15.06.2015 Farmwork Week 1

Farmwork Week 1

Unfortunately, we can only get in touch now, as we have barely any reception in Northcliffe - our current place of residence. After a 4.5-hour drive, we finally arrived in Northcliffe, a small sweet town near Pemberton and Manjimup, there it was, the farm where we will be working for the next few months.

The farm is very beautiful and somehow hilly, it reminds us a little of the landscape in Bavaria or at least how we imagine Bavaria. The farmer and our boss, Michael Armstrong, welcomed us together with his wife Frances very friendly. He discussed all the details with us (payment, working hours, etc.) and then showed us his large dairy farm.

We live in a small house with a cute garden and a terrace. The house is definitely over 100 sqm. It is very cozy and equipped with a fireplace :-)). You are probably wondering why a fireplace? You are in Australia, right? :-D. Currently, it's winter here and also monsoon season, so it rains a lot, storms, and is sometimes quite cold. (8-9 degrees during the day)

To go shopping, we have to drive about an hour to Manjimup, which is the nearest 'city' here. (For comparison - Manjimup is significantly smaller than Bremervörde.) So, we will start a big shopping trip every two weeks. The first week of work consisted of both of us herding and milking the cows. At first, it sounds pretty simple, but we had to realize that this task is not easy at all! Although we only work for 'only' 3.5 days a week, on one day we also work from 4 am to 9 am, then a break from 9 am to 2 pm, and then again from 2 pm to 7 pm. Actually, we can go to sleep at 8 pm after work because we have to get up at 3 am again. But well, you get used to everything, and the work itself is pretty fun :-).

A typical workday looks like this: 3:00 am - the alarm clock rings 3:30 am - Yes, okay, we are already up! Quick breakfast and put on work clothes and off to the 'dairy' (milking station) 4:00 am - prepare the milking station for the cows (open the right gates and paths), put on a helmet and use the quad to fetch the cows :-). 5:00 am - finally, the cows have arrived at the milking station and we can start the milking station with the help of some steps. (Wetting the floor so that it is easier to clean later, starting the machine, 'changing' hoses, operating the feed machine, and more) around 5:45 - 8 am - milking (Here we have to check if cows may need to be vaccinated, sorted out and brought to a separate field if they are limping or need an injection to relieve pain.) If a vaccination or injection needs to be done, this is also part of our tasks.

8 - 9:30 am - Clean the milking station (quite annoying... it always takes so much time!)- BREAK - we have breakfast again and take a 'nap' until 1 pm :-)

The second shift from 2 pm to 7 pm is actually exactly like the first shift, only that before milking, we have to open and close the right fields so that the cows run to the right field after milking and the person who will milk in the morning can retrieve the cows from the right field.

VACCINATING and INJECTING: When Michael showed us for the first time how to give a cow an injection or vaccination, we thought 'Oh god, we will never manage that!'. A cow is vaccinated in one of the teats on the udder and yes, she can kick forcefully backward during this process, but don't worry, a metal rod protects us at least a little from the hooves.

To relieve pain for, for example, a swollen foot, a cow gets a needle with a syringe rammed into its back, which is not that easy, as the cow can quickly become aggressive. However, we managed the vaccination and injections well in the first week. In general, we never thought that cows are such intelligent animals. Michael explained to us that cows can sense whether you are afraid or in a bad or good mood.

They are much more restless and kick more often when you are anxious. So, when vaccinating and giving injections, you must not approach with fear. (Not easy :-D) From next week, Jenny will have to handle milking all by herself (She is quite afraid that she won't be able to do it all in time..) and Mike will have to do another job. We don't know exactly what Mike's task will be, but from what we could hear, he will drive tractors, repair machines, take care of bulls, and do other things. We will definitely report on it :-)Since we have hardly any reception and also very poor internet, the pictures will follow.See you soon :-)