Geelong Rural owner Amanda Davies’ career move from corporate professional to tractor dealer

Amanda Davies swapped her corporate job for a career in agriculture eight years ago. And her new lifestyle has attracted more than 120,000 followers on Instagram.

The Tractor Lady, Amanda Davies, owns the biggest tractor retailer in Victoria and the third biggest in Australia. Picture: Brad Fleet

Amanda Davies swapped her corporate lifestyle for a career in agriculture eight years ago and hasn’t look back.

The Moolap mother of three has owned Geelong Rural, the biggest tractor retailer in Victoria, since 2016.

Before then, Mrs Davies knew nothing about the farming industry and had never driven a tractor.

“I met my husband Bryan in 2002 and he was a diesel mechanic apprentice at Geelong Rural,” she said.

“I would go in there occasionally to pick him up from work but I honestly paid zero attention to it.”

Mr Davies branched out on his own as a diesel mechanic and Mrs Davies continued working in her corporate roles before they bought Geelong Rural in 2016.

She said her customers kept her passionate about tractors and the farming industry.

“You meet people from all walks of life,” Mrs Davies said.

She admits she was “very naive” when she took over the business and thought she had to dress like what farmers would expect a typical tractor dealer to look like.

“I started taking on this persona but I wasn’t being try to myself,” Mrs Davies said.

“I love pink, I’m very loud and flamboyant and I wasn’t being true to who I am.

“So I branched out into ‘The Tractor Lady’.

“Some people don’t have the knowledge or the confidence to walk into a big tractor dealership … so I became more approachable.

“It opened up a new world of customers who may have been too intimidated to buy a tractor.”

Amanda Davies. Picture: Brad Fleet

Mrs Davies is hoping to set an example to her children and women in the community that females can do anything they want to do.

“You’re the only person stopping yourself,” she said.

“My children have seen that their mum can do anything.

“I can drive the machinery, I do the paperwork and I run the business.”

Mrs Davies also has a prominent social media presence with more than 120,000 followers on Instagram.

She was inspired to start the account in 2020 after one of her customers died.

“It was the most inspirational funeral I’d ever been to,” Mrs Davies said.

“I had debated starting an account for a few months prior and I didn’t have the guts but he inspired me to give it a crack.”

Geelong Rural is hosting an open day on June 28 which will feature a female chainsaw sculpturist and live tractor demonstrations.

The content summaries were created with the assistance of AI technology, then edited and approved for publication by an editor.

Originally published as Geelong Rural owner Amanda Davies’ career move from corporate professional to tractor dealer