This week on the Head Shepherd Podcast we have Dayanne Almeida aka The Sheep Nutter.

Dayanne isn't from a farming background, but through her Animal Science degree in her home country Brazil, she fell in love with sheep. Once she'd finished her degree she began to work for sheep breeders associations in her home country then one day, Dayannes friend suggested she travel to New Zealand to learn more about sheep farming. To which she laughed!

Dayanne didn't know English at the time. But, she didn't let this stop her and with her friends help she sent out over 800 emails to farms, studs and breed associations in New Zealand asking if they would share their wisdom with her.

She finally received a reply from a farmer in Gisborne, NZ and after a few conversations, she booked her flights to NZ in 2009.

Dayanne worked there for the next five years learning all there was to New Zealand Sheep and Beef farming. That short trip she planned never ended and now she has citizenship here in New Zealand.

After five years, Dayanne moved to Wairere in the Wairarapa where she got more involved with the stud work. She began sharing her work day on Facebook to friends and family back home in Brazil.

When Facebook allowed Dayanne to go live whilst in the yards, her social media profile grew exponentially. Scanning, drafting, shearing- she shared it all live.

"Maybe this will motivate them," Dayanee says. The idea of sharing knowledge with the people back in her home country really excites her.

That happiness was infectious and people shared her story all over social media. This lead to her getting invites to lots of workshops Brazil. In 2016 she re-scheduled a few things and managed to do 22 presentations in three and a half weeks. This even snowballed into Dayanne being on Brazilian TV!

Dayanne returned to Brazil every year for her "Marathons" until Covid hit. She is currently lining up her agenda for her return in May next year where she already has 12 talks planned.

When asked what the secret of successful farming is,  Dayanne explains "It's nothing to do with the breed or the stuff we use on the farm, that is just a consequence of the mindset The point of difference is the kiwi, the person... the farmer".  "Kiwis could be farming snakes (...) whatever they choose, they're going to be good at it"

Dayanne and her partner now Paul run their own Romney stud, she shares the behind the scenes into what it takes to run a farm. Bills and expenses included! She wants transparency and for people to know what it's really like to run a farm in New Zealand.

When it came to farming, Dayanne knew she wanted more than just a commercial sheep and beef farm. She loved the data and recording that came with running a stud. She says she needs SOMETHING other than day to day farm jobs.

They are focusing on Health Traits in their stud. They do not currently have facial eczema on their lease block, but they know it's coming. "What we breed today,

Head Shepherd is brought to you by neXtgen Agri International Limited. We help livestock farmers get the most out of the genetics they farm with. Get in touch with us if you would like to hear more about how we can help you do what you do best: [email protected].

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