Community, careers, chooks and challenges with Danyel Cucinotta
“I tell kids now that no matter whatever happens in the world, the truth is everyone needs to eat. And there's something so special about that. I mean, it is a hard job, and egg farming is still not that glamorous, but I would say I wouldn't change it for the world now.”Whether by chance or a well thought out plan, Danyel’s father Brian (current VFF Egg Group President) took her to Sydney to an Australian Eggs meeting in 2016, and it changed her perspective completely.
“It was actually the first time I thought, ‘oh my God, there’s other girls that are young in the egg industry still?’ That was the first realisation I had, then I came home and said to my dad, ‘wow, do I know nothing?”’
But it wasn’t about knowing everything, it was about showing up and being a voice for the people working within the industry.
“Dad just said to me, you don't need to know anything, you’ve just got to be the egg farmer.”
It was this moment that brought her back to the family farm, into the agriculture industry, and her inherited passion for protecting and advocating for the industry was born.
Danyel and her sister, Renee IMAGE CREDIT: LT’s Egg Farm
On the day of her daughter’s birth, she wrote a submission to the Victorian trespass animal inquiry - to calm her nerves about giving birth, of course - which lead her to speak at the Parliamentary Inquiry.
From that point, Danyel had truly found her voice in advocacy and with the help of her Campaign Manager (her dad, Brian), she was elected as the youngest ever VFF Vice President.
“I didn't know I had to sit on the board, I just genuinely thought I was gonna do advocacy… my mum was like you are no quitter, so you better get your shit together. So I called up some ex-VFF Presidents and Vice Presidents and some of the best words of advice were: it's not a sprint, it's a marathon. Spend your time communicating, engaging, getting to know people and I mean genuinely getting to know them and their problems.”
Danyel and her father, Brian IMAGE CREDIT: LT’s Egg Farm
A theme this year has been learning more about intensive agriculture from beef feedlots to barn raised and free range meat chicken farms and in Danyel’s case, caged egg production.
“I will find out in a number of months, [our farm] may not exist in 10 years.”
Food security is real and in Australia it’s a critical issue. The Foodbank Hunger Report released in November 2022 showed that over 2 million households in Australia (21%) have experienced severe food insecurity in the last 12 months.
In Danyel’s own community of Wyndham, a lower socio economic area on the outskirts of Melbourne, consumers shop on price.
“I like the fact that you're not breaking the bank every time you go buy an egg,” said Danyel.
“Eggs are still affordable for most people, despite what system you use. And that's where we just have to be careful, because it's really easy to make a decision when you're [earning] 200k and above, but my local community are not on 200k and above… So price matters out here.”
Bulk buying trays of eggs is an option many families opt for IMAGE CREDIT: The Age
As a kid on the farm, Danyel knows all too well about the fun that can be had on a farm as a kid. However, it also comes with significant risk. In the first six months of 2022, there were 20 adult fatalities - the VFF are working to make sure every farmer makes it home for dinner.
As part of her role with the VFF, she chaired the child safety steering committee which launched a podcast series aimed at driving social change to improve the safety of Victorian farming families.
The series features the Head of Trauma and Burns Unit at The Royal Children’s Hospital Melbourne, Dr Warwick Teague, who often works closely with families who come to him after a difficult trip in the helicopter due to an accident on their property.
It’s Danyel’s goal to “put Dr. Warrick Teague out of a job.”
“When I did become vice president, there was the incident on Christmas or Boxing Day, and I remember thinking these are the things that just have to be prevented.”
Danyel at the Paddock to Parliament conference (LEFT TO RIGHT: Member for Eildon Cindy McLeish MP, VFF Vice-President Danyel Cucionotta and Nationals Chief of Staff Grady Powell) IMAGE CREDIT: VFF
Danyel sees a bright future for the next generation no matter what happens on her farm or in the wider community - she lives by a see-everything-as-an-opportunity kind of mindset.
“Let the world say no to you, not you say no to the world,” was Danyel’s advice.
“So that comes back to my opportunity based stuff, I say yes to the opportunities, just fake it till you make it. I didn't have a goddamn clue what I was doing on that board when I got there, but you sit there, and if you're willing to learn and you're willing to grow and you don't have any set precedents in the way you're going to do things, then you will make it.”
To hear more about Danyel's story (because believe us, there is a lot more to find out) head over to wherever you get your podcasts and have a listen.
To find out more about their farm, head over to their website: ltseggs.com.au/