Mannum’s innovative women shine on the state stage

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For the second year in a row, an innovative business owner from Mannum has won South Australia’s top award for rural women.

Narelle Zanker was crowned the winner of the Agrifutures Rural Women’s Award on Tuesday night, in a glamorous ceremony at Sky City in Adelaide.

As owner-operator of Dairy Adventures with her husband Joel, she has dedicated herself to enriching everyday Australians’ understanding of where their milk comes from.

“I feel incredibly grateful for this unique opportunity, not only to share my story, but to represent the dairy industry and educate people about where their food comes from in a fun, interactive and meaningful way,” she said in a social media post.

“My passion and vision has always been to bridge the gap between the farm and the community: to create genuine connections, spark curiosity, and give people a hands-on experience of agriculture that they’ll never forget.

“I’m so excited for what this next year will bring and so thankful to Agrifutures for this life-changing opportunity.”

She also thanked everyone who had believed in her along the way, including her husband Joel, parents Geoff and Heather Simons, wider family and friends.

Ms Zanker succeeded Woodland Pantry’s Kelly Johnson, last year’s winner of the award.

Another local, Juggle House tour operator Kelly Kuhn, was a finalist this year.

It was no coincidence that Mannum was showing the rest of SA how it was done, Ms Johnson suggested.

“This is … what happens when rural women back each other, share ideas and lift as they climb,” she said.

“In small towns, we don’t compete, we collaborate.

“We share knowledge, open doors and genuinely want to see each other succeed – that’s what creates this kind of momentum.”

The dairy is her classroom

Ms Zanker originally trained as a teacher and spent four years in the workforce before returning to help out with her family’s 4000-acre mixed farming enterprise.

In 2024, she and her husband decided to combine her two passions – education and dairying – into establishing a place where they could use hands-on experiences to teach visitors about food safety, animal care and the journey all our food takes from paddock to plate.

Guests get an up-close look at the daily operations of the farm, from feeding the happy and healthy cows and bottle-feeding calves, to learning how the milk is harvested and transported to Adelaide for processing.

Young visitors can also enjoy arts and crafts, learn about the cows’ diet and farming practices, and even take home Polaroid photo of their farm adventure, complete with a magnet frame to put on the fridge at home.

“Many children, and even grown-ups, don’t know how their milk products are made, from cream and cheese to yoghurt and sour cream,” Narelle told Murraylands Life in 2025.

“When they see how we milk the cows and learn that each cow produces approximately 25 litres of milk per day, they start to understand the whole process.

“It always amazes us how many people are fascinated by what we do.”

In its first year, the agritourism business welcomed more than 1200 visitors of all ages and earned a silver medal in the new tourism business category at the SA Tourism Awards.

‘She is a role model for our state’

Her Excellency the Governor, Frances Adamson AC, presented the award on Tuesday night.

Newly re-elected state Primary Industries and Regional Development Minister Clare Scriven offered her congratulations, too, describing Ms Zanker as a role model for all South Australians.

“Narelle provides fun and inclusive experiences which demonstrate her entrepreneurial spirit and innovative approach to sharing knowledge,” she said.

“(Her) passion and commitment to farming highlights the positive impact rural entrepreneurship can have on people, whether they live in the country or in the city.

“I look forward to seeing her continue to drive innovation across the sector and have no doubt she will inspire more women to pursue careers in agriculture.”

As winner of the award, Ms Zanker will receive a $15,000 grant and will represent SA at a national rural women's award ceremony in Canberra in September.

She planned to use the money to publish a children’s book about farm life, create educational resources, undertake some professional development and improve the visitor facilities at the farm.

Ms Zanker had previously been named SA’s young dairy farmer of the year in 2025.

Ms Johnson and Ms Kuhn had already earned recognition for their efforts to reduce food waste and boost tourism, respectively.