A South Australian dairy farmer who is helping bridge the gap between city and country has taken out one of Australia’s most prestigious awards for rural women.

Narelle Zanker, co-founder of Dairy Adventures near Mannum, has been named the 2026 AgriFutures Rural Women’s Award national winner, recognising her work in agricultural education, regional tourism and community connection.

Zanker accepted the award at Parliament House in Canberra, taking her innovative approach to dairy education from a family farm in regional South Australia to the national stage.

And it all started by bringing together two things she loves, farming and teaching.

After spending four years as a school teacher, Zanker established Dairy Adventures in 2024 as a way of giving people a hands-on understanding of life on a working dairy farm and, importantly, where the food in their fridge actually comes from.

The small family-run operation now welcomes more than 1,200 visitors each year, including school students, families, community groups, aged care residents and people living with disability.

Rather than simply showing visitors around the farm, Dairy Adventures turns agriculture into an immersive learning experience.

Visitors can discover how dairy products travel from paddock to supermarket shelf while learning about animal care, food safety and the work that goes into producing everyday staples.

Zanker has also used her teaching background to establish two school-based agriculture programs, further strengthening connections between farmers, consumers and the next generation.

Her approach is already earning recognition beyond the agricultural industry.

Dairy Adventures received a silver medal in the New Tourism Business category at the 2025 South Australian Tourism Awards, demonstrating the potential for agricultural education to become part of South Australia’s broader regional tourism offering.

Now, the national Rural Women’s Award will help Zanker take the concept even further as she also hopes to create additional educational resources and, perhaps most charmingly, a children’s book about life on a dairy farm.

South Australian Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development Clare Scriven described Zanker as an outstanding advocate for the state’s dairy industry.

“Through Dairy Adventures, Narelle is helping people to better understand where their food comes from while also bridging the gap between cities and regional communities,” Scriven said.

“By combining her skills as an educator with her passion for farming, Narelle is inspiring the next generation.”

At a time when many Australians have increasingly little direct connection with the farms producing their food, Dairy Adventures is making agriculture tangible again.

And for Zanker, what began as a way to combine the classroom with the dairy farm has become something much bigger, a nationally recognised example of how education, agriculture and regional tourism can work together.

Not bad for a little family farm near Mannum.