Former Young Farmer of the Year Anika Molesworth founded Farmers for Climate Action and continues to champion a better future for agriculture from her home in Broken Hill.
Story Bron Willis Photos Pennie Hall
The wind blows gently as 34-year-old Dr Anika Molesworth reaches for a dog leash. It’s early, and her kelpie Baxter knows the ritual. Every morning and evening they walk on her family’s 4000ha property near Broken Hill, the red dirt and big skies of far-western NSW seeping into their pores.
“Walking through the landscape is my foundation,” Anika says. “Seeing the birds, smelling the fragrances – it reinforces why I’ve chosen to do the work that I’ve set out for myself.”
That work entails managing the landscape – balancing farming with regeneration. And hand-in-hand with farming is her calling: to spread the message about the dire need for climate action, both for and by farmers. “Climate change and food security is just … it’s an issue that I can’t walk by,” she says.
Anika is a farmer, scientist, storyteller, commentator and author, who lives with her husband Corey. Her book Our Sunburnt Country was published in September last year. She has appeared on numerous current affairs programs, including The Project and The Drum.
In 2015, Anika was named the Kondinin Group and ABC Rural Young Farmer of the Year. Two years later she was a NSW finalist in the Young Australian of the Year and received the NSW Young Achiever Award for Environment and Sustainability. In 2019, the Australian Financial Review named her a woman of influence.
This story excerpt is from Issue #141
Outback Magazine: February/March 2022
