Emma – Livestock Handler

In 2017 I started my first year at ANZCO. I worked in plant at Ashburton starting off as a packer in the lamb boning room. I was able to save enough money to go studying at Telford the year after.

I carried on packing for another five, six years, and then I got the job as a quality assistant. I did that for about a year. Saw this job here, popped up on Facebook, and thought, oh, I've always wanted to work with cattle. And the fact that it was with horses as well was even cooler, so I applied for that, got the job, and been here for a year, and really enjoyed myself. It’s a great environment, great people.

Outside of work, I study part-time a diploma in Agriculture through Lincoln University. I've done that for a year so far, so I'm halfway through my course. Other than that, I train for my duathlon and triathlon races. So, I do a lot of running during the week, cycling and I try to get into the pool as much as I can.

I enjoy working at ANZCO because the staff are awesome. They understand my commitment outside of work, studying and training. So, they're real flexible with their hours.

What makes me happy is being outdoors all day, spending it with animals, working out in nature. It's good for my training. Sometimes I do up to 25,000 steps a day. That's a lot of walking. But yeah, I've always been someone who just loves physical work. I can't really sit down all day behind a computer. I know some people can, but that's just not me.