Friday, March 29, 2024

City girl to Southland

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When Chloe Mackle won the 2016 Southland-Otago Dairy Trainee of the Year she thought she had to give the jacket back.
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Backstage, after the official photos were taken, the 23-year-old slipped the jacket off and handed it to one of the organisers, and was stunned to find out it was actually hers to keep.

The self-confessed city girl from Auckland came to Southland five years ago on holiday and stayed for a job at the community college in Invercargill.

A year later she was made redundant and decided to give dairying ago, even though people told her she wouldn’t like it.

“I thought milk came from a bottle and meat from a packet and that I wouldn’t have to get closer than 100 metres to a cow,” she says.

“But I fell in love with it.”

She is grateful to her first employers, Jessica Bramer and Darren Sim, who “put up with me” and now says “hanging out with the cows” is her favourite job on the farm.

She is herd manager for Abe and Anita De Wolde on their 500-cow property at Heddon Bush and is starting to buy cows with help from her parents and brother who is national sales manager for Citroen Australia. 

“At the start my parents were a bit shocked at what I was doing but now they understand and are stoked that I’m happy,” she says.

“Abe and Anita have been really good to me, not just teaching me about milking cows but also about the business side of it. And I’m doing Primary ITO courses as well.

“They’ve let me make a job into a career and they’re committed to helping me get ahead.”

“I’m really lucky that I’m surrounded by super successful people who have put a lot of time and effort into me.

“One day I want to be able to do the same for others.

“My friends from Auckland still don’t understand what I do. They’re all asking what award have I won?”

Mackle also won the practical skills merit award.

Runner-up was 23-year-old Gore farm manager Joshua Best and third place went to 22-year-old Winton 2IC Hamish Dempsey. 

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