Amy Reid

The best place to start any story is at the beginning. So I figured why not start with my story first.

Name: Amy Reid.

Age: Young enough to still get into trouble but old enough to know better.

Occupation: Farmer.

What happens on your farm: We run a mixed farm with sheep, cattle, crops and a Poll Dorset Stud.

What does a typical day look like: Every day is different depending on the time of the year. It might be a day in the sheep or cattle yards, weeks at a time on a tractor or header, hours and hours on a bike removing weeds. Each day is different and no two are the same. Rain, hail or shine.

How did you get into your job: I was born into Agriculture, I moved away from it during childhood and in my teens and married back into it in my early 20’s. I spent the first few years living on the farm working part time off farm and gradually made the transition into farming fulltime with my husband and business partner Matt.

I know you hate the question, but what is your role one the farm: Like many small business owners, I wear many hats. I drive machinery, I work with the stock, I pay the bills and keep on top of the bookkeeping. Anything you imagine a farmer does, I do that. We also have two children so occasionally I try to parent them also.

What are your hopes for the Agriculture Industry: I hope that the stigma of Ag being a mostly male dominated industry is no longer a thing. It is not even true now, there are so many women across so many sectors of Ag, and it is a shame that when a woman answers the phone in a business, we still assume she is in Office Admin. I am guilty of doing it too. I hope that questions and statements like “is your son going to take over the farm”? and “the tractor is moving; I’ll call the husband on the UHF and see what he is up to”. Or people see the truck coming and ask the husband if his father is driving it.

What advice would you have to any women or young girls wanting to get into Agriculture: Just do it, don’t take no for an answer. If you don’t get a job you want, keep trying. It is an awesome industry and there are so many people out there who know how valuable women and girls are as employees, managers and business owners. It can be hard when you are the only girl in the room, but the more girls we can encourage to pursue their passion the more girls will eventually join us in that room. There are also so many beautiful women who would love to share their stories and wisdom with you, so just ask the questions. I love being asked by young girls how we do something or what would be the best way to start on a new venture.