Anne-Maree Lloyd runs an organic Hereford cattle operation on the Barcoo River

Grazier and photographer Anne-Maree Lloyd runs an organic Hereford cattle operation with her husband, Jeff, on Jedburgh, a 72,843 hectare property located on the Barcoo River between Yaraka and Windorah in Queensland. Their three daughters — Jessica, 33, Courtney, 31, and Bronte, 29 — live with their husbands in different areas across Queensland and New South Wales, while son Jake, 26, is mainly based at Jedburgh. Proud that her four children have all chosen to be involved in the rural industry in some way, the 59-year-old reflects on her family’s life on the land and some of its biggest challenges.

A typical day at Jedburgh can vary. Often Jeff flies the water run first thing in the morning and assesses where he has any problems that need attending to. We can be moving stock, fencing, doing machinery work or any general station work. I also attend to the office work and have a large garden complex to maintain. During busy times, such as mustering, we use contractors and the children also usually come home to sort their cattle up and give a hand.

Jeff and I are very proud that our children all choose to be in the rural industry. They have taken risks, both financially and professionally, to be where they are today. They have seen the bad years and good, which has given them the resilience they need in our industry.

We have always tried to instil the value of education in our children and encouraged them to never stop learning. Although the three girls all have degrees and Jake has a trade, education can come in many forms: on the job, in the paddock or just from being prepared to listen and learn from others. I also think it is important to be open to all opportunities, as you never know where they will lead. Some days you just have to put a smile on your face and get on with it. Everyone has bad days, but when we look back on life, the good days will always be the ones we remember.

In our family, women are most definitely treated equally, but I’m not naive enough to think that this is true across all aspects of our industry. I was lucky enough to grow up in a family where I was treated as an equal, and then I married into a family with the same values, and I have been forever grateful for that. Although there are still some forms of a ‘boys club’, I think women are proving themselves every day in the industry, from the boardroom to the paddock.