Ireland’s Mary Faherty on life in Australian dairy

Mary Faherty says Australian dairy provides opportunities for newcomers not seen in her native Ireland. Here’s why.

Hailing from the windswept west coast of Ireland, Mary Faherty says there are more opportunities for young people in dairy in Australia than her home country.

Growing up on a beef farm at Derryinver, west of Galway, Ms Faherty always had an interest in agriculture.

“There’s a lot more opportunities in Australia compared to home,” the 31-year-old said.

“As a woman not having any experience in the dairy industry, I wouldn’t be likely to get a job in dairy in Ireland. In Australia, farmers are more willing to hire people from all backgrounds.”

Irish dairy worker Mary Faherty is now based in southwest Victoria. Picture: Zoe Phillips

Ms Faherty worked in a restaurant in Ireland before emigrating and naturally, her first Australian job was on a potato farm. She then moved to Sydney later in 2019 but later jumped at an opportunity to work at a dairy farm near Terang.

“One of the big differences with Australian farms is you keep your cows outside all year ‘round,” Ms Faherty said.

“And, of course, everything is on a bigger scale. I went back to Ireland to see family and forgot how narrow the roads were.”

Last month, Ms Faherty was one of 18 young farmers to participate in a study tour of New Zealand, organised by the DemoDairy Foundation and WestVic Dairy.

The five-day tour included 13 industry and farm pitstops, giving participants a snapshot of dairy across the Tasman.

“It was a great opportunity. I always wanted to travel to New Zealand and it’s good to compare how they operate and learn about what we can adapt for Australia,” she said.

“It was a fantastic trip to be a part of. It highlighted the differences as well as the similarities our countries face producing milk.

“The lack of grain being fed, lower yields per cow and the extensive use of once-a-day milking were quite different. However, increasing land prices due to competing industries, the difficulties of getting young people into the industry and the lack of good labour are very similar to at home.”

“This is all knowledge that I can take back to work, where I can share what I have learned.”