Shattering the dairy industry stereotype
Quinn Youngman has ignored peer pressure and outdated stereotypes to establish early success in the dairy industry.
The Auckland/Hauraki Dairy Trainee of the Year was working part time as a relief milker as a Tauranga teenager when he started looking at it as a potential career while still at school.
Speaking at the winner’s field day held on Auckland/Hauraki Share Farmer of the Year Chris and Sally Guy’s farm near Karaka, Youngman said he felt almost pressured not to go dairy farming.
‘‘Everyone goes, ‘That’s what all of the dropouts or those who have been in jail go and do - they milk cows.’’
‘‘You have to realise that if you put the hard work in, it does pay off and it is a good career.’’
As well as winning the trainee title, he won merit awards for practical skills and communications and engagement.
Youngman was born in Auckland and raised in Tauranga.
He was not exposed to agriculture until he was a teenager.
His mother encouraged him to get a job as a relief milker.
‘‘I was about 15 and my mum pushed me to go and look at a job to see if I could relief milk on some farm.
It was a bit of an experience having never been on a farm and being thrown in the shed and going relief milking.
‘‘I enjoyed it and I ended up getting a job offer from one of the guys whose farm I was working on.’’
That full time opportunity came from a farm at Te Puke.
He left school at 17 and worked there for three years, moving from farm assistant to second-in-charge.
Last June me moved to a new job on a 245 hectare, system 4 farm at Mercer, owned by David Dean.
Youngman said he is motivated by the desire to be the best and progress through the industry.
‘‘You want to be the top person, you want to be ‘the man’.’’
He plans to work another year on Dean’s farm and keep learning from him.
‘‘Depending how everything goes, the following season I would like to go managing on a smaller farm and see how that progresses and from there, into contract milking.’’
He hopes to build up enough equity to be able to go sharemilking within 10 years.
The farm managers on the farms he has worked on had acted as mentors for Youngman over the years. It made him realise that by working hard, he can quickly advance into leadership positions.
One of the few pieces of advice he remembers when he was starting off came from a calf rearer, he said.
‘‘She goes, ‘make sure you’re a perfectionist so do everything you can to an ability that you’re happy with, so don’t leave anything halfdone.
‘‘If you are not going to do something properly, it’s not worth doing it.
‘‘That’s something I have lived by and continued doing.’’
He had simple advice for others thinking of a career in the dairy industry:
‘‘Put your head down and go hard. You have to realise there will be long hours, but you will see the rewards for it.’’