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13/06/2025
Wagga Wagga Senior Rural Manager, Georgia Twomey
From geopolitical upheaval to consumer disruption, the fundamentals that underpin some of agriculture’s greatest challenges, can at times, seem overwhelming.
For Georgia Twomey, tackling the big issues of ag is her driving force, and having etched a global career dissecting some of the industry’s trickiest issues, this Wagga Wagga-based Rabobank Senior Rural Manager is now applying her knowledge to support farmers on the ground.
Yet it was a seemingly simple curiosity that first piqued her interest in agriculture.
“As a University of Sydney economics student I had a keen interest in trade, and how our political economy functioned, yet later in my degree I steered towards a fascination with the wool industry – in particular why, as a young consumer, I couldn’t find any wool products in the shops,” she reflects.
It was a frustration that set her compass towards a career in agriculture, an initial studentship with Australian Wool Innovation researching supply chains across Asia and Europe culminating in a full time role in wool marketing and supply chain management.
Georgia with her father, Richard, has a strong appreciation for the sheep and wool industry
It was a world away from where she envisioned herself as a young girl growing up amongst her parents’ farming and livestock transport businesses.
“The 80s and 90s were tough farming eras, and my parents were conscious of encouraging my siblings and I to follow our own path, and not feel pressured to return to the family business, so a career in ag was never my intention.”
Weaving a connection between producer and consumer
However a Melbourne-based role with wool merchant and processor, Lempriere, struck a chord, further highlighting the “massive void there is between producer, consumer and the supply chain”, and the lack of traceability from wool production, to the end garment”.
“I was interested in, and perplexed by, the challenges wool producers faced, there are so many steps in the supply chain – up to eight points of transaction which make sharing value across the supply chain hard to achieve.”
“How and if producers could gain insights and benefit from consumer trends was a challenge, and I became quite determined to unlock data and insight for more informed decision-making.”
This purposeful contribution to industry, and to growers at a farm gate level, proved to be Georgia’s career lightbulb moment.
“For the first time I found that I very much enjoyed what I was doing, and being part of discussions on production, and how farmers were running their business was personally very satisfying, and it was so lovely to be working with growers on the ground.”
Georgia, with Andrew Green, at Lambex 2024.
After four years with Lempriere, Georgia and her husband, Peter, ventured to Singapore where she embarked on a role with the Australian Chamber of Commerce, managing business programs and events to connect Australian business and potential Singapore and South East Asian partners.
“Living in Asia was an eye-opener, particularly experiencing how businesses grow, and how people live, in such a densely populated and fast-paced region – it gave me a greater appreciation for the international business landscape.”
Whilst the significant Singapore investment in Australian agriculture enabled Georgia to maintain some exposure to ag, it also served as a reminder as to how much she missed working in the industry.
“We knew when it was time to come home, and I specifically looked to Rabobank for my next career move, I knew people working there and it seemed like a work culture with values well aligned with my own.”
Returning home to a Rabobank career
In fortuitous timing, a role with RaboResearch, the bank’s specialist food and agribusiness research and insights team, was available.
“It was an interesting role, focussing on sugar, cotton and wool commodity insights, and with my fibre experience and understanding of the supply chain, market dynamics and pricing, coupled with my experience in foreign investment, it really was the perfect fit.”
For this highly specialised role, Georgia’s interest in data coupled with her innate ability to communicate insights and research with farmers on the ground, proved an equally valuable coup for Rabobank.
After four years with RaboResearch based in Sydney, Georgia and Peter, now with two young children, felt the lure of regional living.
“With family close by, Wagga Wagga was an obvious choice, and Rabobank was so supportive of me continuing my RaboResearch role in the regions.”
A sheep, grain, beef and mixed farming region, Georgia and her family are now well immersed in the community, and the opportunity to move beyond the city has been a breath of fresh air.
“I’m very conscious and grateful for a close community, particularly after living overseas, and the move really reinforced how much I loved interacting with farmers on the ground – time spent with clients has always been my favourite part of the job.”
Thrilled to be part of her clients’ farm business journey, through every season
So much so, in fact, Georgia shifted out of RaboResearch and into a relationship manager role, providing her with the opportunity to focus solely on supporting clients.
Now, over five years since embarking on her role as a rural manager, the experience has been everything she’d hoped.
“The time and privilege we have with our clients, the depth of exposure to not just their business but their families, their goals, their personal highs and lows, is what makes the role so meaningful.”
Supporting strong farm businesses, in and out of the paddock
Georgia clearly gains enormous personal satisfaction from her clients’ achievements, and has a strong appreciation for how farm businesses are managed.
“This region provides excellent examples of how you can excel in any enterprise, singular or mixed, as long as you take the time, and arm yourself with the knowledge, to do it well.”
“I particularly love the complexity and demand challenges of mixed farming, and how clients manage different challenges across the year – when done well these mixed enterprises provide cash flow at different times of the year, and production that complements the management of land, soil and water.”
Thanks to Rabobank’s generous suite of value add opportunities for clients, another highlight of her role is connecting farmers off-farm.
“It’s a throw-back to the work I did in Singapore, and I’m grateful Rabobank values networking opportunities, and is committed to providing knowledge and tools to help clients build strength into their business.”
“It’s so valuable to get our farmers off the farm, and having conversations with fellow farmers – realising that they may not be the only ones having sleepless nights, or talking about an innovation someone is using successfully,” Georgia believes. “Running events and creating opportunity to connect is another terrific aspect of my role.”
She cites a Sheep Mini Masterclass held in Jugiong and Gundagai, and the Rabobank Farm to Fork Summit held White Bay Cruise Terminal on the iconic Sydney harbour as two of her favourites.
Taking to the stage to connect farmers with knowledge and networks at Lambex
“The Sheep Mini Masterclass was really powerful, when you have a group of sheep farmers from across Victoria, and NSW all committed to industry and exceptional at what they do, the learnings and knowledge sharing is immense.”
“And it’s not necessarily the information we’re providing, it’s the information that participants gain from each other over an intimate two day masterclass - that ability to slowly delve into and thoroughly dissect issues is gold."
While her career is clearly the source of great pride, Georgia’s family, and time spent at home cooking, entertaining and enjoying each other’s company, is her greatest joy.
Georgia with husband Peter and children Millie and Walter
“I’m very lucky I have a husband and two children, Millie, 13, and Walter, eight, who provide me with an enormous amount of fun, they love being involved in everything and my family life provides an excellent outlet to disconnect from work.”
“I’m also grateful for our large extended family – family is incredibly important to us and one of the beauties of living in a smaller community like Wagga is that there’s more time in the day to enjoy those valuable times with loved ones.”
Despite full and busy careers, there’s always time for fun in the Twomey household