'I'm a dairy farmer's wife. Since our wedding 2 years ago, my husband hasn't taken a day off.'

Growing up, Stephanie Vogels never envisioned herself living on a farm. 

She hadn't thought getting married to a dairy farmer was on the cards either. And then it happened. 

"I was 30, single and had moved back home to regional Victoria where my family were. I was living my best life, full of travel, social events, and I had a new great job," Stephanie tells Mamamia. "I was starting to wonder though if I would meet 'the one'."

Deciding to see what was out there, Stephanie jumped on Tinder and matched with a guy called Michael. They lived about an hour away from each other; Michael was further down south near the Great Ocean Road on his family's farm.

From the moment of meeting, Stephanie felt a spark. So much so, that she knew he was the guy she was going to spend the rest of her life with.

Fast forward four years later, they're married, have three kids and are running the family farm alongside Michael's siblings and parents. And it's certainly been a culture shock for Stephanie!

Watch: one dairy farming teen on the need for the dairy farming industry to be treated better by the big supermarkets. Post continues below. 

Before meeting Michael, Stephanie had never had much to do with rural farm life - she was used to the luxuries you get from living in a populous town. We're talking having water that doesn't run out in the middle of summer, power that doesn't go out every second week, rubbish collected weekly, being able to pop to the supermarket for necessities...

All the simple things many of us taken for granted. 

Six months after meeting Michael, Stephanie moved to the farm. 

"I just had to adapt. There's no other choice, like you have to embrace the lifestyle. If I hadn't, it would have had a really, really long life ahead of me. I literally had no idea what was going on," Stephanie explains.

"But I was willing to make that sacrifice, and I'm really glad that I did. Plus, all of his siblings' partners have done the same thing. It's kind of what you've got to do, fit in with their lifestyle."

For over 60 years, this farm has been in Michael's family, his grandfather originally moving from Holland and getting this block of land. It's been passed down through the generations, something that his family is very passionate about, and now so is Stephanie by default.

And over time, she's come around to the farm life. 

On their early dates they would go and feed the cows together in the tractor every morning. Now with three kids, Stephanie is 100 per cent in control of the household, and Michael is working on the farm. It's a dynamic that fits well for them - although it involves plenty of hard work. 

Since being married two and a half years ago, her husband has barely taken a day off work. 

Stephanie and Michael on their wedding day. Image: Supplied. 

The only occasions he has taken time off have been to accompany Stephanie to the labour ward when delivering her three children. It comes down to just how constant the work is for dairy farmers - a reality many of them and their families can attest to.

"He took a day off recently because I had another baby two weeks ago. That's just the way it is, like it is partly by choice he isn't completely tied to this place. But he loves it - if it was his last day on earth, he would want to do exactly what he does every day." 

At times, Stephanie does envy her family and friends who go on holidays, have weekends off and even day trips. A lot of it comes down to constantly seeing people's highlight reels online - showing a glossy, stress-free side of city life.

"Sometimes I do miss my old life and I envy my friends who go out to wineries or who are travelling. And as a mum of three kids and living on a rural farm, I spend a lot of time consuming content online. So it does feel hard to see what people sometimes portray on social media," notes Stephanie. 

Grappling with those feelings can be complicated, and is anecdotally common among those living the farm life. But for Stephanie, she says a good amount of communication goes a long way in working out the perfect balance.

"Occasionally I just go to Michael and say 'I need to go for a drive this afternoon and get away from this place and have a change of scenery'. And for the afternoon, we'll do exactly that and go see the Great Ocean Road. Just to see something else that isn't the paddocks around our house, to squash that monotony."

There are often 3 am starts for Michael, and he is normally home by 7 pm to help Stephanie with the kids. It means a lot of the parenting and home admin comes down to Stephanie, who notes there is a "mental load" associated with it.

But raising her kids on the farm has been her favourite part of this whole adventure.

Stephanie's boys on the farm. Image: Supplied.

"It's a really good place to raise kids. They're surrounded by animals, there's lots of space to run around and it's relaxed. The people are also great too. We have all of Michael's siblings, their partners, and then Michael's parents living on the same road as us. And we all get along a lot, so it's lovely to see the kids all play together."

Agriculture can be brutal - literally relying on the weather and animals to make a living. 

It's also tough when dairy processors offer lousy prices for a farmer's milk, which often the farmers have no option but to say yes to ensure they're financially afloat. 

But amid all of this, Stephanie says without a doubt the best quality about dairy farmers and their families is their resilience.

One of the things Stephanie loves most about her dairy farmer husband is his passion. As for whether her passion for farming stands... it's evolved.

"Over time, it's growing. What motivates us is the generational aspect of the farm and the fact we're building on that business. And the love dairy farmers have for their cows is really beautiful. Now, this is my full-time job too - living on the farm, raising the kids and doing the bookwork and managing the baby goats," she says.

"Dairy farming life is not for the fainthearted and certainly if you had the choice of who you fall in love with, I would have to say dairy farmers would be towards the bottom of the list! But I wouldn't have it any other way."

Feature Image: Supplied.