Who said women couldn't farm??

One of the main things which used to annoy me, and one of the reason why I left for New Zealand was when people used to tell me I wasn't able to do something on the farm, or I wasn't good enough or knowledgable enough to do something because I was a woman. Not only did this make me feel angry but it was also something I found very sexist.

Since working here for nearly two months I have come to notice that women are treated differently to what I have been used to back home. Yes,ok they are still expected to help with the paperwork, cook the family meals and look after the children, however they are treated as equals when it comes to doing the farm work.

Women do the same work as the men. Jobs include livestock handling, tractor work, decision making along with other jobs needed to be done in order for the farm to run. What makes working here different to back home is that if the men see that the women are struggling, instead of being all manly and telling the women that they will finish the job, they offer to help and work as a team instead, as equals. This to me proves that women are respected and I love it!

On the 24th and 25th of September this trust and respect was put into practice for both Janice and myself. Jono the other farm worker was on his rotard days off and William was tied up with other things so Janice and I were left in charge. That's two women left to run the farm for two full days. Our jobs included milking, treating cattle, collecting new calves and mums, dusting, making new breaks, feeding calves and cleaning up the yards.

Those two days personally felt great for me, and made me feel as though I was proving the negative people back home wrong and oh my god did it feel good.

Women can farm. I'm not saying they can do everything but with good teamwork and respect for them, they will respect you back.

I'm proving people wrong and it feels amazing!!

Hx