Women in agriculture

If you think women see Fieldays as an opportunity just to wear their annual colourful pair of gumboots and check out the gourmet food stalls – you are wrong.

Many women with jobs in the farming and agricultural industry will be attending this year on more serious business.

Arianna Ashworth is one of those young women who never thought she would be interested in Fieldays, let alone agriculture.

Growing up, the 24-year-old said she had no interest in the industry. The closest she came was living with her parents just outside of Tokoroa in a cottage surrounded by farms. It was not until she left school and attended a careers expo in Rotorua in 2008 that she saw the Taratahi stand and thought about studying agriculture.

She signed up to the agricultural training organisation and completed levels 3 and 4 of the National Certificate in Agriculture.

“The best part about Taratahi in particular is it is a hands-on practical course where, as rule of thumb, we do 80 percent practical and 20 percent theory,” Arianna said.

After graduating she settled in southern Hawkes Bay for two seasons looking after 1400 cows as a shed manager.

“My first job was working for a guy that said he would never employ a female in his life… but he soon changed that opinion.”

After her baby girl, Macy, was born Arianna found a job as an office assistant for the Taratahi Waikato and Bay of Plenty offices in Putaruru.

“I think as a mum in agriculture you either have to choose whether you want to be the mum or the farmer. I don’t feel like you could do both jobs to the best of your abilities.

“When I was still working on the farm and having Macy, I felt like sometimes I could apply myself thinly over both and that’s why I haven’t gone back to farming.”

Arianna hopes to study for a Bachelor in Agricultural Commerce or a Diploma in Agriculture once Macy is a little older and more self-sufficient.

Until then, she hopes to keep encouraging young people to get involved in the agriculture industry through Taratahi.

She has seen an increase in female enrolments in Taratahi courses, with numbers rising in agriculture.

“When I studied there were only two female students out of 50… I think now it’s about 50/50 and there’s over 100 students per year.”

She will be at the Taratahi stall set up at Fieldays and hopes to check out a few of her favourite exhibitions

“I always really love the tractor pull as well… My new favourite is the STIHL Chainsaw challenge, and the Golden Pliers is a good competition too, but it’s so long and all day, so you just have to keep coming back.”

Jordan Houston is another woman working in the dairy industry.

The 23-year-old is an assistant manager on a Trinity Lands farm in the south Waikato.

She was first approached about milking cows in 2008 and admits she has been hooked ever since, despite the early morning starts and long days.

Her partner also works on the farm, so they are able to see each other and communicate daily.

Because she is always working, talking and breathing the farm with her partner, Jordan likes to try do other things outside of the farm, such as boxing. She competed in a local boxing fight night, which she thoroughly enjoyed.

Jordan said Fieldays is her favourite time of year, describing the event as “a farmer’s Christmas”.

“I really enjoy looking at all the new products that are coming out every year and how much the industry has changed… I feel like there is absolutely nothing that isn’t there.”

She has no plans to leave the industry and hopes to own her own farm with her partner.

“I will never leave dairy farming and my next step is definitely to be contract milking, hopefully that happens for me next season.

“I could never imagine myself doing another job now.”