00:00Hi, I'm Nicole Chiesa. I'm from Ingham, North Queensland, and I'm incredibly honoured to be a finalist in the Women
00:07in Agriculture Award.
00:08I'm a mum of three beautiful kids, and together with my husband, Greg, we own and operate GNC Harvesting.
00:16We run two sugarcane harvesting crews, and with an estimated 200,000 tonne of cane to move this 2026 season.
00:25Alongside school drop-offs and afternoon sports, my role is bookkeeping, payroll, parts runner, taxi when shifting tractors, and our
00:34business OH&S.
00:36This is where I've been developing a practical, safe operations handbook and on-the-job training to create a safer,
00:43more guided pathway for beginners entering our harvesting.
00:45I'm also a co-founder of Link to Country, where we create, host, and deliver agri-life skills programs that
00:53connect young people with agriculture and the wider community.
00:57What makes our program different is that we support the businesses, the industry experts, and the community groups to deliver
01:04the hands-on activities themselves.
01:06It's about giving young people the opportunity to have a go, build connections, and have a realistic understanding of what's
01:14around them.
01:14I'm also heavily involved in the development of the agri-skills passport to help strengthen training in agriculture.
01:22I am grateful for this opportunity and to have the work that I am so passionate about recognised.
01:27Thank you very much.
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