Lindsey Bowyer has exchanged a career in the circus for one in dairy.
Photo by
saputo
As Australia celebrates women in dairy for World Milk Day, dairy farmer Lindsey Bowyer shows there’s no single pathway and that women have a vital role in shaping the industry’s future.
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A former professional circus performer, Lindsey, now 27, is leasing a 240ha dairy farm in northern Victoria, with a milking herd of about 200 Jersey cows, and is dreaming of much bigger things to come.
Lindsey is leasing a 240ha farm in northern Victoria.
Photo by
saputo
Yet if not for COVID-19, her move into dairy may never have happened.
With the pandemic effectively bringing an end to live events in 2020, Lindsey found herself grounded.
The smaller size of the Jersey breed make it easier for Lindsey to manage.
Photo by
saputo
She’d been on the verge of heading overseas to perform, but instead was on her way back home to northern Victoria and at an unexpected crossroads.
“I really didn’t know what to do,” Lindsey recalls.
“Then a friend mentioned a local dairy family and Saputo suppliers, Peter and Rachel Romans were looking for help.
“That was my first introduction to dairy.”
Lindsey Bowyer.
Photo by
saputo
Having grown up on her parents’ beef cattle property, Lindsey knew her way around a cow, just not a dairy cow.
“I knew the front end from the back end, but I’d never milked a cow.”
What followed was a crash course in dairy that would spark Lindsey’s love for dairy cows and the industry.
Under the guidance of Peter, Lindsey was given the opportunity to learn how to run a successful dairy, from handling cows and milking systems to daily routines and continuing a strong business partnership, supplying milk to Saputo.
After four years, and with a dream to start her own dairy business, Lindsey left the Romans to broaden her knowledge and gain experience working with other farmers and dairy setups.
Each experience added another layer of understanding and helped refine what best practice would look like for any farm she would have in the future.
“I took bits and pieces from here, there and everywhere and moulded it to what suits the farm.”
In late 2025, an opportunity arose to lease her own farm, with the financial backing of her parents.
She’s since been steadily lifting the standard of the dairy – a 20-a-side swing-over – investing in improvements such as cup removers.
Another significant upgrade was a generator purchased with the support of Saputo’s milk cooling rebate, providing a critical safeguard for the business.
Today, Lindsey is milking twice a day, seven days a week and rearing 60 heifers.
She is leasing a 600-acre dairy farm in northern Victoria,, which is better suited to her older-style dairy.
“You look at them and they melt your heart, with their beautiful faces and nature and once you've had Jersey milk, it’s hard to go back.”
Visitors to her dairy comment on how her herd is calm and quiet. She credits that to treating her cows almost like pets.
“With a dairy cow, you’re with them in the morning and night. They're your priority and you pretty much work your life around the cows.”
Although it’s still early days in her dairy career, Lindsey has her sights firmly set on growing her herd and stud breeding.
She’s already purchased a few registered stud animals and plans to build on that foundation, once things settle.
For now, she’s focused on milking, her first intensive period of calving and ensuring her cows continue to produce great milk for Saputo.
Yet despite the workload, she’s unequivocal about why she does it.
World Milk Day is an opportunity to recognise the year-round efforts and celebrate the people behind every glass of milk.
For Lindsey, the motivation remains simple.
“For me, it is the love and the passion for my cows.”
