IN THE past two years, young Fleurieu Peninsula dairyfarmer Ebony King has made some big steps, and the next is addressing a crowd of 200 people.
Next month, she will be speaking as part of a Next Gen Go-getters panel at the Herd '19 conference in Bendigo, Vic.
Helping her along, last year Ms King won the employee career development category of DairySA’s Next Gen challenge.
The success not only led to her inclusion on the panel, it gave her the confidence to take on the opportunity.
She will be one of three young panel members providing a practical farming perspective and explaining their career goals at the conference panel, which brings together the herd improvement industry’s major players.
Ms King, 20, grew up near McLaren Vale, but her connection with stock agent grandfather Allan Peglar and uncle David Peglar, National Herd Development, meant she knew about the dairy industry, and developed a love of it.
“I’ve always loved cows and had farms in the background,” she said.
She completed an agricultural course through tafeSA, then worked on a dairy farm in the Clare Valley before returning to the Fleurieu Peninsula nearly two years ago
There, she began working with Yankalilla dairyfarmer Wes Hurrell, taking on the role of assistant herd manager, focusing on calf rearing and breeding.
“Watching the herd grow through genomics has been awesome,” Ms King said.
“Every result we get back, we step it up.”
Mr Hurrell has given Ms King the chance to develop industry connections through DairySA discussion groups, the Track Ag Consulting Group and the Next Gen challenge.
“Next Gen was a great opportunity to develop my networking and communication skills,” she said.
“Without it I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to join the panel or the confidence to do it.”
As part of the Next Gen challenge, Ms King was required to speak before a board of four people.
“Talking on stage to a few hundred is going to be a bit different and a bit nerve-wracking," she said.
“It’s not something I do on a daily basis; I’m used to talking to cows, but the confidence I gained from Next Gen means I’m well prepared.”
Ms King's goal is to work in the herd improvement industry and eventually to be providing independent breed advice to farmers.
She is a strong advocate of the dairy industry and is passionated about educating the broader community about the benefits, resilience and caring nature of farmers.
Ms King is a regular in showing cattle at the Royal Adelaide Show and has also acted as one of the Dairy Australia’s Legendairy guides, hosting people at the show’s dairy exhibit.
“I love the resilience and family strength of the dairy industry with everything going on with the milk price and environmental factors,” she said.
She is looking forward to taking her message to the stage as she looks to a long-term future in the industry.
“The last two years farming with Wes and having those networking opportunities has really helped me to pursue my goals,” she said.
Herd '19 is a biennial event, which brings together keynote speakers on herd improvement.
The 2019 theme is 'Delivering change in herd improvement', and will include overseas specialists from genetic companies about the latest developments in genomics and robotics.
- Details: ivvy.com.au/event/Herd19
