Like many young people coming into agriculture for the first time, my journey began on a gap year in the Gulf of far North Queensland.

A gap year that never really ended… But maybe just changed my path.

I had postponed an opportunity to study photography at a prestigious private college in the heart of Melbourne CBD, when I left for the far north, much to my mum’s shock horror that I would be over 3000 kilometres away from home on an isolated cattle station. One phone for the entire camp and I doubt I used it much, sorry mum.

From there I spent the next 5 years travelling and working along the eastern side of Australia,
Absolutely immersed in learning all I could about Australian agriculture, particularly where livestock, working kelpies and horses were involved.

Eventually a boy caught my eye and I was once again back home in central Victoria. Still loving agriculture, still enjoying and learning all I could.

It was back in Victoria that I found myself truely falling in love with wool and while working on a large merino property I took to night school to complete my wool classing certificate. I was then a registered wool classer.

It didn’t take long though for the curiosity to grow and my urge to learn more inevitably caught up with me. While I loved what I was doing, I was getting itchy feet, I wanted to know as much as I could about genetics and breeding sheep.

I took on a new job on a 3 breed seedstock operation not too far from home. It was everything I was looking for, maybe except for the wool aspect, but I had a fix for that as well, as I had just purchased my first flock of merino stud ewes.

At the time my cup was full, I had everything I could have wanted.

Unfortunately this didn’t last. 3 years into a job I loved, the manager resigned, and the new manager drove me out and we landed on tough times with my merino’s, with 2 failed growing seasons. For someone leasing land and inputs failing it was a big deal. I was dead broke.

I took on a job at the local rural merch store so I could try salvage my growing merino stud. I pushed through for another 2 years to try got back on top…

Things didn’t work out, but I am not one to quit. Not Agriculture. Not learning new things. Not helping others.
The years I spent in rural merch showed me something. There are people out there that are new to Ag, they love their livestock as much as I loved my girls.
But they don’t have the recourses or knowledge and they keep struggling with the same issues again and again.

There just isn’t the support out there, and that can make all the difference in keeping there stock healthy and happy while reducing costs and having a game plan for when things get tough.

That is why I started StockSmart Ag Services.
To share knowledge, to help build a game plan and to see others thrive with their agricultural endeavours!