Narelle Zanker, a dairy farmer and former teacher from South Australia, has been recognised for transforming her family’s working dairy farm into an educational agritourism destination. Through her initiative, Dairy Adventures, Zanker has combined farming, education and tourism to help consumers and students better understand modern dairy production.
Zanker launched Dairy Adventures in 2024 on her family’s 4,000-acre dairy and mixed farming property near Mannum, about an hour east of Adelaide. The farm milks approximately 300 cows and operates with year-round calving.
The initiative was developed from Zanker’s background in both education and agriculture. After spending four years working as a school teacher, she returned to the family farm and sought to combine her teaching experience with her knowledge of dairy farming.
From Farm to Classroom
Dairy Adventures gives visitors the opportunity to experience a working dairy farm rather than simply viewing a traditional farm display. Guests can observe mechanised milking, learn about calf rearing and biosecurity, and understand how milk travels from the farm to consumers.
Visitors can also bottle-feed calves, try milking and interact with the herd. The tours are designed for a wide range of audiences, including preschool children, school groups, families, aged-care residents and disability groups.
Zanker has incorporated educational frameworks into the tours to ensure that visitors gain practical knowledge about animal care, food production and the agricultural systems that support Australia’s food supply.
The venture has grown rapidly since its launch. During its first year, Dairy Adventures welcomed more than 1,200 visitors. The business also received a silver medal in the New Tourism Business category at the 2025 South Australian Tourism Awards, highlighting the growing interest in agricultural tourism and farm-based experiences.
Recognition Through Rural Women’s Award
Zanker’s work was subsequently recognised through the AgriFutures Rural Women’s Award, which celebrates women contributing to regional and rural industries.
In May 2026, Zanker was named the South Australian winner of the award. As part of the recognition, she received a $15,000 Westpac grant to support further development of Dairy Adventures.
The funding is intended to help improve accessibility at the farm, introduce interactive features and develop educational resources in collaboration with Dairy Australia. Zanker also planned to develop a children’s book about dairy farming that could be made available through schools and libraries.
Her success at the state level was followed by national recognition. Zanker later won the national AgriFutures Rural Women’s Award at a gala event held at Parliament House in Canberra.
As the national winner, she received an additional $20,000 grant to expand the Dairy Adventures concept. One of the key plans is the development of a virtual classroom program that could allow students across Australia to participate in live lessons from the farm without physically travelling to the property.
Connecting Consumers With Dairy Farming
Dairy Adventures addresses a growing gap between consumers and agricultural production. As a smaller proportion of Australians live directly on farms, opportunities to experience food production firsthand can help consumers understand the work and systems involved in producing everyday food.
The farm tours provide visitors with an opportunity to see dairy production directly, from animal care and milking to the broader processes involved in getting milk from farms to consumers.
For schoolchildren, the experience can also serve as a practical learning opportunity. Concepts related to science, animal welfare, food safety and agriculture can be demonstrated in a real-world environment rather than only through classroom instruction.
The virtual classroom initiative could further extend this educational model by allowing students who cannot travel to Mannum to participate remotely.
Zanker’s journey demonstrates how dairy farms can diversify their activities through education and agritourism while maintaining their core agricultural operations. By combining her teaching background with her family’s dairy business, she has developed a model that connects farming with community engagement, tourism and agricultural education.
The recognition at both South Australian and national levels also highlights the role women are playing in developing new opportunities within Australia’s rural and dairy sectors.
