NEW Zealand Angus producer Kath McCallum did not let the opportunity to travel to Australia earlier this year slip through her fingers, when she was awarded a scholarship to continue to develop her business and industry skills.
A mother of three, farm helper, administrator, geneticist and relief primary school teacher, Ms McCallum was one of 11 participants in the inaugural GenAngus Future Leaders Program.
Seven years ago Ms McCallum, along with her husband Phil, had the opportunity to purchase her family farm at Balfour with his parents.
They have since operated a mixed farming system made up of sheep, dairy dry stock and beef cattle for their stud, Rockley Angus.
"(Compared to Australia), New Zealand is more of a mixed livestock system, with mostly grass-finished operation and less feedlots," she said.
"We put in winter crop of Kale, Fodder beet and Swedes to feed the stock in the winter and we work in with Phil's parent's dairy farm, feeding the young dairy stock on our farm and the dairy cows in the winter using the fodder crops.
"The sheep lamb in mid-September and one of our goals is to have 50 per cent of killable lambs away at Christmas.
"Sheep are a composite breed of Romney, East Friesian and Texel."
She first became involved in the Angus breed 17 years ago through her grandfather who gifted her two stud heifers when he dispersed.
They now run just over 60 Angus stud cows and sell the bulls as yearlings in October.
"Bulls that are not sold at the sale are used at the dairy farm over the cows," she said.
In the future she hopes to purchase more land to increase their farming system and beef up the cow numbers at a minimum of 100 cows while aiming for whole farm ownership. She also hopes to take her passion for beef beyond her own farm gate.
"I hope to encourage others in the industry ... and to be involved in governance roles in the beef industry."