Grace Pettit has been a lover of the land for most of her life. She spent her early years in Auckland, but eventually moved to the King Country, where the farming bug really started to bite.
“I just went from being a little town girl that went to ballet every week, to being the farm gal and going out on the farm with my dad and riding my pony. It was my first taste of the industry I guess. And I’m still a farm girl who likes to go out riding my pony.”
After high school, she set her sights on going to Massey University to complete a Bachelor of Agricultural Science. Having not so much as attended the open day, Pettit applied, was accepted, and shifted her whole life down to Manawatū.
“I’d been sold the dream I guess. Study, get into a graduate programme then your career is set up for you. It works for some people, I just wasn’t one of those people.”
Two years into her study things were ticking along nicely. Pettit had got herself a series of part-time jobs, including a retail job at EziBuy and at social media management company Grass Roots Media. She was heavily involved with Young Farmers and was beginning to think about life post-university.
Unfortunately, her father was involved in a traffic accident that sent things spiralling. The accident served as a catalyst for a period in which Pettit struggled with her mental health. With life feeling a little bit in free-fall, and knowing something needed to change, she decided to take a break from study.
“I needed to take a break, there was no way around it. I started working at a horse stud out in Feilding. It was one of the best things I could have done. Working outside, in the fresh air, working with horses. I worked for a lovely family and learnt heaps and it helped a lot with getting myself back on track. I met my now-partner Struan [Currie] during this time too, so added bonus!”
And back on track she got. Pettit completed her degree in 2019 and went on to achieve “the dream” by landing a part-time job at PGG Wrightson before being offered a role as a technical field consultant at Outgro Fertiliser.
However, she realised that perhaps the dream wasn’t quite for her.
“I ended up with the job I thought I wanted or that I should have. I did it for a while but then I was able to see the bigger picture of the fertiliser industry and the sales industry and concluded it just wasn’t for me. I was really invested in getting the best outcomes for farmers and offering great service but turns out that doesn’t always align with chasing sales.”
Outside of working in retail, she was also a swim coach, did a stint as an intern for Young Country magazine, and got involved with local A&P show committees and other industry committees like Future Beef NZ. Her willingness to give things a go and generally get “stuck in” is something that’s played a key role in getting her where she is today.
“All of those things I’ve learnt things from. One of the best bosses I ever had was in retail, so you pick up bits and pieces to take with you into other roles and times in your life.”
Needing to make some changes on the work front she kept coming back to what had only ever been a sideline interest, but something she found immense joy in – writing and storytelling.
“The human connection is really important to me and that’s sort of what writing is for me. I’m one of those people who needs to remind myself that I was given two ears and one mouth for a reason. Writing also feels like a logical flow-on for someone who likes to talk a lot but turning that into something meaningful and impactful.”
She landed a job as the brand developer and content creator for Betacraft, in charge of executing its social media, copywriting and co-ordinating photoshoots. She also acts as a farming subject matter expert for the wider team and gets to flex her creative muscles while staying connected to the farming industry.
“I’m still not sure where I want to go with it all. For now, I’m really happy doing what I’m doing, I get to be creative, I get to write some stuff and I get to be involved in the farm too. I’m pretty lucky.”
In between all of the study, jobs, internships and everything else, Pettit and Currie got the opportunity to run his family’s farm, Four Creeks Farm in Kumeroa, a 660 hectare sheep and beef breeding and trading operation. The farm manager at the time didn’t work out so the opportunity came for them to take over the running of the farm in 2017.
“It wasn’t what we were initially going to do, especially at that age, we were in our early twenties. But we took it on and have been here ever since. Struan is essentially a one-man band but he is well supported by great contractors and professionals as well as getting help from me and his dad. I love it out there, it’s a beautiful piece of country.”
Reflecting on some of their biggest challenges, Pettit recalls the 2020 drought and ANZCO plant closures due to covid that nearly crippled many farms in the region, theirs included. With a large number of fat lambs ready to go but nowhere to send them and no feed to keep them, they were stuck between a rock and a hard place.
“We had pressure from the bank, we had pressure from everywhere it felt, and we felt completely stranded. We were young and didn’t really know how to ask for help or were able to recognise that we actually needed help. We’ve always been on the same page for most things and really leant on each other during that time. It was rough.”
Spurred on by a shared vision, good communication, and some good support from stock agents and land-used advisers, the couple made it out the other side of that set of challenges with some fresh perspective and learnings.
“One of the things I came to realise quite quickly was some of the ugly cycles that go on, from banks granting unsustainable loans, to blanket advice given by organisations. Sometimes it feels like you need a bullshit sieve to sort through it all, but it taught me to not be afraid to question things, not everything should be taken at face value.”
Asked how she’s kept sane during a time that’s had more than its fair share of ups and downs, Pettit says her off-farm interests and community involvement have been important in keeping perspective and working through things.
“Being involved in a community, especially when you are farming, which can feel quite isolating, is really important. It’s a way to find support, resources, and opportunity. You know, you go to a local meeting and catch up with people and swap stories and you realise that other people are facing similar struggles and you get advice from them. It’s what helps prop you up when things get tough.”
More: The Farmers Weekly Rural Living series highlights the rich diversity of Aotearoa New Zealand’s rural communities, farming families and their contributions to the food and fibre sector.
