From high heels to gumboots
TECHNOLOGY: Rosaria Weir has the best of both worlds, writes
Reliable internet lets Rosaria Weir easily switch from sales manager to farmer. From donning her high heels to slipping on her gumboots, Rosaria Weir from Timaru, has no trouble combining both and it all comes down to the reliable internet in her parent’s cowshed.
Add a good music playlist and those cows will be upping their milk production in no time!
Working two jobs from the farm in the past would have been impossible, now with the addition of good internet it’s a breeze. Some would say that Rosaria has the best of both worlds!
Combining sales and farming
From Monday to Friday, Rosaria manages the sales team at Farmside, an internet provider based in Timaru. Having worked at Farmside for almost 10 years, she says “I love the people I work with and the company understands the rural way of life and that sometimes I need the flexibility to help out on the farm”.
When her parents take a break from their farm, or in this case an overseas holiday, it is on with the wet weather gear and gumboots and this immaculately dressed sales manager becomes a dairy farmer on her family’s 200-cow dairy farm based on the outskirts on Timaru.
With all-year round-milking and raising of calves (including bobby calves that are always found a home) life gets pretty hectic and Rosaria is always happy to jump in and give her parents a break.
With borders and restrictions eased, right now seemed the perfect opportunity to travel and with the Western Australian borders now open, Rosaria’s parents decided to finally take the plunge to get away to Perth and to meet their grandchild for the first time.
Like many families who have been through this Covid ordeal and been waiting for that special family reunion to happen, last month it became real, even if among a lot of tears and jubilation.
For rural property owners, getting
I can check an email while waiting for the cows to take their stand in the shed. — Rosaria Weir
time away off the farm takes a lot of planning and organising. It is not just a matter of locking the front door, putting up the “beware of the dog or cat” sign and boarding a plane. There is stock to think about, feeding out, water leaks, dogs, milking, calving, etc . . . so much planning to be done before you even leave the property.
A lot of farms are family dependent and in Rosaria’s case, her brother runs the farm whenever their parents are away with Rosaria helping with the morning and evening milking, feeding calves and moving stock. A relief for her parents knowing that they have left their farm in good hands.
Making options available
Rosaria knows how lucky she is to work for a company that enables her to work from an office but help out on the farm when needed. Farmside are rural broadband specialists, they understand how important it is to the rural community to have contact with the outside world. They also know farmers and their families need a reliable and fast source of internet and they work hard to make sure they provide the expected service.
Farmside says it is proud to back rural New Zealand and has a number of partnerships with rural cooperatives and suppliers that are an integral part of rural New Zealand. Through these partnerships they can offer customers options, working hard to find a solution for every location and situation.
With a staff of more than 45 and a network of installers nationwide, they back up their product with great customer service.
Reliability allows flexibility
“Farmside provides excellent internet coverage in the cowshed that allows me to wear two hats anytime during the day,” says Rosaria.
“I can check an email while waiting for the cows to take their stand in the shed,” she says.
And when the milking is over and some well-deserved relaxation is needed, the service provides great movie watching, an absolute bonus.
So for Rosaria, it is off with the heels, off with the gumboots and on with the slippers! ■