It has been quite the roller-coaster this season, especially in the upper North Island. It was a pretty tough winter by all accounts, plenty of rain to be had. Shame it wasn’t shared around a bit more because, wow, did we cop it during the early part of calving. But that was 6 to 7 […]
I should not have put off writing this blog, because Cyclone Gabrielle has overtaken the farm and it is not pretty. But more of that later. Production is holding around 0.9 kgMS/cow/day. With all this pasture cover I thought it may have held a bit higher, but I guess summer grasses will always be low […]
Well, we got through winter, but it was a push. I used a bit of PKE to keep the cows topped up just prior to calving. Calving was quick, with a start date of the 20/7 and all over by 28/8. No cows lost and only two still born calves which I felt was a […]
I was aiming to write this blog on the shortest day, but that was on the 22nd of June, and it came and went before I knew it. We are now two weeks past that already! Wow, two weeks past the shortest day, which means only 84 days to go until daylight saving kicks in. […]
2018 started with us flying from Israel to Hong Kong, so we were in the air for the New Year’s celebrations. On 16th December we flew to Israel with our extended family to enjoy a wonderful trip touring Israel, Palestine and Jordan, and then stopping in Hong Kong on the way back to NZ. This […]
December 21st, it’s the longest day of the year as far as my limited knowledge on this subject goes. And I must say, I’m really pleased that it is because it means that I finally get a chance to sit at my computer and type a few bloggy words. Kinda makes sense doesn’t it? These […]
Don’t you just love January?? All the joys and pressures of the Christmas period have passed, New Year celebrations have been and gone, and the month that usually has the least amount of “things to do” plastered all over the calendar has arrived! I guess, at our place anyway, one of the major reasons that […]
The end of May is nearing and we are looking forward to a new season starting shortly. It’s 6am, still dark outside (except for the glow of the dairy shed lights, where Sam is joyful in his work) and squally showers are hitting the window pane every once in a while. A few nights ago […]
As I headed off on my early morning walk around the block this morning I was struck by two things….firstly the chill in the air as we hit single figures on the thermometer for the first time in a long time, and secondly, a scattering of leaves lying on the drive. The weather to date […]
The sound of rain falling on the dairy shed roof as I milked this morning was a welcome tonic and one which gave me a much needed boost as mid-summer slowly but steadily approaches along with the prospect of El Nino conditions. To be fair, the weather during the last month or so has been […]