From Manchester to the manager of Maneela Dairy in regional South Australia.
Sarah Moore has had quite the journey over the past five years and it is a success story Dairy Australia is highlighting as it encourages more job seekers to consider a career in the industry.
With one in two dairy farmers looking for workers, Dairy Australia launched a marketing campaign in 2022 designed to create awareness of the job opportunities on offer in dairy.
More than a million Australians have shown interest in learning about dairy jobs as a result of the campaign, which included the establishment of the Dairy Jobs Matter website and Dairy Farm Jobs Board.
Dairy Australia's national people lead Mick Fuller said there had been 50,000 visits to the jobs board since late 2022, resulting in more than 500 direct job placements and many more indirect job placements.
"I think we've been able to market a good story in regards to a job and career in dairy," he said.
"It is a job with purpose that not only feeds Australia but the wider world, with a product that most people love."
Mr Fuller said the campaign had undoubtedly been successful in attracting dairy job candidates, but also in changing perceptions of life on the land.
But, the effort to attract a wider pool of employees needed to be an ongoing effort, he said.
"We've got a decades low unemployment rate, so it's competitive to get workers," Mr Fuller said.
"We can't do nothing and expect the industry to sell itself. We need to be out there actively promoting our industry. I'd not only say that about dairy, but about the broader agriculture sector.
"We want to attract as diverse a group as possible. A mistake of industry in the past has been that thought 'you must have worked on a farm before'.
"We've worked with farmers to broaden that employee profile by asking 'do they have the aptitude, do they have the motivation?'.
"They are the people we're looking for."
One of those people is Maneela Dairy manager Sarah Moore.
Coming to Australia with her wife in 2019 on a working holiday visa, Sarah's job at an outdoor activity centre was lost due to the Covid outbreak in 2020.
"When Covid hit, we decided we didn't want to work inside and be in constant lockdown so we found a farm to work on and little did I know that I'd fall in love with dairy farming," she said.
Starting as a milker and calf feeder, Sarah quickly took on more responsibility.
"It grew into managing the herd, then writing the rosters and managing the staff, and now I'm meeting with the nutritionist every few weeks and have become operations manager," she said.
The farm - at Undalya in the Clare Valley - is home to a 500-head mixed cow herd that are milked twice a day in a herringbone dairy. It employs eleven staff and sells under the Woolworths Farmers' Own brand.
While Sarah has participated in various calf rearing and dairy nutrition days, she says much of her growth has come from hands-on learning and seeking knowledge from people within the industry.
She said anyone giving the slightest thought to working on a dairy farm should "just give it a go".
"I love that every day is just so different," Sarah said.
"I love working with animals and being outdoors, and going to the shop and seeing the milk on the shelves.
"I enjoy the challenges each day and the problem solving. It has been great for my self development too."
While she was warned of long hours and little flexibility, Sarah said her experience working in dairy had busted those preconceptions.
"I still have a good work life balance, I'm still able to play sport and have weekends away regularly." she said.
"I also get to meet new people and I might be biased but dairy farmers are always so friendly and supportive. I can't think of my life without the farm."
