The FMNZ Leveled Up Podcast by Chanelle O'Sullivan

Have you heard of 'Pig Tits and Parsley Sauce'? 

What about that lady in the news who, for 2018, set herself a budget of $1000 for groceries?!

Lyn Webster has been dairy farming on her own for 15 years throughout provincial New Zealand. From an urban background in banking, admin and retail management, she went into farming at 31. Lyn went to live on a dairy farm in Stratford, Taranaki where her then partner was employed.

My goal is to keep on milking cows until I am an old old lady and then hopefully have enough money to buy a little house near the sea.”

After a year the couple brought 170 cows and went 50/50 sharemilking. Unfortunately the relationship ended and Lyn moved out with 2 young girls, an old dog and a Honda Ascot car, which she still drives, although she claims its the worst thing ever! Circumstances saw her managing a 130 cow dairy farm when the herd owner broke his leg, and made the great decision to hire a female single parent with limited experience! A wet February saw her beat the farm record, giving her confidence to chase a variable order job. In her second season Lyn won the Taranaki Variable Order Sharemilker of the year. From there, together with a business partner, Lyn went 50/50 sharemilking on the next door farm. The business partnership ended and she took her half of the herd and leased more cows moving slowly up the ranks with two other 50/50 jobs. Lyn has now spent five seasons leasing a challenging 220 cow farm in Ahipara, Northland.

Alongside a busy farming career, Lyn is an AB technician and completed a diploma in agriculture along the way. She writes a fortnightly column for The Waikato Times mainly about farming called 'Pig Tits and Parsley Sauce', which is also the name of a book Lyn had published in 2013 about sustainable grocery shopping. Lyn also maintains a website that highlights sustainable living ideas, discussions and products/books. - www.pigtitsandparsleysauce.co.nz. 

“I love rearing calves and working with milking cows. I try to encourage natural animal health practices, and have not had the vet in for three years. I love the basics of farming, like working my dogs Miller and Flea, and riding around on the farm bike. My goal is to keep on milking cows until I am an old old lady and then hopefully have enough money to buy a little house near the sea.”