INAYA Stone's experience of losing the family farm when she was just 13-years-old was a pivotal event in her life which inspired her to become involved in Farmers Across Borders - Hay from WA.
The organisation, which takes donated hay and feed from Western Australian farmers to farmers around Australia suffering from natural disasters such as drought, was founded by Sam Starcevich and Anne Bell in 2014, when the pair decided to help drought-stricken farmers in New South Wales after a successful harvest season in WA.
Ms Stone's father Ross, who is now vice-president of the group, took part in the organisation's first hay run, which delivered 16 road trains of donated hay to struggling farmers in Bourke and Lightning Ridge, in NSW.
Ms Stone's younger sister Amelia, also contributed to Hay from WA for Kids, making showbags for the kids of the families that were receiving the hay.
"I really wanted to get involved after seeing my family take part in the program, so when the opportunity came up to get involved this year, I took it by the horns and I've been helping out wherever I can," Ms Stone said.
On Australia Day this year, after much planning, the organisation took its work up a level, increasing its delivery to 47 road trains of hay to farmers suffering from drought in Cobar, NSW.
"With our family having gone through a similar scenario in losing our farm because of too many bad years in a row, it really makes you appreciate those hardships and you don't want other people to go through similar situations," Ms Stone said.
"We know one load of hay isn't going to solve their problems in the long-term, but we aim to deliver some hope to those farmers and just let them know we're thinking of them.
"When you go on a hay run you realise all of the hard work is definitely worth it and we're in the process of making the organisation a charity."
When her family relocated to Esperance, despite having a high school nearby, Ms Stone still opted to attend Cunderdin Ag College for years 11 and 12.
"Growing up in Quairading, boarding school is just a part of your life, but when we moved to Esperance I still decided to attend Cunderdin ag for my final years of schooling because I knew agriculture was going to be my future," Ms Stone said.
"There were only 60 people in my year group and Cunderdin ag definitely gives you a bit of a head start for university, because you learn so much base knowledge about the industry."
After completing her studies Ms Stone took a gap year, but didn't stray from the agricultural industry, taking a job as a ringer at a cattle station at Fitzroy Crossing.
"I really loved it up there, the climate is beautiful and the people are great," Ms Stone said.
"We would get up at 4.30am for breakfast at 5am and then I was either in the yards, mustering on the horses or fencing.
"It was hard work, I won't deny that, but extremely rewarding at the same time."
After her gap year Ms Stone returned to Esperance and began an agriculture degree with the University of New England, based in NSW, by correspondence.
Now in her second year, Ms Stone is majoring in both plants and animals to keep her options open when she completes her studies.
This year she won the Rob Ashman Memorial Scholarship for which she received $5000, putting the money towards flights to NSW to complete her practical assessments.
While studying Ms Stone has also been working for a local crop trials company, Southeast Agronomy Research.
"I feel like I've got so much more out of university by being able to work while studying because I love being able to apply what you're learning, as you learn it," Ms Stone said.
As part of this work, Ms Stone travelled to Victoria to participate in a Southeast Premium Wheatgrowers Association (SEPWA) Youth in Ag tour earlier this year.
Starting in Adelaide, the group visited different processing plants as well as a few breweries to learn about different parts of the supply chain.
"We visited Coopers Brewery in Adelaide, a milling place and a legume processor and it was a good eye opener to think about what happens to your products once they leave the farm," Ms Stone said.
"For example, I never knew how rolled oats were made before, so when we saw that it was really cool."
While on university break, Ms Stone also works on a 10,000 hectare broadacre cropping farm in Esperance, running one of the farm's five headers for the harvest season.
Owned by family friends, the farm's crops include vetch, peas, lentils, wheat and barley.
Thinking ahead, Ms Stone said she would like to return up north to work at some stage and dreams of owning her own farm down the track.
"I think that's the goal for most people in agriculture, so yeah, I'd definitely love to have that opportunity one day," she said.
