A sole parent and mum of two under five, the 25-year-old is now a first time home owner, too.

When she left school at 18, Donaldson moved south to try her hand at farming and discovered she loved it.

Moving up to the Waikato a year later, after the birth of her first son, she worked her way up to become a herd manager and continued working after the birth of her second son, Dexter.

When her job in Waikato ended in 2022, Donaldson moved back to her home town, Levin, to be closer to family. Read more