This week on the podcast we have Nancy Crawshaw, Extension Manager for Angus Australia and winner of the New Zealand Zanda McDonald Award 2024.
The conversation kicks off with Nancy’s reflections on the aftermath of Cyclone Gabrielle in her home region of Gisborne. “It brought communities together,” says Nancy. “When you're completely cut off, you've got no outside communication, you can't get anywhere. It's only your neighbours and your community who you've got.”


As for the recovery, Nancy points out that there’s still a long way to go. “With the land being so wet, it's been moving. You can go and fix a fence one day and then it's down the next,” she explains. “There's been a lot of repairs that probably need to be done, but we're just waiting to see if that land sort of holds up or not.” Nancy highlights that it’s important to celebrate the small wins, such as a stock-proof paddock, rather than only looking at the overwhelming task ahead of you.

Nancy’s role as Extension Manager for Augus Australia takes her across Australia and New Zealand meeting producers and helping them add value to their business, be that through identifying ‘low-hanging fruit’ or education.

Nancy is also heavily involved in the Angus youth program, GenAngus which is an initiative to help youth in agriculture with their first steps in agriculture. Nancy has been involved in multiple youth initiatives in agriculture and is a firm believer in surrounding yourself with the right people and finding specific mentors within the sector you want to grow in. “You have to ask yourself: who do you actually want to learn from? Who is there in the industry that you want be mentored by and learn from, that's going to actually set you up?” asks Nancy.

This is a fantastic podcast to inspire any young people in agriculture, so make sure to forward it on to your children or young shepherds!

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