WOMEN IN AGRIBUSINESS
Doing good deeds through books By Cheyenne Nicholson
As if life wasn’t busy enough raising two small boys, working on the farm and being a vet, a Waikato farmer is now publishing children’s books.
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hen Waikato veterinarian and dairy farmer Rachel Numan decided to go down the path of publishing her own book, she never imagined the journey it would take her on. Two years and another book later, she says it’s a bit of a dream come true. “It’s been a bit a journey, and a terrifying one at times, but I’m enjoying it and the fact that my work can support great causes like Meat the Need makes it even more worthwhile,” Rachel says. Numan is the author of the popular Tractor Dave children’s books. Alongside this, she’s also a vet, child wrangler and dairy farmer. She and husband Chris farm 700 cows near Te Awamutu, with their sons Jack and Oscar. Everything related to animal health and calf-rearing sits in her realm of responsibilities onfarm and she likes to get out on-farm where possible with the boys to help out as needed.
“We want a farm that we can hand over to our kids, if that’s what they want to do.” Rachel Numan “I’ve always wanted to be a vet, it was what I wanted to do since I was about eight. I moved down to vet school and met Chris who was already in farming. We love the dairy industry and we’re looking forward to where it’s going. We want a farm that we can hand over to our kids, if that’s what they want to do,” she says. They are equity partners and
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Rachel Numan always wanted to be a vet but also an author. She was inspired to write her first book Tractor Dave by her son while on maternity leave. sharemilkers on their 192ha effective farm. The System 4 farm is twice-a-day milking year round and focused on maximising production and caring for the land. Growing up, alongside her ambition of becoming a vet, she also had a desire to be an author, but it wouldn’t be until she went on maternity leave that she took the steps to be one, by writing her first children’s book.
Based on the little 1983 David Brown tractor the family owns, the idea for the first book was inspired by her eldest son. “He loved the tractor. He’d sit and watch when Chris drove past the house, it even does little wheelies, and he just adores it. I was on maternity leave about to have my second baby and found myself with some time up my sleeve and thought I’d sit down and write a little story for my son,” she says.
DAIRY FARMER
April 2022
