People told me I was mad to leave my nursing job... farming wasn’t for women
Dairy queen Laura, 28, now using her medical skills to care for herd
A YOUNG nurse who gave up her career for farming says she believes females are often still not taken seriously in agriculture.
Laura Hannon, 28, farms 320 cows and 80 heifers on her family’s land in Kiltale, Co Meath. She has calved 265 of the 325 animals due on the 162 hectare holding.
Although she admits the farming life can be lonely, she has set up a Whatsapp discussion group which has 16 part and full-time female farmers.
Laura said: “I qualified as a nurse in 2017 but I still had an interest in farming because I’ve been involved since I was a young girl so I began studying part-time for the Green Cert, which is a farming qualification.
“After almost two years, I realised how much I was missing the farm and I was getting tired of commuting to Dublin and working inside every day so I decided to swap careers.
“My skills in nursing will always stand to me in farming, in particular hygiene practices and care in calving and looking after the calves. I do miss working as a team because farming can be lonely.
Some days, it is just me and my dad David here and you could go stir crazy not talking to anyone.
“But I am chair of Macra na Feirme in Enfield so there is always something to do in the evenings.
“I didn’t think there were a lot of female farmers when I left nursing originally but I set up a girls’ discussion group in 2021 and we have 16 members at the moment from Meath and surrounding areas.
“They are all dairy farmers. Some are part-time as they work in teaching and nursing jobs, some full-time and some are married into farms.
“Farmers
and nurses seem to go hand in hand when it comes to love, I don’t know why. There are no real breaks in farming because there is always something to be done or a cow to be calved at this time of year but we do try to give ourselves time off if possible because we know we have to look after our mental health too.”
Laura gave a stark warning about being careful around cows, especially at this time.
She said: “There is always a possibility that they could attack to protect their young so now can be a dangerous time for farmers and we all have to look after ourselves and not take any chances.
“I avoid going into a pen with a cow so if I need to feed a calf, I try to take the calf out or move a gate so it is between me and the cow. And I will always keep my mobile phone on me in case I need to ring someone to help.” Laura revealed while she feels she is treated as an equal by most farmers, there are still issues around being a female.
She said: “When I left nursing first I was told by a lot of people, especially the older generation and members of my family, that I was absolutely mad to leave a pensionable and permanent job and they had this idea that farming wasn’t for women.
“I think I’ve proved them wrong but you still get the odd comment and you know they are still not fully approving.
“I see other girls being passed over in getting the farm. They might be the better farmer or the brother may not even be interested but it is the brother who will get the farm and that is not fair.
“Most farmers will take you seriously but you do have to have a bit of confidence to make yourself heard. We have had male students here who might be the same age as me but the odd one wouldn’t listen to me because they think they know better than a woman.
“The young lads on the discussion groups are all great, they listen to me and treat me like any farmer.
“If there are any women interested in farming, they should join Dairy Women Ireland who will support and help empower them in all aspects of farming.
“There is absolutely no reason why a woman can’t work in farming.”
My skills in nursing will always stand to me...
LAURA HANNON ON MOVE TO FARMING