Members' Blog

Rebecca John, a Wales YFC member from Pembrokeshire is currently undertaking her Dairy Scholarship in New Zealand. We caught up with Rebecca to see how she’s getting on…

“It’s hard to believe it’s already been a month since I arrived in New Zealand. I’ve surprised myself with how quickly I’ve settled in. I’m working on a dairy farm in the Canterbury region of the South Island, in a little coastal spot called Dorie. The farm is so close to the sea that some of the fields actually back onto the shoreline!

I started work on the 2nd of August — just one day before the farm’s official calving date. The first month has been hectic, with no fewer than 30 calves being born each day. On just my third day, the farm hit a record of 50 calves in a single day! I currently work a 6/2 rota, though once calving is finished, this will change to 11/3. The farm is family-owned and run, with three full-time staff. My role is as a farm assistant, which basically means I get involved in a bit of everything, lending a hand wherever I’m needed.

The farming system here is very different from what I’m used to back home. The herd is made up of around 600 cows, mainly Jersey crosses, and all the calves are born outside. Most of the calves are Jerseys too, with a few Friesians and some Speckle Parks (a beef-cross breed) in the mix. A typical day starts at 4:45 a.m. with milking the main herd of around 450 cows at the moment, followed by the colostrum cows (cows are kept in a separate group for four days before joining the main herd.) After that, we collect the new calves and draft the freshly calved cows to move them into the colostrums.

We also keep busy with fencing work: picking up the back fence, moving cows to a new break, and setting up the front fence ready for the next day. Prevention is a big focus on the farm. Every day, magnesium, iodine, and a vitamin mix are added to the water troughs, while calcium is spread across the paddock where the colostrum cows graze. We do a mixture of general farm jobs as you would expect then milking again in the afternoon. The parlour is a 40:80 herringbone, with no ACR. The calves are fed whole milk once a day through teat buckets for the first few days, before being moved onto the automatic feeder.

I’m living in a cabin on the farm and have even been given a car to borrow while I’m here! Everyone on the farm has been so welcoming, which has made settling in much easier. I’ve also attended the local Young Farmers club, attending both their monthly meeting and a new members’ evening so far.

Of course, it hasn’t been all work! I’ve managed to squeeze in some sightseeing too! I can’t wait to tick off even more places from my bucket list soon. Finally, I’d like to thank Wales YFC and Dairy Careers New Zealand for giving me this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I’m also very grateful to the High Sheriff of Dyfed & to the Gareth Raw Rees scholarship for their financial support in making this trip possible.