‘Females in Farming’: Canterbury dairy farmer Anthea Rolfe creates online community for women

Canterbury dairy farmer Anthea Rolfe started the Females in Farming social media page a year ago and says it has quickly gained a following.

By Stephanie Ockuysen of RNZ

A Canterbury dairy farmer has created an online community for other females in farming to share her knowledge and connect with her peers.

Anthea Rolfe left her corporate job in the aviation industry in Auckland 18 years ago to get into farming and hasn’t looked back.

She said she never knew it was even an option for her to farm and now milks 1250 cows, which she juggles with being a solo mum to her 12-year-old son.

“I just know what it’s like to juggle kids, home, farm, all that kind of stuff, and you end up putting yourself last.

“And so I just thought, how can I create a community to help empower people, like women, and try and restore some of that sort of feel-good factor.”

Rolfe started the Females in Farming social media page a year ago and said it just exploded, gaining a following quickly.

She’s gone on to expand the brand with a practical and comfortable clothing range for on-farm and a farming hub where she shares her knowledge from the industry.

“There’s really a need for this sort of thing here, and it’s just evolved into becoming the clothing range and the polished farmer hub,” she said.

“So yeah, it’s been really good, really positive.”

Rolfe said her favourite part of being a dairy farmer is the cows - they’re her favourite animal.

- RNZ