empowerment and Skills Conference for women in family farming.

https://farmwivesconference.com.au/

Tickets on sale NOW.

Discount Codes:

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