Demelza Hoogeveen

I have enjoyed this new role and I am consistently friendly and helpful towards customers. Putting a smile on someone's face gives me a buzz, and seeing repeat customers is satisfying, knowing they have many other options for food and fuel.

I like to keep busy and I am usually found doing the least popular jobs, such as preparing and cooking food, where my time management skills shine. I enjoy physical activity and the kitchen involves heavy lifting and lots of walking.

I take responsibility for what goes on in the shop and will always find something to do, and tend to remember to do the things that often get forgotten about.

Kintore Farm Ltd has two support blocks; raising youngstock and crops all year, and wintering the dairy herds. Beautifully conditioned, well grown stock, and high quality pastures were my pride and joy. I started off with a strong background in stock due to my horse breeding, dairy and calf rearing background, but minimal knowledge of cropping, and grew my way into the job, which included:

Stock management and implementing animal health plans

Pasture management and feeding out

Managing staff and working with other managers and sharemilkers

Organising and developing relationships with contractors

Organising sowing and harvesting of crops

Repairs and maintenance

Fertiliser application and nutrient monitoring

Organising timing and application of irrigation

Accounts and keeping an eye on costs

Use of various apps and other technology

My husband Nick and I bought shares in Kintore to get ahead in the dairy industry and give security to our children. It has become a high performing and much admired farm, and has jump started many other people into their dairy careers - some of whom are now contract milkers or even farm owners themselves. We recently sold our shares so we could buy our first home and begin to ease into other areas of employment.

Over the years I have gone between full and part time, and various jobs, depending on what stage my three children were at. Yard work, pasture walks, herd testing, weed spraying, calving cows, picking up calves from the paddock, you name it; but the majority of the time spent calf rearing. Starting off on my own with no staff and a disease-infested calf shed, to running a small team of staff, most of whom are are now lifelong friends. Apart from the huge gains in stock health, it has been a joy to see people with no experience with animals, not knowing how to drive a manual vehicle, or back a trailer, and in some instances not even able to speak English, become capable farmers and go on to succeed in dairy or other industries.