Meet Georgie Martin: pack leader of CSIRO’s muster dogs

By  Lily Kallinikos ,  Keirissa Lawson 28 February 2025 4 min read

Take your dogs to work

Many dog lovers would agree, taking your dogs to work is kicking the ultimate career goal. For acting operation manager, Georgie Martin, this is an essential perk working at our Boorowa Agricultural Research Station (BARS).

“They’re my teammates,” Georgie said.  

Georgie studied agricultural science in university and landed a job as a station hand across seven farms in NSW. She learnt how to operate agricultural machinery, monitor livestock, and muster sheep with the help of the resident working dogs. 

This first encounter with working dogs sparked a lasting admiration.

“It was fascinating to discover the dogs travelled up to 50 kilometres per day at work. They’ll work rain, hail or shine. It’s incredible.” 

Seeing how hardworking and useful dogs were handling livestock ignited a passion to train dogs to work on the farm.

“I’ve trained numerous dogs over the years, including my own team I work with at BARS.”

Meet our muster dogs

Georgie has a team of three hardworking hounds. They come to work with her on Monday and return home with her each weekend.

Jess, a gorgeous three-year-old black and white border collie, is devoted to her work and eager to please. Georgie reckons she took longer to master her trade than other dogs she’s trained but with perseverance and lashings of affectionate rewards, Jess has become a muster master, and a reliable lunch companion.

“Jess is always by my side, even when I’m eating lunch, looking for a cuddle” Georgie said.

Meet Belle. A beautiful black and tan kelpie, high on energy and keen to get the job done. At five years old, she’s brimming with natural kelpie instincts and laser-like focus, managing merinos with precision. Georgie trained her from a pup and hopes to do the same with any puppies Belle has in the future, preserving her successful kelpie lineage at BARS.

“Belle is a natural and I’m hoping she’ll one day have pups who also have that instinct and spirit.”

Last team member, four year-old Murray, is a golden purebred kelpie. He's also Belle’s little brother. With strong instincts like his sister, Murray is a bold and loveable character.

“I regularly take part in NSW Yard Dog Association trial events with both Belle and Murray,” Georgie said.

It’s not all work and no play.

“Summers are hot in Boorowa and so dogs like Jess, who has a thick coat can overheat easily,” she said.

“I tend to work with the dogs in the morning or late afternoon when it’s warm and then let them cool off with a swim in the river after work, which they love.”

Together they spend their days mustering and droving sheep to and from the yards. They also guide livestock neatly when the sheep require veterinary treatment.

“These kinds of days fuel the dog’s ambition for work and love of sheep,” Georgie explained.

“Even on days without livestock work, they’re out and about living their best lives and exploring BARS.”

Georgie’s team are one of many teams of muster dogs working on our research farms around the country. What a dog's life!

A life in livestock

As a third-generation livestock farmer, Georgie has always had a passion for country life and agriculture. She spent her childhood following her father’s work as a wool classer on their family farm in the Snowy Mountains region of New South Wales. Tending to their sheep and cattle with her dad, Georgie quickly developed an interest in working with animals.

“I love working with livestock and spending time with my animals. They’re my happy place,” she said.

Working at BARS, Georgie is helping develop Australian farms of the future. Her work directly supports our agricultural research to move from the lab to the field.

Dog wrangler is just part of her job description. She's more like an agricultural Swiss-army knife.

“No two days are the same. I could be moving cattle in the morning, operating a harvester in the afternoon and rounding up herds of merino sheep the next.”

“It’s very diverse, and I love that variety in my work.” 

Raising the BAR(S)

BARS is a pretty unique place to work. Our 290-hectare research station is a state-of-the-art facility equipped with the latest digital agriculture technologies. Soil, water and aerial sensors, drones, an onsite weather station and other bespoke instruments provide in-depth data for our researchers.

Alongside long-term field trials, BARS has hundreds of small plots dedicated to the development of new varieties of wheat, canola and grain legumes, as well as pastures. It is also home to grazing cattle and a flock of CSIRO-developed merino sheep.

“BARS provides a testbed for our agricultural innovations, trialling in real world conditions that reflect southern Australian farm condition,” Georgie said.

Our research aims to enhance food production in cropping and livestock systems, improve drought tolerance and disease resistance, and improve nutritional values to address the challenges of the future.