What brought you into agriculture / farm technologies?

I grew up on a small dairy farm in Upper Austria that was managed in a very traditional way, with a pipeline milking system, tie-stall housing, and manual feeding using wheelbarrows. From an early age, I spent a lot of time in the barn and developed a strong passion for working with dairy cows, which has stayed with me ever since.
After completing my training as a skilled agricultural worker, I continued my education at the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences in Vienna, where I earned both my bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Agricultural Sciences with a focus on animal science.
During my studies, I started working as a feed consultant for a well-known Austrian company. In this role, I mainly advised dairy farms—including many with automatic milking systems—as well as farms in other livestock sectors such as poultry and pig production.
Today, I live on my partner’s family dairy farm, which is currently owned and managed by my parents-in-law. In 2017, the farm became one of the first in our region to introduce an automatic milking system. Being closely involved in this transition sparked my strong interest in this technology and the opportunities it offers for modern dairy farming.
My long-standing passion for dairy farming eventually led me to focus my professional career entirely on supporting dairy farms, particularly those operating automatic milking systems. This path brought me to GEA Austria, where I took on the role as the company’s first internal herd manager.

What makes your work meaningful to you?

My role as a herd manager is very diverse and dynamic. I joined the position at a particularly exciting stage, as herd management consulting in Austria had previously been mainly supported externally. Since I started at GEA Austria, we have been continuously building and developing this service. It is very rewarding to see how herd management support has grown and how we can now offer valuable services to our customers and partners.
I work with dairy farms across all of Austria, which means a wide range of farm structures and management systems—from small family farms with around 8 cows to larger operations with more than 300 cows. This includes organic and conventional farms, hay milk and silage systems, as well as both manual and automated feeding systems. This diversity keeps the work interesting and provides a very broad perspective.
What makes my work especially meaningful is seeing farmers achieve their goals. When farmers call or send a message to share their progress, it is just as rewarding for me as if it were happening on my own farm.
Another aspect that is very important to me is the strong team spirit within our department. We have a very collegial working environment and support each other whenever needed. Working together as a strong team makes the job even more enjoyable and is one of the reasons why I always enjoy coming to work.

How does your role contribute to the future of dairy farming?

Modern herd management goes far beyond simply working with herd management software. It includes all areas of dairy farming—from feeding and animal health to fertility, milking performance, and overall farm organization. In the end, everything must work together like a system of interlocking gears to ensure the long-term success of a dairy farm. My role is to support farmers in exactly this process. I help them take a step back from their daily routines, overcome “farm blindness,” and identify opportunities to further improve their management. The cow is always at the center of everything. Healthy and comfortable cows are the foundation for both: animal welfare and economic success.
This becomes particularly important when farms introduce automatic milking systems or significantly expand their herd size. When farms move from tie-stall housing to free-stall systems or grow from 20 to 100 cows, the number of new processes and the amount of available data can quickly become overwhelming. In these situations, I help farmers develop clear strategies and keep an overview of the most important information.
With the increasing level of automation in dairy farming—such as automatic milking systems, heat detection, lameness or BCS monitoring, and automated feeding systems—farms are generating more and more data. At the same time, herd sizes and production levels are often increasing. This makes herd management consulting increasingly important, as farmers need a reliable partner who can combine practical farm experience with data analysis and support them in making well-informed decisions for the future of their farms.

What will modern dairy farming look like in 10 years in your opinion?

A lot can change in ten years – we have already seen that in the past decade. Ten years ago, only a small number of farms in Austria were using automatic milking systems; today, many more have adopted this technology. I expect this development to continue. While the number of dairy farms will likely keep decreasing, the herd size per farm will continue to grow in order to remain economically viable.
At the same time, the level of automation and digitalization will increase further. Technologies such as automatic milking systems, sensor-based monitoring and data-driven decision tools will become even more common. I also believe that artificial intelligence will play a much larger role in dairy farming, helping farmers interpret data and make management decisions more efficiently.
Another important factor will be work-life balance. Many farmers want more flexibility in their daily work, and automation can help achieve that. As herd sizes grow and more technology is integrated into farms, the demand for herd management consulting will also increase, because farmers need support to make the best use of these tools and the growing amount of data.
And who knows – maybe in seven or ten years we might even see humanoid robots supporting farmers with daily tasks on farms. Technology is developing very quickly, and a lot can happen in a relatively short time.

What change would you most like to see for women in agriculture?

I would like to see it become completely normal for women to contribute professionally to agriculture. The sector is still quite male-dominated, and sometimes people are still surprised when a woman is knowledgeable in areas that are traditionally seen as “male expert fields,” such as working in the fields, feeding strategies, hoof care, or milking technology.
At the same time, women have always played an important role in the daily work with animals. Tasks such as milking and calf management are often carried out by women, and studies even show that calves raised by women can have lower mortality rates. This highlights the strong practical skills, attention to detail, and dedication that women bring to livestock management. Women in agriculture are much more than just responsible for household tasks or farm catering.
Today, we can already see positive developments. More women are working in areas such as feed and herd management consulting, and in Austria there are also several female service technicians working in our GEA service centers.
I would like to encourage more women to trust their expertise and take opportunities in agriculture with confidence—whether in farm management, technical roles, or everyday decision-making on the farm.