Growing up with farming in her genes: Nolan joins livestock genetics team

Ms Nolan has joined the PGG Wrightson livestock genetics team for Otago and South Westland, following Callum McDonald’s promotion to national genetics manager.

Ms Nolan, 30, recently joined the PGG Wrightson livestock genetics team in a role which covers Otago and South Westland.. She succeeds Callum McDonald who was promoted to national genetics manager.. When she saw the role advertised late last year, it immediately appealed as she had a longtime interest in farming and livestock.. Plus she was keen to continue to progress in the agricultural sector.. Her passion for farming stemmed from growing up on an

extensive beef breeding property at Haast which has been in the Nolan family for five generations.. The property is farmed by her parents, John (JJ) and Kathy, and her brother Matt, The family’s cattle musters, on horseback, in the Arawhata Valley were legendary and had been documented by the likes of Country Calendar.. Leaving home to attend boarding school at St Kevin’s College in Oamaru was a big change for Ms Nolan, who went from

a school with a roll of 12 to one with a few hundred.. Fortunately, her brother was already there and other family members had been there which made it a bit easier.. But she always looked forward to returning home whenever possible, especially for the annual marking and weaning musters, and she laughed at how there were some “executive decisions” made ahead of impending musters.. Her father would call the boarding hostel and confirm that

she would be dropped back “some time”.. She reckoned she could learn more in a week on a cattle muster than at school.. Ms Nolan was 9 when she first went on a muster up the Arawhata Valley and there were always stories to come out of those outings.. Nobody thought twice about jumping off their horse into the jetboat, if there was risk of them getting swept off the horse.. On one occasion, a

horse was actually transported in a jetboat.. Ms Nolan agreed it was a different lifestyle but, growing up, she and her brother did not know any different until they left.. “That was our life and what we were used to,” she said.. After leaving school, Ms Nolan completed a diploma in farm management at Lincoln University, then worked as a shepherd throughout Otago and Southland, progressing to a block manager role.. She also had a

brief stint in the Northern Territory of Australia, chasing bulls and buffalo with a team that had previously featured in the documentary series Outback Ringer.. She had since sold her seven working dogs — who she described as the “absolute light of her life” — although she kept her horses which she used for mustering and hunting.. She was focused on building relationships with clients, both stud breeders and commercial farmers, and other livestock representatives..

There was a lot to learn and she was delighted with the amount of support she had, including from within the company.. While her long-term goal was to have her own property, her focus now was to “get into my role and do a bloody good job of it”.. She would never turn her back on farming but the genetics position was “a heck of an opportunity” and everything she had done leading up to

the job was a really good grounding for it.. “I’ve found a really good spot in this job,” she said.. sally.rae@odt.co.nz

livestock genetics, PGG Wrightson, Otago, South Westland, beef breeding, farm management, cattle musters