DURING my last few weeks in New Zealand I experienced the disaster of a drought, got involved in the debate over winter milking, seen how the farmers were reacting to the milk price increase, competed in a national fencing competition, and watched the Grand Final of the Young Farmers contest.
Experiencing the drought on the east coast of the North Island really made me appreciate the rain we get in Northern Ireland! They hadn't seen rain in six months.
I was staying with a family who owned a sheep farm three generations old (which is pretty historic for New Zealand). When I awoke on my first morning to look outside, everything was brown and dust lingered in the air. I decided to take a walk but nothing could have prepared me for what I saw.
The farmer gave me directions on the boundaries of his farm so off I went. I could see balls of white fluff on the lane in the distance but when I became closer I realised that it was sheep scattered everywhere ,they were starved to death.
During my week on the East coast there wasn't much farming to be done due to the drought so my host spent a few days taking me to all the tourist attractions. We spent the afternoon visiting wineries and to my surprise I was taken to Coleraine vineyard! I was so excited.
We also visited a sheep skin factory, where we were shown the wool from the time it arrived from the farmer until it was ready to be sold at the gift shop! Everything was performed manually.
During my stay in New Zealand I became very educated about the increasing price of milk. Every dairy farmer was keen to talk about it and enlighten me with what they planned to do with their increased income! I attended a farm discussion group where the local farmers met to discuss the price of milk and winter milking. The majority of farmers' in New Zealand dry off their cows for two months of the year, the main reason being that they think they deserve a break. At the discussion group we discovered that if a farmer kept 35 of his cows milking during the winter season, after expenditures (e.g. feed and labour) the farmer would earn approximately $150 per day! So basically the farmer was going to earn £70 for getting out of bed and working for one hour. I'd definitely do it but I was very surprised to find that most farmers at the discussion group where still not willing to sacrifice their two month holiday.
I also had the opportunity to visit a goat farm. The farmer milked 1000 goats on a 100 bale rotary shed. All the goats were kept indoors and each morning the farmer mowed grass to feed to the goats. The vision of 1000 goats in one shed is something I will never forget!
During my final week in New Zealand all the Young Farmers' met in Rotorua to support the National Young Farmers competition. It was a fantastic way to finish my trip as I was reunited with the Young Farmers' I had met along the way. The competition lasted three full days and was televised.
The big difference between the Regional Finals, which I had attended in the South Island and the Grand Final, is MORE. More intensity, more pressure, more drama and more rewards. Three days of physical and intellectual challenges, await the contestants as they seek to blaze their name into the history books and take home the winners title. Day One started with a range of theory and technical challenges and ended with a speech from each of the contestants. Day Two concentrated on outdoor activities with a vigorous set of practical challenges and the crowd-pleasing head-to-head Agrisport event. The head to head event was to make a raft which would be used by each of the region teams in the Young Farmers raft race. There was an exchangee team but unfortunately our raft sank so we had to get in the water and push it to the finish line! It was quite intense as there were thousands of people watching!
Going on a Young Farmers' Clubs of Ulster exchange to New Zealand was an incredible experience. I will be telling stories and talking about my exchange for years to come.
Again I would like to thank Young Farmers' for the opportunity and the Ulster bank for their kind sponsorship.