ASK Tahlia McSwain what she loves about dairy farming and her answer is simple: everything.
From the freedom of farm life in beautiful Busselton to managing the family's magnificent Holsteins, she loves it all.
The 18-year-old is a fourth generation dairy farmer who hopes to take on Boallia Creek Dairies, where her family has milked cows since 1931.
"I don't really have a specific reason for why I love dairy farming, I just do," Tahlia said.
"I have been focused on dairy my whole life and with mentors like my dad and other farmers in the Busselton area, I knew I wanted to come back to farming.
"I know it can be tough sometimes but dairy farming is in my blood and that is where it is going to stay."
A passion for dairy saw Tahlia complete her secondary studies at the WA College of Agriculture Harvey in 2012, where she enjoyed learning about the diverse range of sectors within the agricultural industry.
By her own admission she was not a big fan of the classroom, but appreciated the balanced combination of practical and theoretical learning offered at the college.
During her final year at school she successfully completed a Certificate II in Agriculture.
She completed a Certificate III in Agriculture on the family farm, under her parents' guidance, through the National Centre for Dairy Education Australia at the Great Southern Institute of Technology.
Tahlia was selected in 2012 for a Primary Industries Centre for Science Education scholarship by Curtin University, where she embarked on a five week industry placement, and subsequently won a travelling scholarship to Tasmania.
Western Dairy last year chose her to attend the Dairy Research Foundation's annual two-day symposium, which also allowed her to tour dairy businesses in NSW.
Tahlia, a keen cattle handler, has competed in regional shows including Harvey, Brunswick and Busselton with huge success, and in 2012 she took out the coveted title of WA's grand champion dairy handler.
She has competed in the Perth Royal Show and placed in the top 25 for cattle judging at the National Allbreeds Dairy Youth Camp in Victoria earlier this year.
After a year at home on the farm, Tahlia will this year be part of the first crop of students to study agriculture through Charles Sturt University at its Muresk campus in Northam.
Tahlia, one of 26 students studying on campus, said she looked forward to studying a degree in Agricultural Business Management and hoped to become a dairy agronomist or nutritionist.
Milking 10,000L from 600 Holsteins everyday is no mean feat, but Tahlia said she loved working alongside her dad and looked forward to taking on further responsibilities.
Her enthusiasm has seen her start a new Holstein stud that will run alongside the McSwain's commercial operation, and the family are building a facility to house the project.
"Dad always wanted to start a stud, so I gave it a push in 2013," she said.
"We have three stud animals, and we hope to flush my heifer at the end of this year, hopefully that will mean a few more on the ground from her.
"I have also purchased embryos because I want to build numbers and create good looking animals with good traits."
Tahlia's passion for dairy doesn't stop at the farm-gate.
She is concerned by the lack of young people returning to dairy and has been inspired by the strong network of young dairy farmers on the east coast.
So she and a group of fellow young dairy farmers have reignited the networking organisation WA Women in Dairy and hope to hold regular events for women involved in the State industry.
"We got together at the start of January and said let's do something," she said.
"We didn't know whether to focus on ladies or young farmers, so we decided to combine the two.
"We want to get our local farmers more involved, whether it is just for a casual catchup or a discussion or field day. It's always nice to unwind and talk to other people, find out what other people are up to and exchange ideas."
