Chef Natalija Vine swaps kitchen for Harrisville dairy farm career

Former chef Natalija Vine traded kitchen chaos for dairy farm serenity, finding unexpected joy in swapping demanding customers for contented cows.

Out of the frying pan and into the fire, Natalija Vine isn’t afraid of hard work whether its filleting a haddock or traversing a paddock.

The qualified chef hung up the apron three years ago to give dairy farming a go and has zero regrets — although admits both are hard yakka in different ways.

“My Dad and I opened a cafe years ago and half of our customers were farmers, so I was interested to see how farms actually operate. I pestered my now boss for months on end to see what farming was all about,” Natalija said.

“He said ‘can you come back next fortnight’ and then I was on the farm every week and ended up with a permanent job.

“I never set out to be a dairy farmer — I don’t have any farming background in my family — but I just fell in love with farm work.”

Queensland dairy farm hand Natalija Vine

Natalija now works on the Harrisville farm of Dairy Australia chairman Paul Roderick, located about 70km southwest of Brisbane.

The 250ha Queensland farm has been in expansion mode in recent years with a goal of milking 500 cattle.

“Hospitality and farming do have some similarities — they can be long days and get really test you physically,” Natalija said.

“But with farming at least, there’s not as many night-time shifts, at least for me. But I can walk into a milking shed and just put cups on cows and it brings me a bit of peace.

“Over 10 years of customers that can sometimes be demanding, it’s weirdly easier working with cows. It’s not until you’re in farming that you really understand it.”

Natalija was a participant in the most recent round of Fonterra’s Proud to be a Dairy Farmer, with applications now open for this financial year’s intake.

Run by the Fonterra Australia Suppliers Council but open to all applicants no matter the processor they’re connected to, the industry mentoring program is aimed at attracting and retaining the next dairy generation.

The three-day program will include guest speakers on a range of topics including farm operating models, pathways to farm ownership and how the industry is structured.

“It was such a great experience,” Natalija said.

“You meet people who have similar experiences to you but are also newish to farming.

“Plus you get an idea about all the different parts of dairy farming, it’s really worth a go.”