Colac saleyards superintendent Tamara Bateman, an accountant by profession, came to her current role in a roundabout fashion.
She also runs an organic dairy farm at Coragulac, with Luke Riches, and it was through him that Ms Bateman started at the saleyards.
She said her father-in-law, Graeme Riches, was a former superintendent at the yards and retired after 25 years in the role.
He, and others working there, encouraged her to start work there.
"I started working at the Colac saleyards in 2007, entering sales data for the weekly fat sales," she said.
"I hated the first year - it wasn't familiar and it was high pressure.
"People wouldn't accept you easily and I felt like I had to earn my worth."
She said she was fortunate to enjoy working in both her previous profession, and with livestock.
"I can bring my accounting skills to the role, in terms of budgets, invoicing, and tallying stock numbers," she said.
"There's a lot of number crunching, so the accounting background is a benefit".
But she said she mainly took the role on because she could see that if the yard was not properly managed, its future would be in jeopardy.
"I wanted to see that everything Graeme worked for over the years was perpetuated," she said.
"I can also see the potential the facility has to offer the broader rural and industrial community around the Colac area".
She said first and foremost her job was to run a well-maintained facility, with animal and human welfare to the forefront.
"I like that I do a bit of everything, I'm not just tied to a desk" she said.
"I like the people and the variety - every day is different".
Some sale days saw 15 hour days, with no break.
"Other days are a lot slower and you can just sit on the mower or hose out a yard," she said.
As a superintendent she said she had to ensure animal traceability and data integrity, coordinate staff, run meetings and do hazard checks, audits and ensure compliance.
"From a ground perspective, it's scanning, droving, feeding and yarding cattle," she said.
"From a maintenance perspective, it's cleaning out the truck wash, mowing, hosing, checking troughs, fencing, unblocking drains and cleaning, always making sure we are sale ready."
Ms Bateman said there were many female saleyards superintendents, across Australia.
"I can't speak for them, but I can honestly say that the saleyards is the least sexist environment I have worked in - I've worked in accounting firms that are far more sexist.
"There are women in the saleyard industry that I really respect and they did the hard yards to prove that women have a place in the industry.
"We have a very strong and respected female workforce within the Colac saleyards; from clerks, to scanning contractors, to drovers, cattle carriers and agents".
She said she couldn't do the job without a lot of "really good blokes" around her either, including maintenance man Laurie Sharp and her husband, who she "roped in" from time to time.
"I learnt a lot from watching my father-in-law in this same role, with his practical, matter-of-fact manner; he was fair, but not a pushover," she said.
"If I'm in a pickle, I'm fortunate enough to have people to call on.
"I feel very well supported by the agents and buyers".
Ms Bateman said the biggest challenge in the industry was saleyard wide, to prove selling centres still had a place within the supply chain.
"There are so many ways to sell cattle now and trying not to get bogged down in this kind of politics is difficult," she said.
Work-life balance was also difficult, but she said her children had grown up around the yards, first with their grandfather, and then with her.
She said gender didn't seem to matter in agriculture.
"I'm probably a bit more organised than the previous superintendents, and I'd say that I'm a better communicator," she said.
"I don't know if that's a woman thing though!".
But she said she felt women were ingrained in agriculture and always had been.
"If you work your hardest and try your best, people recognise and respect that, no matter what industry you work in," she said.
"I've grown up in agriculture and there were always women involved in every capacity.
"I've never seen a disparity between men and women, I grew up believing I was equal to everyone else.
"Over the generations there have been a lot of strong women in my family, who have worked in agriculture".
There would always be opportunities for women in agriculture "they just have to believe they are capable," Ms Bateman said.
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Andrew Miller
I'm a general reporter with Stock & Land, with a special interest in irrigation issues. I completed my cadetship, with the Age, in 1980. Over my career, I've worked for ABC radio news (Mt Isa, Qld) and at provincial and suburban newspapers.
I'm a general reporter with Stock & Land, with a special interest in irrigation issues. I completed my cadetship, with the Age, in 1980. Over my career, I've worked for ABC radio news (Mt Isa, Qld) and at provincial and suburban newspapers.
