Kobie has an extensive customer service background, with experience in an array of areas. She runs an online business called Troopy Gear, promoting and selling Australian made 4x4/touring products. She recently said goodbye to her colleagues from Services Australia in August 2021, after working for the Department for close to 9 years aiding in the Youth and Student department.
With a semi-rural background, Kobie has operated
2023 Harvest Emerald, QLD (April - November. Sorghum Harvest mid year, Wheat Harvest and general farm duties)
- Header Operation, John Deere S770s (both Sorghum and Wheat)
- Spreading fertiliser and wheat with John Deere 4940
- Some Chaser Bin Operation for wheat harvest - John Deere 8R 340 Gen 2 Tractor with Coolamon 36 tonne Chaser Bin
- Planting with John Deere 9RX Scraper Edition or 9RT Tractor tractor and Flexicoil or Horsch
- Ploughing with John Deere 9RX Scraper Edition or 9RT Tractor with Horsch Tiger or Joker
- Water Truck operation (Volvo)
- Operating CAT telehandler and backhoe
- Assisting with general repairs and maintenance around the farm
2022 Harvest Kiacatoo NSW:
- Operation of Case IH 2388 Header with 34 foot draper front (Wheat). Daily servicing (blowing down, oil checks, refuelling, etc).
- Prepped headers for harvest (including cleaning, greasing, replacing nearly all hydraulic lines/some grease nipples etc, assisted with welding repair to comb and installation of new draper belt)
- Mustering sheep and cattle on motorbike/quad, including yard work. Drenching 700 head of lambs. Also assisted in mustering/moving sheep in tinny from flooded paddocks.
- Operating Steiger 9370 for multiple heavy machinery recoveries (due to headers/chasers bogging in crop)
- Cleaning trucks and silos in preparation for grain
- Experience gained operating older style bobcat and CAT backhoe
- Rouseabout work for contract shearer
2022 Dairy Farmhand (Dry - Mark Brooker Dairies Driffield VIC):
- Operating newer model John Deere tractor to feed out silage to cows (from silage pits)
- Helping train heifers to move through the dairy
- Spreading with tractor (Urea)
- Tagging, immunising and data entry
- Moving herd regularly while strip grazing
- Landscaping/gardening and mowing workers cottage
- Herding cattle with Can-Am and Ag bike
(Vaughn was regularly doing the above tasks, I helped and was shown all of the above however didn't get as much practice in as there wasn't enough work for both of us)
2021 Contract Swathing and Harvest Gnowangerup WA:
- John Deere 9760 with 36ft Draper Belt Header (harvest Gnowangerup WA Nov-Dec 2021 - Wheat, Oats and Barley)
- John Deere 9650 with 30ft Table Auger Header (harvest Gnowangerup WA Nov-Dec 2021 - Wheat, Oats and Barley)
- John Deere/MacDon Swather with 40 foot comb (swathing Canola Oct 2021)
- John Deere Tractor and chaser bin (was mostly in the headers though)
- Pilot vehicle when transporting oversize farm machinery
Other contracting jobs:
Mid 2012: Case IH 2388 Header Aylesbury, Canada (Wheat & Canola)
March 2022: Operating cattle crush for pregnancy testing cows, administering vaccines, and castrating steers (for Peter Dykes)
March 2023: Helping muster cattle for preganancy testing and castrating steers, ear tagging and record keeping (for Peter Dykes)
April 2023: Farm sitting (10 days) for Brooker Dairies in Driffield VIC, feeding cattle and moving them while strip grazing.
Also competent at:
- Ag motorbikes and quads (also experienced on road, having ridden around and across Australia on a Kawasaki Vulcan S 650)
- Experience 4x4 in various environments
- Extensive experience horseback spanning 20+ years - Dressage, Eventing, starting and training youngsters, instructing at Pony Clubs and hosting clinics after learning Natural Horsemanship in Canada in 2012. Have been out of the equine industry since 2017 due to travel
- Cooking frozen harvest meals for the 2022 harvest season (frozen dinners etc)
- Professional telephony skills from call centre work
- Skills in graphic design, including branding and logo design, websites, social media, custom painting/artwork and custom illustration/fine art
- Small business management
Licenses held:
- Manual Drivers licence (WA)
- Motorbike licence (WA)
- Firearm licence (VIC)
Formal Education:
- Bachelor Visual and Media Art (Graphic Design) at Monash University
- Diploma of Conservation and Land Management at GippsTAFE
- Diploma of Event Management, Diploma of Sport (Coaching) & Diploma of Sport and Recreation at GippsTAFE.
As Kobie does have the opportunity to solely work online or from home, there is always the possibility of just hiring Vaughn - as long as there is reception for phone calls and internet signal so Kobie can continue to work remotely.