04/11/2024
Grab a cuppa or a cold one, and check out this awesome adventure of a lifetime from Emma, one of our LAVT committee members!
Sunshine... farming.... and an open mind were the theme of this year’s adventures.
After drying off the last of the cows here in New Zealand, I set off to spread my wings. Excited to meet other likeminded farmers and professionals. Plans to visit Europe/United Kingdom/Canada/ America with very loose plans to allow for spontaneity.
I have had my fair share of vitamin D, gladly skipping of our Aotearoa winter. I was very fortunate to join my partner Peter for 3 months across the globe! Not just any typical holiday but an all- encompassing farming experience, visiting and exploring systems around the world and challenging the mind.
Peter Templeton was awarded the 2024 Nuffield Farming Scholarship allowing doors to open up for visiting people globally. We got to immerse ourselves into the day-to-day farming life in each corner of the world. Pete’s study focuses on technologies and family & corporate dynamics of farm succession. I asked a lot of questions about veterinary and animal husbandry along the way.
On the travels if anyone even showed an ounce of interest in farming then I’d happily chitchat away. It was surprising to learn that overseas that there is even wider divide between the general public city folk and country bumkins. Most non-farming people are mind blown that here in NZ we have cows outdoors, how milk is extracted (yes seriously) and as a vet tech, “where I put my arm”?...... !!!
It was exciting beginning to share our New Zealand story in a positive light. There was often a pattern of responses that followed, often leaning into what is heard through social media and the like. Common issues brought up were around greenhouse gases, calf wastage and animal welfare as well as consumers wanting to know where their food came from. They also preferred organic and free range along with a clean green image of happy animals.
First Stop , Portugal – The farms we saw were smaller lifestyle properties which house pigs/goats/sheep or cattle along side olive trees and cork trees. As a culture they trade a lot of food items amongst themselves and supply fresh meat, eggs, dairy to local restaurants. Rules around food safety are more relaxed allowing for this. Interestingly the government subsidies pay the farmer per head of stock they own. They tend to hold onto larger numbers of animals per acre of land they occupy, and the welfare can suffer like malnutrition, unshorn sheep and lameness.
Off to England where I experienced a couple of days with an old friend Harry (who was once a new grad practicing vet in NZ and has now returned to the UK) He is a director of a large animal practice near the Lakes District. I got to put on “coveralls” (overalls) a “palour top” (jacket), along with wellingtons (gumboots) to join the vet team for the week. I did enjoy the pink disposable gloves we got to wear, an added laugh seeing a staunch male vet donning them. One of the most alarming things was the vet gives out their personal number and his own allocated clients/farms that can contact him whenever! This is an expectation from the clients and created a longtime habit. The UK vet mental health is also in crisis, and I can see that this just added to the off switch being non- existent.
The Vet clinic has regular weekly or fortnightly routine visit system in which the vet pops around the farms and does anything and everything that is required. One day we preg scanned 10 dairy cows, castrated 2 yearling beef calves, treated 1 cow for metritis, artificially inseminated 3 cows on heat, PG 5 non cycling cows, we saw a lame cow and another skinny cow that had gone off her food. The vets need a truck full of all equipment for any given procedure to occur. It was lovely that the farmer often got us a warm bucket of water and a clean hand towel followed by a cuppa tea
and a chitchat. The visits were long and was hard to plan, which meant the vet was often late for the next.
Throughout the day reception phoned in urgent visits such as a bull with a broken w***y, sick cow and skinny wormy goats. Of which the farmers will go to huge lengths to spend money to fix these animals and utilise diagnostics available to them like blood tests and referral services.
It is uncommon to kill an animal unless absolutely deemed necessary. The animals individually are allocated a “passport” and a farmer cannot dispose a body on their own land. The farms are smaller and hold less stock and are worth more so ultimately means vet care is sort after. Many farms have diverse range of animals to spread the financial risk. Most farms are entirely indoor systems and all year-round calving and only survivable due to the government subsidies.
Technicians are slowly growing in popularity but have not gained as much traction because they don’t operate seasonally as we do back in NZ. The numbers aren’t justified to send a tech out to do a procedure because quite often the vet is also required to look at something else. Things I found to be helpful was accompanying the vet in the car rides, recording history, charging on ipads, researching information vet requests, helping answer the fields of texts and voice messages the vets gets pouring in daily.
On farm I helped speed up process by getting out gear needed, cleaning it after and prepping wounds, giving injections and keeping order in the vehicle. Not to mention pointing out farm shop (for a quick tea and scone stop) and avoiding red alert traffic jams on google maps. Efficacy and vet mental health is improved as well as being able to finish at end of day to relax for a social drink with colleagues.
It’s not a perfect system as you are most definitely rushed off your feet to the same extent as back in NZ but variety keeps the day interesting.
Later that night the phone rang at 11pm just before bed and we were rushed off to the vet clinic to help a goat kidding (You had to be kidding I thought, when a caesarian was offered) and so here I was at midnight helping the vet give a full c-section of the goat on the table. Needless to say we got a live billy goat from the expensive afterhours success.
On to Wales next we stayed at a sheep stud up in the Welsh hills, using a conveyor system to drench/bullet and pour on lambs. We had more cups of teas than we did drafts of lambs with the pace slowed right down. It’s important to be “working later than the neighbor “ we were told. Was interesting to see that each farm owns all their own expensive tractors/balers and farming equipment even if it was just for a smaller holding. They don’t tend to use contractors, and they don’t share equipment which deems very costly investment.Again, subsidies enable this. Wales was largely into “wilding” areas of the farm into wild flowers & native scrub and left untouched to encourage nature and restoration of wetland. The downside to this was with the subsides on offer taking viable farming land and having it get removed from food production and essentially fenced off for good.
Questions around how future food security were starting to enter our thoughts and conversations.
Scotland was fascinating with the “Right to Roam” for general public which means you can roam through any farmers paddock ,hiking, biking or walking the dog etc. We often take for granted our privacy and biosecurity and it highlighted how transparent these farms have become to the public.
The Highland show was another spectacle in which they really value genetics and keeping the breeding pure and really celebrate the incredible farming this country has to offer.
The Netherlands was fantastic to visit, being 6 meters below sea level in some areas. The way these farmers have used technology over the years to build up their farming empires is incredible. They are not only faced with increasing public scrutiny but an increase in regulations from the government (some of the most regimented we saw).
Environmental, stocking rates, bobby calves rules, carbon emissions and the list goes on.
We stayed with a farm that catered for the town niche market of raw organic supply of goat and cow milk, as well as sheep cheeses.
They suffered a terrible season with the loss of some stock to ‘Blue Tongue’ a viral disease spread by insects. The family were all working together to make the farm viable and help with family succession for the future so the farm could continue.
In America we arrived on a farm that had just battled through a bird flu outbreak on his dairy farm and his neighbouring farms - caused from a nearby chicken breeding farm that had the recently publicised bird flu outbreak.
The dead birds were disposed at the landfill and unfortunately the wild birdlife then facilitated spreading the disease by eating the remains and defecating contaminate onto the surrounding fields. Very devastating to hear about the stress dealing with the government officials and lots of continued vet visitations for blood testing and monitoring.
Sadly, they lost some cows in the herd, but the illness will continue to cause flow on effects later with breeding and production.
We attended a conference in Saskatoon, Canada with International Farm Managers Association. We looked at the University Research Dairy Unit which was experimenting with various feeding trials and the fascinating “hole in the cow” cannulas placed to assess the rumen.
They are very forward thinking with milking cows using collars and robotic technologies. In the large indoor facility, because of the extremes of temperatures, they needed a lot of cooling with fans for summer and ability to stop pipes and water troughs freezing for winter. Outside the walls of the research building, they were trialing growing different crops for feeding especially around the greenhouse emissions space.
We visited several other local farms giving us an insight into how the Canadians farm. Most animals are housed indoors 80-100% of the year. Heat stress and cold stress being big factors at play.
Foreign work force was popular as they also struggle to employ Canadians to want to work “dairy hours”. They split there milkings into 12-hour gaps which is a big deterrent for work-life balance. Farm workers often live in townships not on farm and small townships often benefited from these communities.
We were intrigued to hear how Canada has a quota system for each dairy farm. The aim is domestic supply throughout the year, therefore making year-round calving/milking a must. Any increase in volume is penalised adding to the challenge.
To finish our trip we kicked up our heels at the Calgary Stampede which is a must for first timers. An incredible tribute to indigenous Canadian culture with a spectacle of western themed monstrosities. Unbelievable experience!
Returning to New Zealand was exciting. We felt extremely fortunate to have what we do in this incredibly humbling country. Our heads occupied many thoughts and feelings and we are lucky to re-value our land, culture, food, biosecurity and our very unique accent!
We learnt that through hardships of others, shared struggles, farming succession variations, you can appreciate what we have right at our feet - even if we forget the small things sometimes!
