Thursday, August 16, 2012

Around the world in 80 days

Okay...well not really around the entire world, but by the time I got to New Zealand and back home again I had traveled over 2/3 of the earth's circumference. Plus I had seen a great deal of the north island during my stay, so I think the title still stands. This will be my last New Zealand blog (maybe there will be another if I visit again someday) and covers my last week of work, traveling home, and some final reflections on the entire experience. Thank you everyone who read this and provided me with feedback throughout my stay. I received very positive comments and I am grateful I was able to share my experiences with family and friends at home.  

Tuesday, August 07, 2012
Yesterday was my day off after two weeks of 50+ hours work. I am thankful to have had the day to catch up on a few things: sleep in, my blog, begin my final internship report, some shopping, and finally baking.
River on the road to town
Case IH and John Deere are well represented over here!
Last night Mount Tongariro (AKA Mount Doom in Lord of the Rings) erupted. It was not a large eruption with lava spewing everywhere, but it sent a cloud of ash 1 km in the air and was enough to cause concern for further volcanic activity as well as cancel many flights throughout the north island. Hopefully it won’t cause an issue when I try to fly home next week! 
Mount Tongariro - taken from the Desert Road during my vacation a week ago before the eruption
This morning it was nice and sunny. I was at the farm at 7:30 AM and started by riding a bike across the road with Sam while Becs and Bong took the white ute pulling the large calf trailer. We drove over to the paddock of springer cows to collect the fresh cows and their calves – 10 in total! Once we had the calves in the trailer and their mothers across the road to the cow shed, it was time to go get the cows and calves from the other paddock of springer cows near Josh and Becs’s house. I drove the white ute and trailer there while Sam, Drew, and Josh took their bikes. We picked up 10 new calves in that paddock as well. I took the calves back to their shed where Josh and I unloaded them.
Springers across the road

Collecting more new calves!
When Sam and Drew got done driving the springer cows to the feed pad, we drove over to paddock 72 where the springer heifers were moved to yesterday. There were only 2 calves waiting for us so we picked up the calves and sorted out their mothers to take the back to the cow shed.

After lunch I walked outside to drive back to the farm and could smell the sulfur in the air from the eruption last night. You could even see the haze from the ash cloud over the mountains. When I returned to the farm I found Hamish treating a cow with severe swelling in her third eyelid. There was a small open sore in the middle that looks like it was caused by something sharp or irritating, but you could still see the eye behind the swelling. Hamish decided to use an antibiotic eye cream and see how it looks by Friday. I watched Hamish begin working on pulling a dead calf from a cow and then had to leave the vet area for the cow shed. During the afternoon milking, I had to:
·         Draft 80 autumn calved cows from Herd 1 and place 50 in Herd 2 and the rest in Herd 3
·         Take note of how many cows in each herd – counted by the automated drafting gate, thank goodness!
·         Draft any spring calved cows from Herd 2 and put back in Herd 1 (sometimes they go into Herd 2 accidentally but they need to be in Herd 1 to be sure they get enough to eat)

Wednesday, August 8, 2012
My first job this morning was to dust (using Cal Mag) the grass in the following paddocks that the cows will be eating today: springer cows in paddocks 8 and 13, colostrum cows in paddock 44, and the pennos in paddock 34. When I was done I entered breeding dates, health events, and calving dates into the farm computer software MINDA at the office. At 12:30 PM I had a meeting with Campbell Chard, the general manager for BEL Group, to discuss my internship and the possibility of getting more UW students to come over here to work for BEL Group.

After lunch I returned to the farm at 2:30 PM and finished entering data. Next I shifted dry cows in paddock 79; they are supposed to go to the BEL Group dry stock division soon for grazing off the farm because they are not due to calve until October. I dropped off two new calves to the calf sheds that were born in the vet area. I also dropped off a new heifer calf in the calf shed after I chased her down in the colostrum cows’ paddock. My last job for the day was to go shift the Herd 1 cows in paddock 19 another 35 paces so they had more to eat.
Heifer calves enjoying their time in the sun
I cannot believe I will be leaving New Zealand in one week! Due to the eruption on Mount Tongariro, all flights throughout airports on the north island were cancelled yesterday. Thankfully I was not trying to leave yesterday and flights are going as scheduled now. I am looking forward to getting home but am trying to enjoy every moment as much as possible during my last week here.

Thursday, August 9, 2012
We collected ~30 new calves this morning!

Becs, Sam, and I went across the road put 7 new calves in the trailer. Drew came to help Sam and I on our bikes drive the cows back across the road to the cow shed. Next Sam, Drew, and I drove to paddock 13 where we collected 14 new calves. We drove these springer cows to the feed pad and then went to get the new calves from the heifers in paddock 72. There were 5 new calves there plus 2 heifer calves that were already in the trailer from the vet area. We sorted out the heifers that had calved; Drew and Sam drove them to the cow shed while I unloaded the calf trailer. On my way home to lunch (I took a bike) I counted at least two other calves in the pasture.
Sorting through springer cows in paddock 13
I returned from lunch at 1:45 PM and spent my afternoon milking with Sam and Elmer. After milking the first 3 herds Rhox took over for me and I was done for the day.

Friday - Sunday, August 10-12, 2012
Wow what a weekend…I am not sure where it went but it was filled with lots and lots of calves…about 40 new calves per day! I was busy with getting cows and calves, moving cows, shifting fence reels, and milking cows each day. Saturday the weather was beautiful, sunny, and warm but then of course it rained all day Sunday. Saturday morning I treated 2 fresh cows for milk fever and had to treat one of them again on Sunday morning. Although I am looking forward to going home, I am not looking forward to the next few days of saying goodbye to the people and places that have been my life for the almost the past 3 months.
Finally - a picture of my on the bike!
Monday, August 13, 2012
Today was a weird day if I can say that. I started off at my normal time by dusting today’s grass for the cows in paddock 13 and the colostrums. It took me longer than it should have though when I lost the pin to keep the duster spreading the Cal Mag. After looking around for it I knew I was not going to have any luck finding it so I drove back to the cow shed where Josh found a bolt for me to use temporarily. Once I was done dusting I pushed Herd 2 cows from the cow shed back to their paddock. It started raining a bit here and there throughout the morning too so of course everything seems to go slower in the rain.

After lunch I entered more calving information into the MINDA farm software. Within the last week we have had over 300 calves! Next I helped move some cows around in the vet area for Rhox to be able to treat more lame cows. When I finished helping Rhox I was done for the day.

Date
Number of cows due to calve
Actual number of cows calved
7/26
0
9
7/27
22
20
7/28
25
15
7/29
17
24
7/30
17
7
7/31
0
8
8/1
1
23
8/2
0
24
8/3
17
16
8/4
42
39
8/5
120
40
8/6
24
46
8/7
26
30
8/8
31
26
8/9
32
43
8/10
33
49
8/11
26
49
8/12
29
39
8/13
32
24
8/14
42
49

Tonight Josh, Becs, and I drove to Sam and Rachael’s house for supper. Rachael cooked dinner and Becs brought dessert – apple and rhubarb crisp. It was a great evening with great food and wonderful people I have gotten to know during my stay, including Justine my internship coordinator. I hope tomorrow is a memorable last day at work. I am still not looking forward to saying goodbye.

Tuesday, August 14, 2012
LAST DAY OF WORK!!!

This morning started out gathering today’s fresh cows and their calves, as usual. Sam and I rode our bikes while Becs took the white ute with the calf trailer across the road to the springer cows. We collected 17 new calves! By the time we had the fresh cows sorted from the rest of the group Drew arrived to help us take the cows back to the shed. Next Sam, Drew, and I went out to the other springers in paddock 13 where we collected another 15 calves! I had to treat a milk fever cow when we got out there but she got up right after I finished getting the second bag of calcium into her. Once we had all of the calves Sam and Drew went back to the sheds to unload and I drove all of the cows to the shed. My last job before lunch was to get Herd 1 cows from paddock 34 and drive them to the feed pad.

At 1:45 PM we had our weekly staff meeting. Afterwards Drew, Becs, and I did more springer drafting across the road in another mob of dry cows on pasture. We sorted out about 40 more cows and added them to the group of springers across the road. Once we got back to the sheds and unloaded calves, I had to drive to town quick before they closed at 5 PM for some farm supplies from Farmlands. On my way home from the farm after dropping off the supplies and taking some last pictures I stopped to check for new calves in paddock 13. There were 4 new calves that I could see so I tagged the 2 heifer calves and also wrote down their mothers so it is easier to sort out which calves go with which cows in the morning.
David, the feeder at Ashton, and I
Rhox (left), myself, and Bong (right)
Becs and I
Sam and I
My last night in New Zealand was a quite night of supper with Josh and Becs, followed by some packing. I wonder when it will hit me that I am actually leaving tomorrow...

Wednesday, August 15, 2012
I woke up rather early this morning as I couldn’t sleep. I finished packing and then had enough time to post my second to last blog before leaving. Becs drove me to the small airport of Napier. She waited until we heard the call for me to board my flight, said our goodbyes, and before I knew it I was in the air on my way to Auckland at 3 PM. My flight from Napier arrived in rainy Auckland on time and the one in LA left Auckland at 7:30 PM. The flight was 12 hours but we landed in LA at 1 PM still today…longest day of my life! I only slept 3 hours at the most though on this flight, hoping that I would sleep well when I got home.

I made it through customs without a hitch and 2 hours later I was on my last flight back to the twin cities, which arrived a little before 11 PM. Waiting at the airport for me were Mom, Dad, and my wonderful friend Jenn with her daughter Mara. It was the perfect greeting!

Its 2 AM Thursday and I am still not asleep so I decided to write this last entry. The fact that I am home has not sunk in entirely yet but the feeling hit me in the middle of my long flight to LA. Honestly when I look back it feels like New Zealand never happened, like all I have are the memories of people, places, and experiences…I blinked when I arrived and then it was time to go home. There were definitely some tougher days but I would not trade any of them after my stay…and now it is time to get back to reality. I will miss how life felt a little slower paced when I was in New Zealand compared to the US. These next two weeks will flip a 180° circle on me: from working on a farm in New Zealand to moving into an apartment and beginning my first year of veterinary school at UW-Madison. I am excited to move forward in life now, grateful that I took the opportunity of a lifetime to get out and see what the rest of the world has to offer. Again, thank you to all of my family, friends, and everyone in New Zealand who helped to make this incredible opportunity a reality and made my stay unforgettable.

Cheers!  
Jenn


Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Its raining CALVES!!!

Monday, July 23, 2012
Total calf count = 105

This morning I was at the farm at 7:30 AM and it was raining…and it is supposed to rain all week…But anyways, I started by helping Becs feed calves and there were 3 new calves that had to be tubed colostrum as well. At 10:30 the morning milking was done and my next job was to help Bong wash the walls in the cow shed. We finished by noon and before going home for lunch I checked on Becs, who was just finishing feeding colostrum to 7 new calves that had just been dropped off at the calf sheds. 
More new heifer calves
I went home for lunch and had a nice long break because I did not have to be back at the farm until 3 PM to feed the calves their afternoon feeding. There was only one new one to feed colostrum so feeding went well, despite the continual drizzle of rain.

Tomorrow will be an early day – I am starting at 5:15 AM because Ashton is milk testing tomorrow. It should be an interesting day!

Tuesday, July 24, 2012
Josh, Becs, and I started at 5:15 this morning at the farm with the other milkers and the LIC technician there for milk testing. My job was to organize new test tubes that attached to the testing jar on every milking unit of the parlor. Standing by the cups off (removing milking units) station, Elmer would take the test tube full of milk from the test jar, cap it, and then place it in the rack for test tubes. I made sure to keep the racks of new test tubes ready for Elmer and he would replace the full test tube with a new one. After Herd 1 was done, I took over Elmer’s job during Herd 2.
Empty test tubes waiting to be filled with milk
Test tube filling with milk attached to milking unit of each cow
It was raining that day - hence the more-dirt-than-usual cows
Milking did not take too much longer than normal but the pennos are taking a long time because of the recent increase in mastitis. Currently, all of the colostrum cows are milked first and separated from the pennos. The first milking of colostrum cows is collected in milk buckets and fed to new calves. After the first milking, all colostrum cows’ milk is milked straight into a small bulk tank outside to be fed to all other milk calves. 
Small bulk tank for "seconds" milk fed to calves
Colostrum (AKA "Gold") is the first milk fed to calves
Also, there is a new mastitis protocol that was put in place last week while I was on vacation. Every day one teat of every cow is stripped before milking. So if today the right front teat of every cow was stripped, tomorrow it would be the left front, then the right rear teat the next day, and finally the left rear teat the last day. The cycle would start over the next day so every teat on all cows will be stripped twice a week. According to Josh and Becs, this is a typical stripping schedule and mastitis detection program on New Zealand dairy farms. The SCC has dropped to the low 300,000 so far so at least the new program has proved to be working. Becs also had a new mastitis protocol poster with pictures posted on a white board near cups off, where all penno cows are treated, whether it is for mastitis or another illness. 
New mastitis protocol board

After milking was done everyone helped to dissemble the testing equipment from the milking units as well as clean everything.

By noon I was done for the day because it was still raining and too wet to do any outside work. The new calf rearer started today so I did not have to feed calves. Honestly, I did not mind the job but it feels good to give my lower back a break…not to mention my patience!

Wednesday, July 25, 2012
I did not have to be at the farm until 7:30 this morning…and it was still raining…imagine that! The pasture next to Josh and Becs’ house is full of heifers that are currently calving. On my way to the farm I counted at least 6 new calves on the ground, one of which was lying in the middle of a puddle with no cow around it. I stopped my bike and carried it over to a patch of grass because I knew it was going to be collected soon.

Once I got to the farm Josh told me where to shift the pastures of dry cows. I drove the 4-wheeler out to paddock 59 first to put up a new fence reel. Then I moved the mob of dry cows from pasture 53 to 59. After collecting the two reels from 53, I drove to paddock 80 and had to set up 2 new fence reels in the corner that was 75 paces long by 60 paces wide. The second mob of dry cows was next door in paddock 70, so I moved them into 80. The job took about two hours but I got soaked...well, only my face, hair, and hat. I am starting to be very thankful my wet weather gear is going strong!
Paddock map of Ashton
Back at the cow shed I entered data into MINDA (the farm’s software system) onto the new office computer that was installed after the burglary a couple of weeks ago. It was the same type of information I have entered before so it did not take long.

After helping Bong and Rodel change some liners on the milking units, it was time for lunch. Thankfully I was able to take the blue ute home (it was still raining) because I had to drove through four spots on the driveway where water is overflowing!

The weekly staff meeting was at 1:45 PM after lunch. Once that was over Sam and I drove the heifers that are kept next to the house (in paddock 9) back to their pasture from the holding area by the cow shed. They were driven to the holding area this morning to let them “stand” on the concrete because it is so wet and rainy. In New Zealand it is common to let cows "stand" on either concrete or the hard races for a little bit of time. This way, when the cows return to their pasture, they are tired and will lie down instead of walking around, mucking up their paddock. Becs told me today that this is the first time they have ever had to do this at Ashton because it has never rained this much.

Once the heifers were in their paddock I drove across the road to help Josh and Drew (a new employee who started Monday) to draft some more "springer" cows (cows that are due to calve this spring calving season) that look like they will calve within the next week. Becs joined us shortly after and we sorted through the two mobs…in the rain. 

With the cows sorted, it was finally home time around 4:30 PM. I sure hope it stops raining later tomorrow like the forecast says it will!

Thursday, July 26, 2012
I started out this morning at 7:30 by shifting both mobs of dry cows that I moved yesterday. I shifted the cows in paddock 59 by 30 paces and then set up another reel in front of them. Next I went to shift paddock 80 cows but found they had gotten across the reel I set up yesterday and took up one half of the pasture. Bugger! I drove back to the cow shed to tell Josh and he just said to let them have that half of the paddock for the day. My last job for the morning was to drive to town to pick up some farm supplies from Farmland’s.
More water on the drive to town
When I got back to the farm it was lunchtime and Ashton was having the monthly BEL Group BBQ. After about an hour for lunch, I spent the rest of the afternoon doing the following jobs with Drew (the new employee):
1) Bring springing heifers back to paddock from holding area by cow shed
2) Move 6 new bulls into paddock 34
3) Move 2 bulls into paddock 50 (with the rest of the bulls)
4) Move 40 drafted springing cows down Ashcott road to a field of crop (ryegrass and oats) where they will calve

Friday, July 27, 2012
This morning at 7:30 Josh, Reynor and I went to paddock 9 of springer heifers to gather cows and new calves. There were 10 new calves waiting for us and only 2 were bull calves! We drove all of the heifers in that paddock down the races back to the feed pad for the morning after gathering and tagging the calves.
Fresh heifer and her calf
 Once we dropped off the new calves I went to shift the dry cows in paddock 80. Thankfully they had not gotten over the other reel and I was able to shift them to another corner of the paddock without any issues.

Next Drew, Reynor, and I took the 43 springer cows from across the road that Josh, Becs, and I had drafted out in the rain on Wednesday, and we drove them down Ashcott Road, joining them with the other cows that we moved yesterday into the field of ryegrass/oats crop. A cow that we moved in there yesterday had calved when we arrived so Reynor and I picked the calf and cow up after going back to the cow shed to get the calf trailer.

After a longer lunch break today I had to drive two cows from the cow shed down the races to a paddock near Josh and Becs’s house. Once that was done Josh, Rav, and I drove to a crop of fodder beet on Ashcott Road where more springer cows are kept. There were two fresh cows and their calves to collect, making today’s total new calf count to 20! While we were with the cows we spent time drafting ones that look like they will calve soon. It was a tough job in all of the mud that was in that pasture. We were successful in sorting out the cows we wanted and moved them into the same paddock as the other cows on the crop of ryegrass/oats. I dropped off the two new heifer calves at the calf shed and by then it was 5:30 PM. Time to go home and then out to the local pub with Josh and Becs for our traditional Friday night fish & chips!

Saturday, July 28, 2012
I started at the farm this morning at my usual time of 7:30 AM. Josh, Reynor, and I went to paddock 9 to collect the new fresh heifers and their babies - 4 new heifer calves! After putting those calves in the shed, Reynor and I went to feed the weaned calves their calf meal. The calves had been split into two separate pastures so we had to move a few trough feeders as well. When we returned to the cow shed I took the 4-wheeler and calf trailer out to paddock 80 to get another new calf. My last job at noon before lunch was to move Herd 1 cows from their pasture (paddock 48) onto the feedpad to eat before afternoon milking.
Paddock 9 of springer heifers (Rhox's house int he background)
After lunch Becs, Rav, and I drove across Ashcott Road to Turner’s block where we sorted through more springer cows and removed 37 that looked like they will calve within the next week. There were two new calves when we got there so Josh picked them up once we were done. It took the rest of the afternoon to draft the cows and move them to the nearby paddock of ryegrass/oats crop with the other springer cows. Before I went home I moved two other new calves from the vet area by the cow shed to the calf shed. These were calves that Becs had to pull this afternoon because the cows were having a difficult time by themselves.

Tonight Josh and Becs and I are meeting Sam and Rachael at the movie theater in Havelock North (a nearby town) to see “Ted” and then dinner at a local Italian pizza place that Sam’s aunt owns. Should be fun!

Sunday, July 29, 2012
This morning came early after a late, but very fun and entertaining evening yesterday. Josh and Becs and I picked up Sam and Rachael around 7:30 PM for an 8 PM showing of Ted. The movie was a good laugh and finished around 10 PM. We walked about a block down the street to the Pipi Cafe, owned by Sam’s aunt, who is known around New Zealand for her cookbook. We each ordered our own personal pizzas; I ordered half of my pizza with chicken, onions, and feta cheese and the other half the winter special of wintergreens with caramelized onions and roasted pecans. The pizza was amazing! I told Sam and Becs that I have to get back there before I leave. By the time we made it home it was 12:30 AM and way past my bedtime, but well worth it for the fun night.

There was a heavy frost this morning so when I got to the farm at 7:30 AM I had to wait for it to lift before I could shift the two mobs of dry cows in pastures 59 and 80. The sun was out, which helped clear the fog and frost, so I was able to get out to the pasture about an hour later.
Sunrise this morning with the frost
 I took the 4-wheeler and hooked it up to the “duster” (looks like a giant barn limer) to 'dust' the dry cow paddocks with Cal Mag 90 powder, a MagOxide supplement that contains both calcium and magnesium. The duster spreads the powder over the grass the cows eat, which helps prevent cows from getting milk fever (calcium deficiency) and grass staggers as a complication of magnesium deficiency after calving.
Pasture 'duster' for CalMag90 and Lime flour
 Shifting and dusting paddock 59 went fine but the mob of cows in 80 had broken across their fence reel into the part of the pasture they were supposed to get today, so I just took down the fence reel they had broken over and made sure the other one would hold up until they get shifted again tomorrow. I also set up a new fence reel in front of the existing one and finished by dusting the area of pasture they will get tomorrow. Next, I dusted the new area of pasture the colostrum cows got today while they were being milked. My last job for the morning was to get the cows from Herd 1 off of their pasture in paddock 48 and drive them down the long race to the feedpad to eat before the afternoon milking.

At 12:30 PM I drove home, changed clothes quickly, and drove to Sam and Rachael’s house. From there we drove to town to meet David (the feeder at Ashton) so he could take us to his son in law and daughter’s sheep and beef farm. When we got to the farm we met Paul, David’s son in law, who took us around his 1000 hectare farm (we took 4-wheelers). Paul owns 3700 ewes that have just begun to lamb. The land is very hilly, especially on the outer edge of the property, and you could see ewes and their newborn lambs all along the hillsides. Besides his sheep, Paul also had some Holstein steers he grows for beef. During our visit, Paul explained to us the various crops he grows besides pasture – alfalfa, fodderbeet, and oats, all for which Paul had a reason for their purpose and location on the farm. Overall, Sam and Rachael and I were very impressed with the farm and it was apparent that Paul is a very knowledgeable farmer who cares about his animals. It was nice of David to show me another operation besides Ashton so I could learn about what other farming systems New Zealand has to offer.


Paul's farm goes until just past the top edge of the hills in the background!
Crop of fodder beet on Paul's farm
Monday, July 30, 2012
Total cows calved = 205

And…it is raining…again. And…it is supposed to rain all week…again.

I started my work day at 7:30 AM by taking a motorbike and riding out to the mob of springers across the road from the farm at Turner’s with Josh and Nestor. We picked up 5 new calves (2 heifers, 3 bulls) and sorted out their mothers to take back to the farm. After driving the cows to the cow shed and unloading the new calves, I returned to Turner’s and shifted the mob of cows 35 paces into their crop (ryegrass/oats) for the day. On my way back to the farm I noticed a new calf and her mother in the crop of the adjacent pasture. Therefore, the next job was to go back to this mob of cows and sort out more springer cows. Josh, Nestor, and I spent a couple of hours out in the rain drafting any cow that looks close to calving and then moved them into the pasture we collected cows and calves from this morning. 

After lunch I returned to the farm for the afternoon milking at 2 PM. Becs gave me a list of things to do in the cow shed during milking in order to better organize the herds:
·         Take 30 cows with tail paint from Herd 1 and move to Herd 2 (to make room for more fresh cows)
·         Write down the numbers of cows without tail paint in Herds 1 and 2 (these are cows that need to be dried off soon)
·         Draft any cows with red tail paint from Herd 2 and put in Herd 1 (these are fresh cows that need to be in Herd 1 so they get enough food)
·         Take 20 cows with tail paint from Herd 3 and move to Herd 2
The new automated drafting gate that was recently installed
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
This morning I woke up and it was raining. At 7:30 AM Josh, Rodel, and I drove across the road from the farm to Turner’s block to gather today’s fresh cows and new calves. There were 3 calves that we collected but came back with 6 cows – 3 were the mothers of the calves, 1 was a cow that had calved later yesterday, and the other 2 appeared to have calved already. After getting the cows home, I returned to their pasture to shift the group onto their crop for the day. While I was doing this I noticed a baby calf lying in the tall grass – these calves are everywhere! By now its getting to the point where if you do not want to see a newborn calf you just have to close your eyes.

I got back to the cow shed where Josh had me drive Herd 2 back to their pasture after milking. Next I went to the calf shed to tag the three heifer calves we had picked up this morning. By then it was pouring outside with no sign of letting up. Josh called it an early morning at 11 AM so I went home for lunch.

I returned to the farm at 1:45 PM for the weekly meeting. I spent the rest of the afternoon stripping all of the cows in Herds 1, 2, and 3. There were only 5 new mastitis cows that I found but it is good to know the stripping routine during milking is working well. I finished at 5:30 PM and drove back to the house, done for the day.
Milking!
Wednesday, August 1, 2012   
When I got to the farm this morning at 7:30 AM it was my job to draft out any remaining cows that are going to calve this spring from Herd 3 for dry off today. These cows will calve later this spring calving season (by the end of October) so they will still have a long enough dry period.
Cows entering (left) and exiting (right) the milking platform in the cow shed
Once I was done drafting cows, Josh and I drove out to the paddock near Ashcott Road where today’s fresh cows from Turner’s were waiting to be taken to the cow shed. It started to pour once we got to the pasture so it took a little bit of extra work to round up all 14 cows/calves and bring them home in the rain.

The last job before lunch was to move the group of springer cows in Turner’s back across Ashcott Road to the farm and into the paddock next to Josh and Becs’s house. I drove the 4-wheeler with the calf trailer while Sam, Drew, and Josh rode their bikes. The mud was so deep in the spots where the crop has already been eaten (hence moving the cows) that I could barely get through to pick up the new calf that had just been born on the today’s fresh crop, which was not muddy. Once the calf was in the trailer Sam and Drew drove the cows onto the road and followed them to the house driveway while Josh and I stayed in front of the cows to turn them into their paddock. I drove back to the farm to drop off the new heifer calf after tagging her.
The heifer sheds are getting full!
After lunch I milked Herd 1 and then shifted the pennos (treated cows) in their pasture near the cow shed. It rained all afternoon so I was done by 4:30 PM. Unfortunately, the extended forecast until next weekend predicts rain every day from now until then.

Thursday, August 2, 2012
More rain…will it ever end!?

When I got to the farm this morning at 7:30 AM Elmer and I rode our motorbikes out to the paddock next to Josh and Becs’s house, where the calving cows are on pasture. Josh and Becs were already there with the white ute and large calf trailer collecting today’s fresh cows and new calves. When I got to the paddock I noticed the calf trailer was stuck in the mud, but at least the white ute was free. After collecting the rest of the calves, Josh, Elmer, and I drove all of the cows down the races towards the cow shed to the feed pad.

Once we had the cows on the feed pad for the morning, I hooked up the small calf trailer onto the white ute and Drew, Elmer, and I went to collect today’s fresh heifers and their calves from paddock 9. In the meantime, Josh took a tractor to pull the large calf trailer out of the mud. We picked up 3 new calves and drove the heifers home to let them “stand” in the holding area of the cow shed for the rest of the morning so they would not make their paddock muddier.

After getting the heifers home and dropping off the new calves at the calf shed, I drove the white ute back to the pasture near the house to pick up the large calf trailer Josh had pulled from the mud. I hooked up the trailer and drove up the driveway to the house, spotting another new calf in the pasture along the way. I picked up the new baby bull calf and drove to the calf sheds to unload the 8 new calves in the trailer.
White ute with the large calf trailer
The next job was to collect two more fresh cows and their calves from the crop of forage rape across the road in the area known as “McGreggor’s” block. I drove the 4-wheeler and the small calf trailer while Josh and Elmer took motorbikes, plowing through the mud of the already-eaten crop without getting stuck (quite a feat if you had seen the mess), and reaching the fresh crop with the cows (not muddy). We picked up the calves – a heifer and a bull – and gathered their mothers to drive home. One of the cows followed the calf trailer nicely, but the other cow had a different plan and decided to run back through the crop and over the fence reel before joining the rest of the cows. 

A good thing to remember with dairy farming – 1) cows will always go where you do not want them to if given the opportunity and 2) you have to learn to pick your battles if you want to stay sane because you will not always win. In other words, we will get the cow tomorrow since we will be “springer drafting” that group tomorrow anyways.

Elmer and I finished bringing the cow and the two calves back to the farm from across the road. I dropped off the calves at the calf shed, washed out the trailer, and drove home – soaked and cold – for lunch. Lucky for me I got to stay nice and dry in the cow shed this afternoon. I had to milk Herd 1 and Herd 2 so Rhox could look for cows the bulls have bred in the last week. We started milking 45 minutes late because there was no colostrum to feed the new calves so we had to milk today’s fresh cows before starting to milk the rest of the cows (normally they are milked 2nd to last before the treated cows). 

After a cold, wet day, I was ready to get home and light the fire! I think it is safe to say everyone is getting sick of the rain.

Friday, August 3, 2012
Can you believe it? More rain today! This is starting to get just a little bit ridiculous. The Hawke's Bay area of New Zealand received 200% more rain in the month of July than in a normal season. Everyone at the farm  is joking I took the rain from home and brought it to the US, so they are hoping I bring it home with me too! 

When I got to the farm this morning at 7:30 I grabbed a bike and met Sam and Rhox, who were driving the springer cows near Josh and Becs’s house to the feed pad. Next we drove the springer heifers near the house back to the cow shed to stand for the morning in the holding area. After dropping off those calves, Drew, Sam, and I drove across the road with the 4-wheeler and calf trailer to pick up the 2 fresh cows and their calves. One of the cows was down, shaking, and had cold ears = milk fever. Sam and Drew helped lay her down and then I gave her 2 bags of a calcium/magnesium mix – 1.5 in the jugular vein and the other half bag under the skin. We also drenched her with a super dense energy mix called Turbo Cow. After Sam and I gave her the Turbo Cow, she was ready to stand up! We were able to bring her and the other cow home, as well as the calves, with no issues.
Springer cows across the road from the farm
After a quick coffee, Sam and Drew went back across the road to drive the group of cows on the crop into the small race in order to do more springer drafting. This is the same group Josh and I took 2 new calves out of yesterday...and there were 2 more calves in there today! While Sam, Drew, and Josh were getting these cows out of the crop, I used the white ute to dust the paddock where the cow we had just treated the milk fever was with a calcium/magnesium lime. Since I was already across the road, I drove out to help Sam and Drew draft about 40 springer cows from the group of cows on the crop. By the time we were done drafting it was 12:30 PM and time for a quick lunch.

Once I got back to the farm Drew, Sam, and I drove across the road to Turner’s block for more springer drafting. There were 2 new calves waiting for us there as well. It took about 2 hours to sort through those cows and towards the end, about 4 PM, Becs came to take over for me. My last job for the day was to drive the blue ute to town to pick up a farm order from Farmlands. I made it home by 5 PM and was done for the day. Now time for the Friday night tradition of fish & chips for supper!      

Saturday, August 4, 2012
It was sunny this morning! Except for the lack of rain and the milk fever cow, work this morning was almost the same as yesterday morning: cows and calves. The cows that Sam, Drew, and I drafted yesterday morning were still across the road but in a smaller paddock for calving. We collected eight calves from there after we driving the springer cows and heifers to the cow shed and collected their calves.

After lunch Sam, Rhox, and I went across Ashcott Road to another group of dry cows where we needed to do more springer drafting. There were two calves already out in that muddy crop, which is not an ideal place for calving (hence drafting and moving these soon-to-calve-cows). We drafted 140 cows and drove them down to paddock 13 near Josh and Becs’s house where they will calve.

Sam and I went back to the crop to get the new calves with the 4-wheeler and calf trailer. We made it through the mud to the dry crop where the calves were okay, but going out was a different story. Even the 4-wheeler in 4-wheel drive could not handle that mud with the added weight of 3 calves in the trailer. Needless to say, I got stuck and had to push the trailer while Sam drove. We made it about 10 meters before Sam got stuck. We had to pick the calves out of the trailer and I drove while Sam pushed and pushed. Eventually we made it out okay and after the calves were back in the trailer we drove home, done for the day.

Sunday, August 05, 2012
There was an eerie fog this morning until about 9 AM. By then Sam and I had collected the new calves from the springers in paddock 13 and driven them to the feed pad for the morning. Next, we met Josh with the white ute and the large calf trailer in paddock 49 to collect fresh cows and their calves. Once the calves were in the trailer and their mothers sorted out from the rest of the cows, we drove across the road to get more cows and calves. By the time all of the cows and their calves were home it was time to get the heifers and their calves. I drove the white ute over while Sam took his motorbike. There were only 2 calves so we drafted those heifers out and let the rest of them stay in their pasture.
Sam hard at work - chasing down and catching a new calf
After a busy morning and lunch, I returned to the farm. Sam, Rav, and I did more springer drafting this afternoon in the last mob of dry cows across the road in Turner’s crop. I drove the 4-wheeler with the calf trailer because there were 2 new calves, while Sam and Rav drove their bikes. We pulled out 123 cows and drove them home to paddock 49 and into paddock 13 with the other group of springer cows.

On my way up the driveway to the farm, I noticed a new calf in with the colostrum cows, so I went and picked up a little heifer calf and dropped her off at the calf shed after tagging her. When I got to the cow shed Becs had another heifer calf waiting for me to pick up in the vet area that she had assisted in calving. After dropping off the calf, I drove down the road and up the driveway to Josh & Becs’s house where there was a small jersey calf and its mother lying behind a tree and beside the large creek that goes under (and occasionally over when it rains heavy) the driveway. The cow was supposed to be in the heifer group but had gotten across the fence reel and calved there. I had to chase the calf a bit before catching him and putting him in the trailer. He was a feisty little bugger!
The tree on the left of the creek by the house driveway is where I found the escaped cow and calf
Today there were at least 30 new calves, and 25 were heifer calves! I hope the rest of this coming week is as good as today – with the weather and the calves. Tomorrow I have the day off and I am excited to sleep in and catch up on a few things before starting my last week of work.

TOTAL CALVED COWS ~ 400