During shearing season, Danielle Boyd doesn’t know how many hours she works in any given week. There’s a job to do, so she just heads out and gets it done - however long that may take. It’s part up-bringing (growing up on sheep and beef farms in Northland) and part grit. 

“I’ve always enjoyed being out on the farm or in the sheds and I like saying yes to any opportunities that come along. It’s a ‘bugger it, why not’ attitude,” she says.

“When you work with a good crew and do a hard day’s work, you feel like you’ve really achieved something. And even if it is a particularly challenging day, you just work out how to get through it and out the otherside. 

“You can learn from anything that comes along, even when you make mistakes, and look at what you can do better next time so it works.” 

And it was the ‘saying yes’ to things that came her way that led Danielle to not only jump into running her own shearing gang, but also start a part job with PGG Wrightson as the Northland wool representative, both within a few weeks of each other. 

“I was shearing for a contractor, then he said he didn’t want to do it anymore and asked if I would like to take over. Around the same time the previous PGW wool rep for Northland came to pick up some wool from home and told me he was moving on, and was it something I would be interested in doing?” 

In true Danielle style, she secured both prospects and set about getting stuck in, but it hasn’t been without its fair share of challenges along the way. In peak shearing season, she’ll be getting up at four or five in the morning, working through till about 10 at night - and this will be for around six to eight weeks, before she has a few ‘quieter months’ in between. 

“A lot of shearing contractors have a partner so they can ‘share’ the load, but I’m doing it all on my own. However, my parents are hard workers, so it has been bred in me to just get it done, otherwise no one else is going to.

“I have learnt a lot over the last few years and through each season. I think about what I can change for the next time and I’m definitely not doing the big days as I was - I can manage my time more effectively.” 

And her many hours in the shearing shed sets Danielle up perfectly for her role with PGW. Getting up close with the sheep means she can see the wool as it’s coming off, allowing her to make recommendations from the ‘coal face’ as to how things could be done differently for a higher-quality result. 

“I really like going to the various farms around the region, talking to farmers and seeing ways in which we can improve things for them. It’s always a great feeling to be able to ring our clients with the news that we were able to get them a better price for their wool than the last time.” 

Danielle’s love for farming has also allowed her to travel and work overseas, in both the UK and Australia, which has given her the opportunity to pick up new skills. And she found it interesting that there were a number of nuances between how they did things in other countries, compared to New Zealand. 

“Some practices seemed to be stuck back in time. But then, there were also other areas that were quite advanced. It’s a bit hard to explain, but I did learn a few good techniques that I now use in my day-to-day here.” 

Returning to New Zealand in 2019 to help her parents on their farm, Danielle wasn’t one hundred percent sure what her next move would be, but is certainly pleased to be where she is today. 

“I was so happy when I got the job with PGW and to have a shearing run is awesome too as it was something I had always wanted to do. When the farmers say that you’ve got a good team and did a great job, it’s definitely a highlight.” 

And now she’s hopeful about encouraging more young people, especially women, into giving agriculture a go. With many paths to go down, Danielle says it’s such a diverse industry and the people in it are really great, with everyone keen to help out wherever needed and support others to progress. And as happened with her, there’s plenty of possibilities for travel while working. 

“I feel like the world has become a bit disconnected from agriculture but it’s our bread and butter, literally. There’s just so much you can do and it’s forever changing as there is always room for improvement - you can better yourself and better what you’re doing.

“If you’re interested in any area of agriculture, express your interest and start talking to people about it, as you never know who they may be connected to and where an opportunity may arise.

“And when something does come up, just make sure you ‘say yes’.”