WOMEN IN AGRIBUSINESS
From boats to boots By Cheyenne Nicholson
A South Island farmer found a love for farming on the seas of the Caribbean. Now she’s juggling a new farm, a toddler and her annual AI run. And the key to it all? Looking after yourself.
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farmer’s life is always busy, but when you add in looking after the family and a sideline business as an artificial breeding (AB) technician, with a run that is spread out over many kilometres, it can become a balancing act. For Tasman farmer Abbi Ayre, that is what she has to contend with this season but says that her job as an AB tech complements her life as a farmer well, and while it will be a challenge with more balls to juggle, she’s looking forward to it. “At the end of the day, it all comes down to if you’re doing something you’re passionate about, you make it work,’ Ayre says. Ayre and husband Frikke are 50:50 sharemilking at Murchison, milking 650 cows out of a 1270-cow herd milked over two farms. This season things are a bit different from others with a new farm to get to know and a new team, with one-year-old daughter Freya in tow, she will rely on her seven years of AB experience to help her navigate it, although she nearly missed out on a run. “For a while, it looked like I might not get an AB run this season as there aren’t many around here. Luckily I managed to grab a small run of six farms, as well as our own two,” she says. “It’s small and the average herd size is around 300, with our own being the largest. I’m looking forward to meeting the farmers and getting stuck in and finding my groove with it while juggling mum life and the farm.” Her interest in artificial breeding and inseminating began early in her farming career, so took a leap of faith and became trained. “I kind of wanted to do it as soon as I started dairy farming, I guess. I couldn’t really tell you what drew me to it, to be honest,” she says. “I wanted to make a bit of extra money and it’s a great skill to have. The knowledge you accumulate is invaluable
DAIRY FARMER
October 2021
Tasman farmer Abbi Ayre has a lot on her plate this season and will be juggling a new farm, team, family and an AB run, but says she is up to the challenge.
as are the connections with other farmers.” AB technician training kicks off with an intensive two-week course at the freezing works, to work on live animals and learn all the practical skills of the trade. After that, you become an apprentice for a season, working with a senior technician. “You get to do all the inseminating yourself and the senior tech is there to help guide you and teach you
more about the job. If your results are successful, you then get to service a group of farms on your own,” she explains. She completed her apprentice run in Southland and spent the following years doing runs in Culverden, Duntroon and Ashburton, where she and Frikke were farming. Now working for CRV Ambreed, she
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