Hard work pays off

NZ AMBASSADOR: Emma Pollitt will represent this country as Royal Agricultural Society New Zealand Ambassador at the Easter Show in Sydney next year where she will compete for the Australasian Ambassador title. Picture by Paul Rickard

GISBORNE woman Emma Pollitt has been selected as the Royal Agricultural Society (RAS) Ambassador for 2021 and will represent New Zealand at the Easter Show in Sydney next year.

The 28-year-old won the district final in the ambassador competition in May, and won the national final in Wellington at the RAS conference on June 19.

Emma, the daughter of Lee and Lynn Pollitt, is the regional genetics representative for PGG Wrightson and was born and bred in Gisborne.

“It is nice to have been recognised for something that I'm passionate about and absolutely committed to — stock judging and the showing movement in general,” Emma said.

She has been involved in the youth section of the Royal Agricultural Society for 11 years, and has previously won both the beef and sheep Young Judge of the Year titles.

She won the sheep title in 2016 and the beef title in 2017.

Emma has also come through the Angus Youth programme and is the current chairperson.

“I went to school in Gisborne then I decided that farming was for me. I attended the Taratahi Training Centre where I gained a certificate in agriculture.

“After that I did a short stint as a shepherd on a high country property in the South Island then spent a couple of years shepherding at Turihaua Angus.

“It was at Turihaua that I learned the foundations of stud stock farming like assessing stud animals properly and how decisions can influence the stud and commercial client's herds for generations,” Emma said.

“It set me in good stead for what I am doing now, and the art of matching up good sires with good dams (females), to produce progeny and meet objectives that will add value for the people buying them.”

She has not done any scientific training in agriculture but has reached the lofty position of genetics representative.

“I just got stuck in and learned by experience, and from the knowledge passed on from the people who have supported me.

“So many people in the industry have been supportive and I really appreciate it.

When asked why she chose farming a as a career, she said, “I had horses in my teens and animals around me all my life.”

“The thought of four walls around me in a work situation all the time gives me the willies.”

At the Sydney Royal Easter Show next year she will compete against the top state ambassadors from Australia to decide the Australasian title.

“I'm definitely looking forward to it.”