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WOMEN IN AGRIBUSINESS
A very dairy series of events By Cheyenne Nicholson
A Waikato farmer has written and published a book for Kiwi children based around dairying and plans are in the pipeline for more to come.
A
re you ever in the shed and out of nowhere an idea hits you? You scrabble to find a bit of paper not covered in mud, dig around for a pen that’s still got some life left in it and scribble it down on paper. And, often, that bit of paper gets lost or forgotten about. But imagine what could happen if you didn’t lose or forget about that bit of paper and actioned your idea? Waikato farmer Kerryn Zander often has little stories pop into her head, jots them on paper and they are promptly forgotten about. Until recently, her sole audience were her husband Liam, their son Riley, three, and her stepchildren Wills, eight, and Lilly, 10. One day she decided to act on her idea and now one of her stories has turned into a physical book for everyone to enjoy. In October, she launched her first children’s book A Very Dairy Christmas and what started as an idea to publish just one book, has turned into plans for a larger series. “I’ll be honest and say it probably took me about 15 minutes to write A Very Dairy Christmas,” Kerryn says. “Poetry and writing come easily to me and I’ve always loved to write so combining that with my love of farming felt like a smart idea. Any time I have a story idea, I tell my husband and kids and if I get laughs, I know I’m onto a good one.” The Zanders are contract
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T S Waikato farmer Kerryn Zander often has ideas pop into her head and sometimes jots them down but often forgets about them. She has now turned one of those ideas into a children’s book, which she hopes to turn into a series.
milking a 300-cow System 4 farm at Tahuna near Morrinsville. They are autumn calving, which is a great fit for their family and allows them the flexibility to make the most of summertime and forgo (mostly) the wet weather gear during calving. “We have a really nice, healthy crossbred herd here. It’s just the two of us working the farm. Liam does most of the farm work and I do most
of everything else, as well as some milkings and the calves,” she says. Although she grew up on a dairy farm, she bounced around a few different industries before returning to dairy. A vet nurse by trade, she’s also worked as a personal trainer and in several corporate jobs. When she met her husband she made the move from Auckland to the Waikato and back to farming.
“I was working at a vet clinic part-time when I first moved here. We got married, then had our son and now we are contract milking. It’s been a big learning curve for me because I was out of the industry for quite a while,” she says. “Liam has been working in it for 15 years so has a lot of experience under his belt. I’ve been doing Primary ITO courses on the side to pick up
DAIRY FARMER
November 2021
26/10/21 12:54 PM
