Ashley took a six-week break from her work at Claxby Farms at Eyrewell to join a group of seven young farmers from Scotland, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Switzerland, Germany and Austria on the 10 week long exchange.
She shortened her trip to return and help out with calving.
They were in Canada to see how dairy, beef, sheep, pig and goat farms are run and how a variety of crop farms, such as tobacco and grains, are grown in colder climates.
Based in Ontario for most of the six weeks she was away, Ashley says she stayed with hosts in the small rural communities of Peterborough, Durham, Middlesex, Oxford and Renfree, north-east of Toronto.
But she admits it was not what she was expecting. "It was far better than I could have ever imagined.
"The efforts from the hosts made everything amazing as they organised everything, asked our opinions and went out of their way to make everyone comfortable."
The young farmers' clubs were similar in size to New Zealand, varying between 20 and 50 members.
The best food she tried was "Putin" chips and gravy with cheese curd on top.
Other highlights included visiting a huge 2850-acre (1153.3ha) potato farm, and sampling water buffalo meat.
Her host families arranged everything, often taking her on excursions.
One of her hosts even took her to a shooting range where they used many different firearms.
Ashley said the dairy farm sizes varied from 30 milking cows to 1000 - and her dairy skills were appreciated when she stayed on a jersey farm and helped with milking.
A highlight was spending Canada Day in Ottawa and visiting Niagara Falls.
"Staying the night and watching the lights and fireworks while there was fun.
"I even got to see some Mennonites who live without electricity, which was a lot different to Scotland and New Zealand.
"These people were well respected among their communities."
Her advice for anyone considering a similar type of farm-based exchange was to just do it.
"Say yes to every opportunity as you get to do things you would never be able to do.
"You get to spend time with hosts who know all of the tips and tricks to get the best experiences."
