Farming has always been in Sam’s blood. It’s something he’s wanted to do since he was a child – follow in the footsteps of his father and run a cattle farm. So when Sam became a C6 quadriplegic in a vehicle accident, he had a choice: “I thought to myself I could either sink or I could swim, and I couldn’t imagine life at the bottom of the ocean.”
Sam pushed forward and continued to farm a 1250 hectare beef cattle property that he runs with his wife Jenny. They have a herd of approximately 180 Angus breeding cows.
“I developed a hoist that can lift me into the cabs of tractors and I relearned to ride a quad bike,” shares Sam. He also uses a zero-turn ride-on mower to maintain his property.
And though keeping a cattle farm up and running as a quadriplegic has challenges, with ingenuity and determination, Sam has not let a spinal cord injury deter him from living his dream and keeping his sights on the future. What’s next for Sam? He plans to learn to fly a helicopter, with Jenny as his co-pilot, and wants to use his story to help children achieve their own dreams.