“Look after the land,” June says. “Look after your people. Everything else follows.”

Unlike many farming couples of their generation, Bill and June didn’t always work side by side in the paddock.

With the property located close to town, June chose to work off-farm for much of their married life. She worked in the local school office for over 25 years steady income, community connection, and a role she loved.

“People think if you’re not in the paddock, you’re not part of the farm,” June says. “But that’s not true.”

Her wage carried the farm through difficult seasons, drought years when cattle prices were low, times when machinery needed replacing, and when expansion felt risky. She handled farm accounts at night after dinner, balancing budgets at the kitchen table. She attended livestock sales on weekends and knew the herd records as well as Bill did.

Bill worked the cattle daily, but he is quick to say the farm survived because of both of them.

“There were years her job kept us afloat,” he says. “And when I had a setback with a machinery accident one season, she carried more than anyone realised.”

Their partnership proves that farming isn’t always two people in the same paddock. Sometimes it’s one in boots and one in town shoes, both equally committed.

They raised their children understanding that contribution looks different for everyone. Responsibility wasn’t about location. It was about ownership and pride.

Now, when students visit Six Keys Cattle Co, June loves telling them there’s more than one pathway into agriculture.

“You can be the stockperson. The bookkeeper. The teacher. The business manager,” she says. “It all matters.”

Their saying has never changed:
“Teach what you know, and respect every role.”