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Abbey was among a handful of Young Farmers who supply to Dairy Farmers selected to travel on a three-month farm exchange, where she stayed with two different families in Ireland.
While on exchange, Abbey worked on the farms, as if she was a local. During this experience, she discovered some very different techniques to those used on her family’s Tamworth farm where they graze 170 cattle on 200 acres.
“I was actually surprised how traditional their farms were,” Abbey said.
“We’re a lot more modern in Australia in our approach to dairying.
“It was also surprisingly rural. The towns were tiny, really old-fashioned, but so quaint.
“The landscape reminded me of the children’s show ‘Postman Pat’. It was coming up to Spring-time, so there were lots of flowers coming out and a lot of green, velvety mountains as a result of constant rainfall.”
While outside her comfort-zone, Abbey was pushed to expand her horizons, and she has not looked back.
“I have been asked to speak at Dairy Farmers’ next AGM,” she said.
“There’s no way I would have had done that before this trip.
“Now, I feel like I am a better, more confident person.
“I learnt a lot of things about dairy farming, but so much more about myself.
“I would recommend it to everyone.”
Her trip to Ireland marked Abbey’s first overseas adventure, but since returning home, she has travelled to New Zealand to attend Dairy Farmers’ Young Farmers Convention, where she visited more farms.
“I was really impressed with how innovative and progressive New Zealand farmers were,” Abbey said.
“There were a lot more young farmers in New Zealand than in Australia and I found the whole experience really eye-opening.
“This year, I’ve been to Ireland, France, Italy, Rome, the Netherlands, the UK and now New Zealand - and all because I’ve chosen a career in dairy farming.”
