Hello livestock readers! And everyone else who keenly tunes in to read The Land each week.
The time has come for me to fly the coop, and sadly leave The Land after over 5.5 years with the company as the livestock writer and more recently the livestock editor.
As my colleague and good friend Billy Jupp wrote when he moved to our sister paper, Queensland Country Life - time flies when you are having fun (or when a pandemic hits and you lose a good two years!).
From a girl who studied agricultural science at university - and someone that did not know how to write concisely at all - to a lady who edits up to 50 pages weekly during peak periods, I can say that The Land truly has developed me professionally and personally.
I have always said I love being thrown in the deep end to learn, adapt and thrive. And working with The Land has definitely challenged me at times. It's incredible to see what you can achieve when pushed to your limits.
From the 3am knock offs before being up again at 6am on a Wednesday, to the hustling to finish stories sale ring side as the 1pm sale'o coincided with final deadlines, I can say I devoted myself to this job and went above and beyond for you; our clients and our readers.
I quickly became known as the girl who will make an 'office' anywhere, and the one who will very happily take a beer when offered one on a Wednesday afternoon with a big grin on her face.
Or the one that you'd see running from ring to ring or about the sale pens, and someone who wouldn't be ashamed to make an absurd sound to get ears forward when 'chasing champions'.
Some may even remember me as the journalist that nearly lost her thumb moving furniture!
I've crunched numbers and analysed sales trends, helped bring to life the Behind the Gavel series featuring stud stock agents, I have loved celebrating milestones and record-breaking results with so many people. Telling stories which will go down in history is an opportunity I never took for granted, as I pushed to execute to the highest degree.
I've experienced the highs and the lows of the Australian agriculture industry which plays an integral role in every person's day to day.
One of the most challenging and rewarding things I did was last year at the Sydney Royal Show where I wore three hats; exhibiting cattle, judging two breeds, and covering and editing our state's biggest livestock event.
Working with good friends we complied a beef champions poster, a 56-page liftout and 10-plus pages of feature content within The Land during this time. Not to mention the team working behind the livestream which will continue to go from strength to strength at a number of events into the future.
It is no secret that I am a beef girl through and through, and my favourite thing to do is event coverage, but during my time with The Land I have learnt so much, particularly about the sheep and wool industries.
I cut my teeth at the 2017 Rabobank Dubbo Merino National Show and Sale under the watchful eye of experienced journalist (and industry legend) Mark Griggs, and this year it was humbling to take the lead on the coverage of this event, with an explosive nine-page feature put together that got some great feedback.
Likewise, standouts have been covering events like the NSW State Sheep Show, Dorper National, Cowra Dorset Championships, and Beef Spectacular Feedback Trial, and compiling colourful feature packages.
While there are a million thank you's and shout outs I would love to make, and so many memories to reflect on, I don't have enough space.
Over this time I have had the privilege to grow my network, meet some incredible producers and work with a team of journalists who have had an impact on my life. I have built invaluable friendships, gained mentors that continue to provide support and advice, and gathered understandings you only get from immersing yourself in industries.
My time with The Land was memorable, and through it all one thing has not changed - I love livestock. And will continue to live and breath it for as long as I can.
As of January 23 I will be stepping away from journalism to take up the NSW genomics territory manager position with Neogen Australasia.
While this edition of the paper will always be remembered as the final newspaper I edited, it is not goodbye. I will most likely run into a fair few of you from time to time at events, but for now I wish you all the best for the future.
