In fairytales, everyone marries and lives happily ever after.
In real life, it's usually a wee bit more difficult. Couples have to make adjustments and women who take on farmers have to adjust not only to the farmer but farm life too.
A generation or two ago, many farmers' wives had to give up their careers. Today that is less common. Roads leading to town have mini-rush hours as country women drive to and from work.
However, the distance from town can make it difficult for some women to combine work in their chosen field with life on the farm. Some are able to work from home, helped in no small way by the internet; others use their skills in ventures on the farm or in their communities.
Rural Women New Zealand's Enterprising Rural Women Award has showcased the many and varied successful businesses run by women in the country.
This year's supreme winner was a tourism business she set up when she returned to the farm after a career as a scientist. Lisa Harper makes cheeses for restaurants, runs cheese-making classes and provides on-farm experiences for guests.
Runners-up and North Island winners were sisters Maria-Fe Rohrlach and BernadineGuilleux whose companyNestling produces organic merino and cotton baby wraps and slings. Previous winners include an on-farm walking trail and homeopathic animal remedies.
The contest and the women who enter it show that country life not only isn't a barrier to successful business initiatives, it can be a vital ingredient in them.
Not all women have the will or ability to set up their own businesses. Many are well occupied working on or off the farm. Others choose unpaid work in the community, using skills often underestimated.
Helping women recognise what they have to offer and giving them the confidence to use it is the motivation behind the Agri Women's Development Trust. It was set up in 2009 by Lindy Nelson, an Eketahuna director and farmer, after research into the barriers rural women face when they want to take existing skills to new levels.
The trust launched its first Escalator programme last year. It aims to educate, encourage and mentor potential rural leaders, building on the skills women have gained in paid and unpaid work.
Next month, the trust is holding First Steps, a two-day workshop for women who want to develop the skills.
First Steps sounds similar to Rural Women Stepping Out, a residential workshop held at Lincoln University in 1986 which changed my life. It helped me recognise skills I had, taught me new ones, gave me the confidence to use them and also led to writing columns for Teletext.
Instant success only happens in fairytales, but courses like these can help participants gain the skills which help them live and work happily ever after.
- Elspeth Ludemann