Ahh summer, the months of sun, fun and holidays…unless you are a farmer in which case you are more often than not still super busy and rushing to get jobs done in the good weather! This summer has been no exception for us on that front and once we mixed in Christmas and family gatherings it really seemed to whizz by!
The summer started off with lots of drenching, dagging and then straight into the finishing of shearing. Typically do our main shear after Christmas, but as I stated in my “Spring on the Farm” post we had already done all the ewes by the time summer got into the swing of things. We did manage a couple of weekends away and were fortunate enough to have a wedding to go to in South Island and a Christmas Polo match in Cambridge as well. We were very lucky to be able to fly home following the wedding, due to extreme flooding and weather conditions which caused the bottom of the South Island to be cut off from below Christchurch!
I was placed on “gardening leave” at the start of December which was great for my gardens, and I was also able to help out a little more on the farm which was another bonus. My first few days off from having a job were spent helping with drenching and dagging all of the lambs. We dag our lambs once they are weaned and this helps make the shearers job a little easier come shearing time, but more importantly this also helps prevent fly strike.
Fly strike is absolutely horrific and is where flies lay their eggs into the wool of the sheep which then hatch into maggots (yes, maggots – gross I know!) and they then in turn burrow into the skin of the sheep eating them alive. This is one of the biggest reasons why farmers shear and dag their sheep, and like anything timing is everything to try and prevent it from happening.
Drenching is done to help protect the lambs from worms to ensure that they continue to grow as healthy and fit as possible. It was really nice to work alongside Freddie, as he was on the portable hand piece doing the dagging while I was drenching. Having two people on the job definitely makes for a much quicker turnaround of stock and means that they can be back in the paddock a lot quicker.
Lambs in the yards post drenching & dagging.
Christmas and New Year’s arrived with a flurry of activity as it was first time in 3 years that my family had all been together! My cousin got married on New Year’s Eve so needless to say there was a huge party and celebration to not only celebrate her wedding but to also welcome in the new decade. There was even a bag piper who played the “Flower of Scotland” as midnight which was one of the coolest things I’ve seen done for a New Year’s celebration!
A few days after recovering from the new year it was straight into the shearing of all the lambs. We have a 4-stand woolshed, which essentially means that there can be up to 4 shearers working at the same time. On average, per shearer, there can be up to 100 sheep shorn per run which is over 400 a day! We also have 2 rousies (or wool handlers) working alongside the shearers, and Dad normally does the pressing.
Bales of wool all ready to leave the woolshed
Wool off the sheep and ready to be pressed.
Our biggest challenge this summer has been the drought which has been the problem for most of the country – except for our poor mates in Southland who have suffered from severe flooding! It has rained about 3-4 times this summer – with our last big rain happening back in early to mid-December. Our one saving grace feed wise has been the turnips that the boys planted in spring. They have kept a lot of our sheep going, and has meant that we have been able to continue to put weight on our lambs – which is a critical part of our farming operation.
Dry paddocks in the drought
Our young beef cattle
Dry paddocks have been our summer
As we carry onto in autumn we are hopeful that the rain will return to us soon on a more consistent rate – and no doubt by the time we reach the middle of winter we will be well over the rain! Despite the drought it has been a wonderful summer, full of family time, lots of riding and time outdoors. I love summer and it is definitely my favourite season – so I am a little sad that it is officially over and we are onto autumn again already.
If you’ve suffered from the drought this summer I hope that things are picking up for you. It’s not easy farming in these conditions but if we stick together we can get through it!
Until next time,
L-J x
