A Deeper Connection - Lavinia Wehr and AgSocial
Article by Clara Gratwick Photography by Mads Porter
For this communications and strategy entrepreneur, a passion for agriculture and an understanding of the industry collided to create AgSocial – a specialised business that ‘gets it’ in a way that many don’t.
Lavinia Wehr started her own business at the age of twenty-two. Usually an uncommon move, but her dad taught her about tax at the age of nine, so on brand after all.
AgSocial is a specialist agricultural communica- tions and social media business. Lavina and her team provide agricultural businesses with social media and communications management and photography and videography services.
East to West, everything from machinery to con- sulting companies.
Over the phone, Lavinia is bright and passionate about her business and the ag industry. She is as busy as she once dreamed she would be, laughing as she tells me “I haven’t been in one place for longer than two weeks since July”.
In broad terms, AgSocial “helps and supports ag- ricultural businesses who don’t necessarily have internal marketing, or want that specialist ap- proach from us being on the ground in the in- dustry.” It’s anything from specialised communi- cations to social media strategies that are specific to their business goals and KPIs.
Growing up on a broad-acre farm in Esperance, Lavinia’s childhood ambition was to be a farm- er and a fashion designer. Ever creative, she says fashion could still be on the cards somewhere in the future.
After studying a Bachelor of Commerce [Public Relations Major] at Curtin University, Lavinia was headhunted for her first role with the Royal Agricultural Society in Western Australia.
It was there that Lavinia noticed the lack of com- munication within the agricultural industry at the time. “Especially around social media. There was an opportunity to get agricultural businesses to utilise these social and digital communications to actually get out to farmers.”
With the show season over, Lavinia went to work in an agency that she describes as “not aligned with her business values”. But even this she took as a learning experience that helped her define her approach with AgSocial.
So after six years, how is Lavinia finding running the business?
Lavina smiles and says, “It’s the hardest roller coaster that no one could ever prepare you for. I think when you’re twenty-two, you’re so naive. I’m twenty-eight now and it’s been a massive journey of personal and professional growth. I’ve learned so much about the world, business and agricul- ture as an industry.”
“It’s been really tough and there have been some really dark times, but there’s also been some amaz- ing highlights.”
The first was a feature in Farm Weekly in 2019 that got her three clients. She’s still got some of them today. “Having clients that you’ve been working with for six years in an agency is unheard of, to be honest.”
She says now, “I think we’re getting to a point where a lot of people are seeing our value.”
Focusing on clients across Australia requires a flexible schedule, travel time and a great team.
And Lavinia says that this constant travel may not be sustainable long term. “I realise eventually I might want to settle down. As a woman in ag, you have to think about it because we have a bio- logical clock. ”
Lavinia says being a woman in ag has its own sets of challenges, “you have to be aware of your sur- roundings, who you are with, what you say and how you articulate things.” But this has never held her back.
Lavinia’s attitude and values are reflected in the AgSocial team – consisting of Elly, Bec, Charlotte and Charleton – and their understanding and ap- proach to business. Together they understand the ins and outs of working within the ag industry.
As she points out, farming is a lifestyle.“People who are farming or in agriculture, their attach- ment to it is so much deeper and more connected than any other industry or business.”
That deep understanding makes all the work worth it – whether it is six hours of back-to-back meetings, tackling the behind-the-scenes tasks no one tells you about like “insurance, payroll, taxes, Xero, all of that”, or being out on the road. “I’m pretty sure I’ve been on over thirty-five flights this past year,” Lavinia laughs.
“We’re definitely still in the thick of it, but there’s a lot of pinch-me moments that we have now that just make it all worth it.”
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