River & Company

River

I think River is wondering why her gut has become the size of a small water tank and it's becoming a little harder to get up the hills. She's rising three this year hard to believe she was that small little calf I kept alive for ten days when she had a terrible case of scours then salmonella on top. The cause we weren't quite ever sure of. A lot of sleepless nights and perseverance had River recovering and she's done well ever since. I haven't had trouble with scours since I put all of my calves straight into the paddock with covers on and out of a shed environment.

Micah the Guts

Micah has done his job. All three cows are in calf - now he's been eyeing up the Terrorist from across the electric fence and finding he's going to get nowhere. Fortunately he's a very small bull. I doubt he'll grow much more but he could prove me wrong and end up as a monster like his father big Micah the Hereford was. This little bull has remained quiet but...we'll see as time goes on if he stays quiet. If he doesn't the butcher will be out with his gun and Micah will end up in our freezer. I raised him by hand but I'm also a realist when it comes to what needs to be done. We used him for siring the first calves from our heifers since he was small and it would reduce the risk of the calves ending up being too big to be calved.

Stream

Sometimes I think how lucky my girls and I really are to have our farm. So many others would like one but they either can't afford it or they have no way of being able to make that move. What gets me is that for some reason a snob value is applied to small farms like mine. In New Zealand they're called Lifestyle Blocks. I suppose mine is up to a point. Bridget who has Cabbage Tree Farm would be in the same position. I'm not farming my land to make a living from it (because it can't) but it does feed my family and does give us enjoyment. I have many friends who are in Dairying,cropping and beef stock and they all enjoy their lifestyle immensely or they wouldn't be farming. Sadly the generalised label of Lifestyler seems to be applied in reference to a small minority that tend to have no idea about rural living or how to go about asking their farmer neighbours why perhaps those cows are in that particular paddock. There was a case here in New Zealand where a Diary Farmer had his cows moved by his lifestyler neighbour because they were 'spoiling the ambience'. In another case here in Northland a farmer had applied chicken poo to his land and his lifestyler neighbours had complained bitterly about the smell. The farmer ended up being fined. Chicken poo stinks I'll agree there but the poor farmer was only trying to take care of his pasture - that's where I say hey I'm no lifestyler sunshine. My Grandfather was a Dairy Farmer and all of us kids were raised to shut gates, get used to the stench of winter silage and not go bothering the cows that were close to calving. My neighbour Terry is a great guy and his farm manager Peter has given me great advice on many occasions when I've needed it. Maybe I'm a cynic but these tourist places they have with the sheep and stuff just aren't a true reflection of New Zealand rural life. No the real thing is better - or at least I think so anyway.

Ocean