Jade Miles has been announced as one of three finalists in the Victorian Rural Women’s Award.

The award is part of a wider program, with the Victorian winner to be named at Melbourne Museum on March 20 going on to the national award ceremony in Canberra in September.

Ms Miles said that to be nominated “really is incredible” and “actually a bit of a surprise”.

“More than anything it allows you to know that the work that you’re doing is understood and it reads with people,” she said.

“What it does is provide an opportunity where people are starting to actually listen to what your message is.

“Because mine is around regenerative agriculture and local food systems, it’s not one that usually gets a very loud voice.”

Ms Miles’ nomination outlined how she wanted to share her learnings from developing a community-owned regional food co-operative and to build a social enterprise-based model that could be rolled out in other regions.

She and her husband, Charlie Showers, and their three children live at Black Barn Farm, which they plan on becoming a regenerative and diverse orchard, nursery and learning space.

Ms Miles noted there was a strong contrast between their philosophy and its practical application and that of industrial agriculture, “which has the proven economic driver that sits behind it”.

“My platform, or my cause, is something that we believe in very strongly and understand it to connect communities, but that actually doesn’t have economic data to support it,” she said.

Ms Miles said regenerative agriculture’s value was in fact “a little bit misunderstood”.

“It is so exciting. There is such a strong grassroots right across Australia of regenerative farmers who are desperate to take their food to the people who they know will actually eat it and will look them in the eye and connect grower and eater.”

The Victorian winner will receive $10,000 to implement their project vision.