HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Huron Expositor, 1995-03-15, Page 59Fourteen months `down -under'
by Pat Livingston
"A fantastic experience" is the
way Laurie Pentland, of R.R. 6,
Goderich, describes her 14 -month
visit to New Zealand and Australia,
through the International Agricul-
tural Exchange Association IAEA).
"The IAEA provided me with the
opportunity to experience life in a
foreign community, to learn about
other methods of agriculture, as
well as the opportunity to meet
wonderful people - friends - from
around the world and Canada," says
Laurie.
Advertisements about the program
drew the attention of the University
of Guelph graduate who was
unemployed at the time. Laurie has
a Bachelor of Commerce in
Agriculture Business.
"I didn't know if it (program) was
bogus or not," says Laurie. Through
the grapevine she learned that
Casey Hendriks of Ashfield
Township was a former IAEA
trainee. "Casey suggested I go for
it." And so she did. Resumes and
references were submitted in sup-
port of her application to participate
in the program in New Zealand and
Australia.
Her adventure began Sept. 27,
1993. The first leg of the trip
landed her in Waikiki, Hawaii, for
four days where she met with other
trainees
Arriving in Auckland, New
Zealand another four days were
spent in seminars learning about the
country, cultural differences, the
legal system and different farms.
The IAEA program offers three
areas: agriculture, horticulture or
home management. Laurie chose
agriculture.
Her first host family was Alistair
and Dorothy Linn, dairy farmers
with a Stratford mailing address.
The closest village was Eltham with
around 800 people.
Although Laurie and the Linns
had been corresponding for some
time, she admits, "I still felt very
nervous when meeting them for the
first time." The nervousness didn't
last long. Soon she was part of the
family.
The initial welcome by the Linns
included a weekend skiing trip to
One fantastic experience!
Mount Ruapehu 'shouted' (paid for)
by her interim family.
The Linns have a married
daughter, Kathryn, in England and
a 21 -year-old son, Andrew, who
works on another farm as a relief
milker. Laurie recently learned that
Andrew has been accepted by the
Canadian IAEA and will be placed
on a 1400 acre grain farm at
Streamstown, Alberta. He will
arrive the beginning of April 1995.
"Milking 'New Zealand' style is
exceedingly interesting and from
my point of view very efficient,"
says Laurie.
"Cattle are generally fed only
grass out of paddock with no sup-
plement. Pasture management is
very important."
Laurie says the average herd size
in New Zealand is 160 cows. "A-
listair's herd numbered 150 cows."
He used a herring bone set up, with
a 14 -unit swing over, similar to
milking parlors in Canada. Farmers
use an open concept. There are no
bams such as those seen in our
country.
Within one week of her arrival,
Laurie was milking by herself. "It
took one hour and 45 minutes to
milk the cows," she says. "New
Zealand milking is seasonal (mid-
August to May); herds are bred in
the spring (November) to calve
August/September," says Laurie.
"There are a few herds which are
milked year round to provide milk
to the public over the winter
months (May to mid-August)."
One detail Laurie noticed was the
lack of pre -udder treatment "unless
udders had a wet -filth on them.
Herd test results indicated that this
method, on Alistair's farm, had a
30 per cent lower somatic cell
count than 49 other herds tested on
the same date," says Laurie.
"However, a spray treatment was
applied after the milkers were taken
off."
For six weeks, Laurie did the
milking six nights a week. Later on
she also did the morning milking.
She says the milking situation in
New Zealand is ye,
"They have to be
because there are fev. ,
sidies."
Other duties on the Linn farm
included weed control. This con-
sisted of digging weeds on 90
acres. "Ragwart is one of New
l R
. 'aml's most stubborn weeds;
to get it before it goes to
mg was another task she
worked on, completing it in six
days, from cutting to storing. They
harvested 255 big round bales from
30 acres; equivalent to about 3060
Laurie Pentland at Bluffs International Post, New Zealand South
island; pointing to Australia.
conventional or square bales.
"It was weird that it was done so
fast. Generally it sprinkles rain once
a day, and it's a very wet area -
prime dairy country." During har-
vest they hit some days where there
was no rain.
It wasn't all work and no play for
Laurie while she was with the
Linns, who are very athletically
inclined. They were very generous
in planning special trips for Laurie
and showing off their country to
her.
One venture was a two-week
cycle tour, covering ova 500 km of
the Coromandel Peninsula. A total
of 13 went on the tour, with some
from the local Alpine Club. "They
were an excellent group of people,"
says Laurie. "We laughed, and ate
more calories than we cycled off."
A major social network was
formed with other trainees in the
area. At least once a week Laurie
got together with seven others who
were within 90 minutes distance.
The trainee social scene also
included farm tours such as dairy,
beef, sheep, hay, crayfish, vegetable
and flower gardens, wineries, cotton
and emu.
Then there was the 'hungi party'
where native New Zealand food is
cooked under the ground, and a
visit to the New Zealand Agri -
Dome.
"We took in a Brian Adams con-
cert in Wellington and we got to
wave our Canadian flags."
Another first for Laurie was
mountain climbing. The Linns live
about 16 km from Mount Egmont,
which is 8000 feet high. She tried
to climb it three times. The closest
she got to accomplishing the task
was 20 metres from the top. The
winds were too high that day and
the members of the search and
rescue team (friends of Alistair's)
deemed it inappropriate to go the
top.
"Most of what I did on the farm
seemed like fun, not work, because
of the people I was with," says
Laurie.
Minimum wage is paid, however,
Laurie says you do recover what it
costs you to go. "You can't put a
•see Beautiful, page 2A