Heroines of the Heartland
Women in the Field: A snapshot of farming females throughout New Zealand
Ashley Cole Murumuru Farms Ltd, Raetihi Ashley runs a sheep and beef business, and
she is a 50% shareholder and the Managing Director. The land area is over 1,000 hectares and Ashley is fully involved in a hands- on way. She directs all facets of sheep and beef management, from day-to-day stock movements to pasture management and animal health issues. She is responsible for marketing the stock, including all purchases and sales and also takes charge of finance decisions in the business, including day-to- day spending, cash flow and record keeping. Her focus is on making a profit on hard hill country land and she has implemented a continual programme of subdivision to achieve easy stock movements.
the purchase of two female alpacas with cria at foot. Now she has a herd of 340 alpacas, employs six part-time hand knitters and a machine knitter. The fibre is used in the garments and the products are sold in Leonie's farm shop. Each animal's fleece is individually processed and Leonie designs the garments and felted products. www.nevealeaalpacas.co.nz
experience. Within a year they were offering cheese making classes after enquiries from guests about the traditional cheeses that were made on site and served as part of the meals. They now supply cow and goat milk cheese around New Zealand and teach cheese making. They won the Artisan Award in 2009 and Lisa was the Supreme Winner of the RWNZ Enterprising Rural Women Award 2011. www.sherringtongrange.co.nz
Leonie Walker Nevalea Alpacas, Taumarunui Leonie began her business in 2007 with
Lisa Harper Sherrington Grange Ltd, Mahau Sound, Picton Lisa runs Sherrington Grange with her
mother. It began as a tourism business; providing accommodation, meals and activities to primarily European and North American visitors wanting a nostalgic rural
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Jenny Scott Livestock Office, Bannockburn, Cromwell Jenny operates from her 10 hectare
property in Bannockburn, Central Otago, where she and her daughter, Jacqui, run Shebiz Ltd. This is a software development and support business incorporating LivestockOffice, Payshr, Auction Services and a Secretarial business. Another daughter, Lisa, is the Software Technician and Jenny concentrates on sales, training and support for their Software Packages. www.livestockoffice.com
