Proud to be a Farmer participant Meg O’Loughlin’s dairy journey

From teenage tragedy to twenties triumph, Meg O’Loughlin can’t be held back from her dairy destiny. Here’s her story.

Much like the hills and valleys around her home turf in Gippsland, Meg O’Loughlin has had her share of ups and downs.

But the dairy dynamo is very much on the way up with plans to operate her own farm within five years.

The 21-year-old Leongatha region senior farmhand grew up on her family’s dairy property at Berry’s Creek and her interest in making a living from milk started early.

“I was always interested in all the different parts of how a dairy farm works,” Meg says.

“Improving the quality of milk was always an interest. The farm I grew up on had no real technology at all, it was all pen and paper related.

“The farm I work on is really computer-focused, all different types of technology – automated processes with milk quality, automatic teat sprayers.”

Dairy farmer Meg O'Loughlin on farm at Wooreen with her Border Collie named Snap and her Kelpie named Buster. Picture: Zoe Phillips

Working in dairy requires a strength of character that few vocations can match and Meg has tested her mettle from an early age.

Seven years ago, the keen equestrian was kicked by a horse — an incident she recalls in matter-of-fact fashion.

“It was a horse riding accident, which damaged the nervous system and sinuses in face which caused migraines and headaches for two years,” Meg says.

“I was 15. It was two years of every type of treatment you could think of.

“But things improved, got myself work in dairy, worked off-farm, studied at TAFE.”

Meg was a participant in Fonterra’s Proud to be a Farmer program and the three-day tour tapped into an areas of the industry she has keen interest in — pasture management, feeding plans and nutrition.

“Milk quality is one of my favourite things, herd health. I love seeing the results,” she says.

“It’s really satisfying to work from start to finish — see the calves grow up into cows, improve that milk quality. I’ve been in other jobs and they get repetitive but in dairy farming, no two days are the same.”