When Sharee Newman moved to the small Gippsland community of Bravington to start her on cattle finishing operation, she knew there were challenges ahead.
Managing farm finances, planning for infrastructure upgrades, attending to general maintenance and of course, feeding cattle.
With a lifetime of hands-on farm experience and a wealth of knowledge in agriculture, Ms Newman was up for the challenge.
But little did the mother of two know the biggest hurdle she'd face would be attitudes towards women on the land.
"When I finished the first lot of cattle, I had a guy come out from an abattoir and he tried to tell me that my Angus beef had Friesian in them and quoted me 490 cents a kilogram but at the time [the abattoir] was paying 530c/kg," Ms Newman said.
"So I thought he should put his cowboy hat on and said 'see you later' and I ended up getting 570 and I'm sure he thought because I was a woman, I was clueless."
As a child, Ms Newman grew up on her father's property in Tasmania, later moving to drought-stricken Townsville, Queensland, for seven years.
In search of finer pastures, the Ms Newman packed her bags about two years ago and moved interstate, buying 45 hectares at Bravington, near Warragul.
This year she plans to sell about 60 Angus steers direct to the abattoir, doubling her rate of the last calendar year.
"It's tough because I've got two kids and the house to run as well as the farm and my other half is away a lot so he helps out when he can but normally it's me running the farm," Ms Newman said.
"Sometimes you'll get a tradesmen rock up and they'll look over your shoulder for a bloke - it's as if they think a woman can't run a farm."
In another instance, Ms Newman had a demolition contractor visit her property to quote the price of knocking down a several outbuildings on the farm.
"He initially quoted me $30,000 which I thought was bloody excessive," Ms Newman said.
"At the time I didn't know many people but I had someone agisting his cattle on my place and told him about the quote and he said 'ring the contractor back and tell him you'll think about it'.
"When I did that he dropped the quote to $16,000 - can you believe that? He knocked off $14,000 just because I wanted to think about it and that's the kind of stuff women face on farms daily."
Ms Newman said she encouraged women to play an active role in ag and urged people to stop thinking of the industry "as man's world".
"I just want what's fair and reasonable," she said.
"I still have bills and a debt to pay and sometimes I feel people think they can get a quick buck out of me.
"You don't see many women bidding on cattle at sales and agriculture is still very male-dominated so as a woman it's really challenging when you have to run the household and want to break down those barriers."
Have you signed up to Stock & Land's daily newsletter and breaking news emails? You can register below and make sure you are up to date with everything that's important to Victorian agriculture.
