| 17 Shannon Butler put in the hard yards The 28-year-old, who also achieved the Merit Award for Farming Knowledge, is currently studying for the Diploma of Agri Business. Shannon was motivated to put in the hard yards and learn everything she possibly could. Tracey Edwardes DAIRY INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION AWARDS » Shannon Butler • EXCAVATION • FERTILISER SOWING • BALEAGE & CULTIVATION • GRAVEL/ROCK SUPPLIES • EFFLUENT SPREADING • TRANSPORT www.wilsoncontracting.net OFFICE - 03 216 7777 Phone Shane - 027 659 8066 It’s easy to appreciate dairying’s dynamic career opportunities when coming from a completely different background. Shannon Butler, 2024 Dairy Trainee Of The Year for Otago/Southland, worked for a decade in aged care before falling in love with Southland dairy farmer, Rob Neeley - and his lifestyle. Rob had been share milking for Alan and Kaye Wilson for seven years on their 200ha Invercargill property, with Shannon joining the crew in 2021. “It was a huge shock at first,” she says about her new daily routine working on the 600-cow rotary shed operation. But Shannon was motivated to put in the hard yards and learn everything she possibly could. The 28-year-old, who also achieved the Merit Award for Farming Knowledge, is currently studying for the Diploma of Agri Business. “Winning the award was a real surprise, and has given me a huge confidence boost. “The best thing about dairying is you can earn a full-time wage and study at the same time towards a qualification. Its given me a balanced lifestyle, and I put what I’m learning into practise. I even pass on some of the new technical ideas on to Rob, who’s come from the more traditional practical background, growing up on a farm. “You can progress very quickly in this role. we employ two other full time staff, and next year I will be looking at a 2IC role. Finding a job with good employers who are willing to teach you and help further your skills is the most important thing - more than location or pay. The farm owners along with Rob are excellent people to work for.” There are evident crossover skills from her aged care role and looking after the welfare of the livestock. “Calving is definitely my favourite part. As an animal lover, negatively biased news of the dairy industry is often upsetting. You have no idea how much love we put into our cows. They are living in a natural environment, protected from predators, with all their health needs met. I’d rather be a dairy cow than a wild one!” She says the industry is going places with exciting improvements, with new technology and AI closing the problematic gap of staff shortages. “We use heat detection collars, that reads the cows activity by computer, and notes if say the animal is sick or not eating. This gives us an extra set of eyes where we need them most. “An animal will naturally try and hide a sore limb, for example, and the latest Omnieye camera will zoom in on different points on the cow as the herd passes, so you can catch anything like a new slight limp, before it get too bad. “There is even a virtual fence on the market, which is unaffordable for us at this stage - but some of the new developments are certainly out of this world!” For now the focus for Shannon is putting everything she can into practise, and building up equity for the goal of ownership in the future.
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