BATHURST'S Esther Werner is a young woman making her mark in a traditionally male-dominated industry.
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The TAFE NSW Bathurst graduate, who studied a Certificate IV in Wool Classing, has been working as a wool classer and shearer across western NSW, but is based at Wellington at the moment.
After less than 12 months shearing, the 21-year-old recently reached a personal best: shearing 212 sheep in a day.
The future of farming in the Central West involves boosting the number of women in the industry, according to the National Farmers' Federation (NFF).
Fiona Simson, the first female president in the organisation's 40-year history, says their goal is to double the number of women in agriculture's leadership ranks by 2030.
"Progress reports from our Diversity in Agriculture Leadership Program show we are well on the way to achieving this goal, if not knocking it out of the park," Ms Simson said.
"The NFF has identified increasing the representation of women as key to achieving agriculture's goal to be a $100 billion industry by 2030."
While the Australian Bureau of Agriculture, Resource Economics and Sciences (ABARES) indicates women comprise only 31 per cent of workers in agriculture, TAFE NSW says it already boasts a relatively high proportion of female enrolments in agribusiness courses at 47 per cent.
TAFE NSW agriculture team leader for western NSW, Fiona McCauley, said there are many opportunities for rewarding agricultural careers.
"Our skills-based courses allow women to hit the ground running in local industries and stay living and working in regional areas," she said.
"Many of our agricultural sectors across NSW are experiencing major skills shortages, so there is currently an opportunity to choose from a diverse range of careers."
Ms Werner said her studies at Bathurst set her up well.
"Completing the Certificate IV in Wool Classing at TAFE NSW has helped me in more ways than I thought it would," she said.
"It gave me the hands-on skills to be more confident with my work and I really enjoy what I'm doing.
"The course was very flexible as I could work part-time and study when it suited me.
"The teachers at TAFE NSW were really supportive and had a lot of personal experience working in the wool industry to pass on."
