Sarah O'Connell is a young farmer going places.
Last month was a busy one for the Dunsandel Young Farmers Club member, as she qualified for her fifth ANZ Young Farmers Contest regional final and became the first supreme champion animal winner at the Ellesmere A&P Show with her Angus cattle.
When she competes in the Tasman regional final at Lincoln on March 14 next year, Ms O'Connell said it would be her chance to become one of the few women to qualify for a grand final.
''I've got experience on my side, but you never know what's going to happen on the day. I've got a good chance, but I'm still fairly reserved. It's going to be a big challenge. ''There's a handful of women competing every year and it's steadily growing. There's more and more young women actively working on farms, so it's just a matter of getting them to give it a go. They can be just as good as the boys.''
She came third earlier this year in the Tasman regional final at Murchison, her best result. Ms O'Connell said her strengths ''change all the time''. She enjoyed the fencing and performed well in the practical challenges. She grew up on a small dairy farm near Dunsandel and has worked on a range of farms. ''I can shear a sheep, milk a cow and drive a digger.''
While the family farm was now more of dairy support unit, with her parents grazing dairy heifers, Ms O'Connell has established her own Carriganes Stud, named after the village in Ireland from where the O'Connells hail. ''It's something I've always been interested in doing myself. I spent just over a year shepherding on a Limousin cattle stud so that got me interested.''
She bought her first in-calf Angus cows in 2010 and has been slowly growing her herd. This year, she bought her first in-calf Shorthorn heifer to establish a second stud. ''I want to keep building it up with the potential to supply a niche market with good quality beef and one day I would love to have my own farm.''
She is on the Royal Agricultural Society's national youth council, looking after the rural ambassador portfolio. She said her aim was to get more young people involved in shows by creating and promoting events.
As an extension officer for Beef and Lamb New Zealand,
she travels all around the country, working with other extension managers to deliver workshops and field days. She recently spend about four months working in the western Bay of Plenty.