Imechapishwa: 27.07.2018
When we arrived on the farm on Sunday afternoon, we signed our contracts, discussed what to expect in the morning, and had dinner - this time also with the children. That evening, we slept in the office.
Our alarm clock went off at 4:45 the next morning, because work started at 5:30. Bruce (the family father and farm owner) and Lance (the only employee on the farm for 15 years) were waiting for us at the milking station. They explained how everything works and then we were allowed to do it ourselves. Easier than expected!
After that, we had breakfast with the family. Around 9 o'clock we continued. We rode with Lyn (the farm mom) on the quad bike to the pasture to collect newly born calves and drive them into the barn to feed them. They are already much more independent than human babies with 12 hours in the world.
Then we moved into our little cottage. A toilet, shower, stove, and oven - everything you need. The mattress from our van now serves as a bed. At 2:30 pm, the second shift of milking cows started, and we finished 2 hours later.
We drove to Cambridge, which means a good half an hour drive, to stock up on food for the next few days. Because we don't want to travel an hour every other day. After all, we also need to go to bed on time.
In the next few days, we got a lot more responsibility. After a short briefing, we could drive the quad bike ourselves, collect the calves from the farm on our own, and drive the cows to the barn.
After 5 days of farm work, I can say: it stinks, it's dirty, but it's incredibly fun. Every day has a similar routine, but none is like the previous one.