Steele by name and nature

She also was interested in famer politics and saw involvement in this as complementary to her role as an accountant and a farmer.

“So I started going to the local meetings here just as member and then when the then meat and fibre chair suddenly resigned there were discussions on who they could get and I saw eyes upon me. 

“They said I was outspoken and asked if I’d take on the role. I had just come to the meeting with my father to get a free lunch and suddenly this was put upon me. I discussed it with my boss here because of the time factor and with my dad and I thought it was something I’d be interested in so I decided to take it on. And I had to pay for the lunch!”

Steele admits that when she took on the role she felt totally inadequate and even now she still does, at times. The challenge is to understand the wider aspects of the role and what’s happening in NZ farming. It’s also harder being a woman in the role.

“The difficulty for women is they feel they have to know everything to do something whereas men say ‘she’ll be right and do it’.  Women have a different perspective and tend to get involved in detail such as the books. This isn’t only true of farming; you get the same situation in small businesses where the woman does the books.” 

Steele agrees with people who say women’s contribution to farming is underrated. A woman can make a huge contribution including acting as a matriarch who ties everyone together and gets people to pull their heads in, in a nice way, when they are out of line. 

But she sees women playing a much greater role in Federated Farmers than they used to and there are more with professional qualifications being elected to office.

“The Ruapehu district, where I live, used to be a traditional male dominated area. But in recent times this has changed and now the provincial president, the dairy chair and I as meat and fibre chair are all women, so things are changing. But you still go to the meetings and there are old stalwarts there, but no one gives me a hard time, they wouldn’t dare. But I have to bite my tongue sometimes.”

Of concern in the farming sector at present is that the average age of a sheep and beef farmer is 58. So Steele recognises the challenge to get more young people to make a career in farming.

“But how do you get people to see it as viable career job? It is a fabulous career and lifestyle and a great way to bring up kids. All of us who went to a rural primary school have got it over those from the city. We just know things and are very practical.”

Also big for Steele is succession planning: she does not see that farmers’ sons would automatically inherit a farm. She accepts this is a complex issue and knows that families need to get good professional advice when putting together a succession plan.

“It’s not simple and there is no easy way of deciding and being fair to all parties. You don’t want one to be treated differently. Traditionally the oldest male has taken over the farm, but to me that’s not the fairest or most pragmatic approach. In the world of equality, why should it be the boy? It also depends on their interests and ability.”

Steele says she’s a great supporter of Beef + Lamb NZ’s initiative to help farmers improve their performance behind the farmgate. Farmers need to see what costs they can and cannot control and have a plan to deal with these. This comes back to her view that farmers should make better use of accountants. 

“Farmers are not always great at talking to other people because they don’t want to be judged and they don’t want other people to know their business.” 

Steele has been in the Feds role for two years and is still contemplating whether she’ll move up the political ranks of the federation. She sometimes questions whether she has the ability to do this, but has been encouraged by many others who feel she can do this. 

Meanwhile, she is looking at personal development options such as the Global Women leadership programme and has a personal mentor.