Lucy Staughton, the current chief financial officer at Carroll Cotton Co, will head to Canberra next month for the National Farmers Federation's (NFF) Diversity in Agriculture Leadership Program.

Ms Staughton was selected from a pool of more than 100 applicants to embark on an intensive one-on-one mentoring program. This will help her determine her leadership goals and the role she aspires to play in the future of Australian agriculture.

"I feel pretty honoured to be included," she admitted.

"On a very personal level I want to delve into where I want to go and what may be holding me back and just have that person to bounce off ideas and opportunities."

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She will meet up with her mentor in Canberra, and chat with them regularly for the next three months.

"I think a lot of the time it's our own perceptions that hold us back. Barriers are more perceived in some cases, if we set ourselves up with proper skills and confidence, and the dream, I don't think those barriers will be as solid and hard and fast as we think," Ms Staughton said.

Other women in the group come from backgrounds in station management, animal science, and international trade.

NFF president Fiona Simson said the program was in its fourth year, and was "inspired" because it continues to resonate with women across Australia.

"The success of Australian agriculture to date has hinged on men and women working together on farm. However, providing a pathway for women to transcend to leadership positions has not materialised as fast as it should have," she said.

She said it was making a difference and creating the pathways and networks needed to ensure gender parity in the roles that would shape the agriculture of tomorrow.

Program graduates have gone on to hold industry board positions and to be changemakers within their sectors and communities.

The 2021 cohort will come to Canberra for an introductory retreat, where they will meet each other, their mentors and hear from inspiring speakers. The group will complete their mentoring and graduate at the NFF's national conference in September.

"Like in previous years, the program attracted a high volume of very high calibre applicants and I am left in no doubt that the future of our sector's leadership is bright, if as an industry we continue to foster the development of our people," Ms Simson said.

"I congratulate this year's group and I look forward to getting to know these 12 outstanding women and supporting them on their leadership journey."

The Diversity in Agriculture Leadership Program is a flagship initiative of the NFF and it is NFF's goal to double the number of women in agriculture's leadership by 2030, based on a 2018 benchmark.

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