NZ Engine

Source: Radio New Zealand

Tens of millions of dollars worth of irrigation equipment is thought to have been damaged by strong winds in North Canterbury.

Thursday’s gales tossed and twisted hundreds of massive pivot irrigators, leaving Amuri Basin farmers with weeks or months-long waits for replacement parts from overseas.

Federated Farmers North Canterbury president Bex Green said she understood more than 700 pivot spans had been damaged in the region.

“At $30,000 a span, that’s quite a lot of money, as you can imagine – over $20 million – getting parts could take a lengthy amount of time. I’ve heard November at the earliest, but I wouldn’t be surprised if we’re waiting until next year,” she said.

“Our big pivot is 13 spans, our first seven are fine then we have three down after that. The final three are fine but we can’t use those, so we’ve essentially lost half of our pivot and could be waiting ages to water that part of the farm.”

Some of the costly equipment would be uninsured, Green said.

“Some people actually can’t get insurance, they’ve had their pivots turn over too many times and companies won’t insure them anymore.”

Green said there were no alternatives for watering in most cases, and the situation was particularly grave heading into the dry season.

“For us, that’s 80 to 100 hectares that won’t get watered and won’t grow any grass. We’ll have no option but to bring in bought feed.

“It’s a huge concern coming into the summer period when it gets really dry up here and obviously with the winds that we get, it dries out really fast.”

She said some farmers had lost 10 span pivots, affecting huge areas, and farmers were facing difficult choices that were complicated by uncertainties about repair timeframes.

“Do you reduce your cows, send them off to another farm that can feed them and compromise your production? Or do you try and put other feed in so they can do somewhat better, and put them on once-a-day [milking]?” she said.

“We’re all trying to figure it out, but don’t have a timespan for when those pivots are going to get here. We’re all just waiting for information.”

Green had heard from a lot of stressed, exhausted farmers and expected there would be a significant impact on production, with some already going to once a day milking, which would normally start in the new year.

“Farmers are going to be quite stressed worrying about feed input then not being able to water those parts of the farm. It’s going to be a long summer,” she said.

Other priorities were ensuring farms were stockproofed, getting stock water, clearing trees from fences and getting reliable power back on.

Insurance claims from last week’s wild weather had already topped $10 million and were expected to climb even further.

FMG, the country’s largest rural insurer, had received more than 900 weather-related claims by the weekend, half of which were from Southland and Otago.

Spokesperson Jacqui McIntosh said farmers had made claims for damaged roofs, farm buildings, fencing and irrigators.

“We’re still in the early days of this and expect those numbers to rise once the state of emergencies lift and utilities are restored,” she said.

McIntosh said the company was working closely with irrigation repair companies and expected a fairly lengthy repair and recovery process.

“Obviously it’s been a large event from an irrigator perspective, so there will be a tail on the time it will take to get those up and running again,” she said.

Federated Farmers was working with the Rural Support Trust, Irrigation NZ, Dairy NZ, Fonterra, and the Ministry for Primary Industries as part of the Canterbury Rural Advisory Group, which was sharing information from the ground and providing updates Green could take back to farmers.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

Rural nurses are on a mission to try and lift measle vaccination rates in hard to reach areas, as health experts expect the outbreak to grow.

There are currently 11 known measles cases throughout the country, and the number of close contacts is about 2000.

Central Hawke’s Bay registered nurse Michelle Reinhardt works for Te Ara Waiora in Waipukurau, a free nurse-led kaupapa Māori hauora clinic.

She told RNZ the current outbreak was concerning, and they were trying hard to lift vaccine rates.

“There is hesitancy still, but it’s just about getting the word out there to people and it slowly starts to grow.

“Just make sure you’re vaccinated – it’s really important,” she said.

Only 72 percent of Māori under five years old are vaccinated, compared with 82 percent across the general population.

Reinhardt and her nursing colleagues drive all over the rural district providing mobile vaccination clinics and even house visits for people who can’t travel or don’t have a car.

“It’s something we are trying really hard to educate people on, to let people make educated decisions on being vaccinated.

“It’s important to talk to your health professionals… and make that decision for yourself so that information is all correct and not based on hearsay, or what we see on social media,” she said.

Reinhardt was working as a paediatric nurse during the previous measles outbreak in 2019.

“That last wave of measles was scary and I did see parents saying they wish they’d known earlier.. that they were susceptible.. and they wish they’d done something about it earlier,” she said.

Vaccine mistrust

Māori GP Doctor Nina Bevin said she was worried about the low vaccination rates

Dr Bevin said despite years of hard mahi from the health sector, there was still some mistrust in pockets of communities.

“I’m really concerned about the current measles outbreak because it’s coming at a time when we’ve got our lowest coverage of immunisation for our tamariki.

“It means we are very vulnerable to a large outbreak,” she said.

Dr Bevin is encouraging people to not only get immunised, but also consider a ‘top up’ measles vaccine, because public health records “haven’t always been perfect”.

“The measles vaccine is highly safe and it’s highly effective. If you’re not sure of your vaccination status check the Te Whatu Ora website, call your GP and check in.

“Sometimes the best thing is to go and get the top up because it’s really safe to have 3 or 4 doses of MMR, it won’t cause any harmful effects,” she said.

Thousands of vunerable children

Measles is so infectious, it requires an immunity rate of at least 95 percent in the community to prevent spread. This is driving concerns about its spread, because of New Zealand’s lower vaccination rate.

Professor Michael Baker said he was worried because measles transmission was occurring and some cases weren’t linked to overseas visits, and this situation was combined with low immunisation rates.

“Those two situations in combination means we are looking at the beginning of a measles epidemic unless we act very rapidly.”

He said there were tens of thousands of children vulnerable to the highly infectious virus.

It comes as parents and caregivers of Wellington high school students are worried by the current outbreak, with thousands of close contacts identified and students in isolation.

One case is linked to overseas travel, and seven are linked to a Bluebridge ferry crossing on 3 October.

There are four cases in Wellington, one in Northland, two in Auckland, one in Taranaki, two in Manawatū and one in Nelson.

Wellington’s locations of interest include Metlink bus 736 journeys on the mornings of 13 and 15 October, VTNZ Thorndon on those same afternoons, and a Thai restaurant in Karori on the evening of 15 Wednesday.

Incoming mayor urges ‘ basic precautions’

Wellington’s incoming mayor Andrew Little is urging residents to take “basic precautions” against measles, with hundreds of people already exposed to the virus.

Little, a former Health minister, said mask-wearing could help stop transmission of the virus, which is spread by droplets from coughing and sneezing, and can linger in the air for up to two hours.

“People have to be really careful,” he said. “People in big public spaces or on buses, wear masks. This is contagious.”

New Zealand’s low immunisation rates had been “an issue” for the health system and successive governments for some time, he said.

“And that effort is going to be needed for some time to get a new generation vaccinated.

“But meanwhile, the contagion is out there and people just need to take those basic precautions.”

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

A first responder and local farmer believes it’s a miracle no one was hurt in the devastating storm that hit Clutha, but he’s warning there will be injuries in the clean up.

At its peak, communications, power and water were off across Southland and Clutha creating a nightmare situation for farmers.

One of those living in the nightmare is Clutha Valley Volunteer Fire Brigade chief Richard Hunter.

While driving round the property he points out the powerlines that lead to nowhere, just laying like a dead snake in the grass.

It’s snapped off from the transformer that is now crushed beneath the 100 year old trees.

Hunter has hundreds of trees like this around his property.

When he looks at the mountain of work those downed trees mean for him… “Overwhelmed. Daunting, yeah, wondering where to start.”

He’s just one of the local farmers staring down the barrel of months of work. The scale of destruction in this area means you can’t drive 100 metres without seeing a giant tree down.

The first step for most of them is stock proofing – or reinstalling the fences – for Hunter, kilometres needing replacing.

“Yeah, so there’s big holes in all the tree blocks. Really, it’s the tree devastation that’s the main thing for me now, and the fencing,”

“It’s amazing what a digger can do in a day, though… move the trees, you know. Tidy up the old fence and so you got somewhere to work with.”

But as he drives around the hilly property covered in carnage, the thing he kept saying was it was a miracle that no one got hurt on Thursday.

Although he said the recovery might be a different story.

“That’s the other thing. It’s, you know, there’s all those, we call them widowmakers, hanging up in the trees.”

Many of the trees have snapped halfway up, and are now caught in the tall branches waiting to come down.

Richard Hunter was also concerned for the ‘chainsaw cowboys’ who try and do it themselves and will end up hurt.

The other worry, he said, is mental health.

“It’s going to be quite a major it’s going to be ongoing, like we were shaping up to have be having quite a good season…prices are quite good, weather conditions were quite good, yeah, but this is a bit of a game changer, but we’ll get over it. Yeah, it’s not, it’s not going to be the end of the world.”

But the community through Clutha Valley is a tight network, in the immediate aftermath held together largely by the local sparky company.

Jared Cowley and his team worked for more than 20 hours straight getting generators between the dairy farms to ensure they could all get their milking done.

“I actually counted the phone calls just on the Thursday, and it was over 300 so yeah.”

His team would bring the generator into the farm, wire it into the switchboard, wait for the milking to be done, before unwiring it and moving to the next desperate farmer.

“The boys have been going from stupid o’clock, four o’clock in the morning, till after midnight.”

“Obviously people would like to keep the generator there for more, because when we take it away, it means there’s no stock water. But they’ve known that their neighbors was in the same or worse boat.

“Everyone’s been great.”

One of those very grateful dairy farmers was Greg Foster.

He’s got 600 hectares in Rongohere … or as he calls it “out in the boonies in the back of Clydevale”.

He also went on a mission to get generators.

“Basically one of the cobbers down the road. He needed a generator… We basically got together, met down the road…he took a tractor so we could push all the trees off the way… we took three chainsaws.

“The guys up in Cromwell met us halfway with them… we swapped the generators over halfway and headed back.

“So I think we’re up and running on the first cow shed by midnight.

“It’s bloody good.”

He said it was a desperate time for farmers, but comparing horror stories over a pint and a good old stew helped ease the pain.

“[We talked about] just the carnage, basically, who’s worse off and who needed a hand still and stuff like that… and just probably the first hot meal for about four days.”

Most of Clutha Valley were still without power on Tuesday but aside from some stock losses and sleepless nights they had committed to continue as they started – riding out the long tail of this storm together.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

• Storm-hit farmers are tired, cold and cut off from communications
• More support hubs are being set up
• Rural Support Trust says focus is moving to human welfare

More than 200 dairy farms across Southland are still relying on generators to keep their cows milked, sometimes borrowing them from neighbours or moving them between sheds.

Rural Support Trust spokesperson Katrina Thomas said the immediate focus after the storm was on animal welfare: ensuring there were enough generators to get cows milked.

“But now we’ve actually moved to concentrating more on the humans. That’s due to the fatigue of the ongoing situation because there’s a minimum of 200 cowsheds out there that don’t have direct power.

“So you’ve got farmers fatigued because it’s been going on for a few days, they may not have had showers, proper meals or be looking themselves properly.”

Rural Support was working with the Emergency Management Southland welfare team to set up more support hubs.

“So they can at least go and have a shower, have some kai, connect with others and just do the laundry.”

Uncertainty causing stress

Trust deputy chair Georgette Wouda, who was also at the Emergency Management command centre today, said on top of the four or five welfare hubs already set up, they had identified about a dozen more locations across Southland, which needed help.

“Some houses have got fireplaces, so that’s fine. But a lot of the newer places have only got heatpumps, so they’re sitting in the dark, they’re cold, they need to charge up things,” she said.

“Within a 20km radius, you can have communities that are okay, they’ve got power back, and you can have another 5km down the road that haven’t got anything yet.

“They’re dotted all over the place, often on little side roads, right across the district.”

In addition to struggling with exhaustion, many farmers were also anxious about the health of their animals and about not knowing when they would have power again, Wouda said.

“It’s the uncertainty that’s so stressful.”

Communication ‘dead spots’

Thomas said the lines company PowerNet continued to do “an amazing job” in reconnecting properties, but some people faced an uncertain wait, complicated by communication problems.

“It’s not like a flood because at least people can drive around – in the urban areas, things are up and running – but we’ve still got these communication dead spots.”

Generators dropped off by Hercules had got many cellphone towers powered up, but lots were still down.

“So you can’t just pick up the phone and have a yarn. That’s why we’re encouraging people to check on their cousins, their neighbours.”

Those with generators had been able to plug in Starlinks and use apps like WhatsApp to communicate, she said.

“We were doing a lot of that on farm and with neighbours in the beginning.

“I was wondering if we could send a Facebook message or something to Elon Musk and ask him to move them over the bottom of New Zealand, please!”

According to a briefing this morning from Fonterra, about 30 percent of suppliers in Otago and Southland were still without mains power.

Thomas said some milk was still being dumped, but very little compared with straight after the storm.

“Three days ago, the tanker turned up to 42 sheds with milk; it was 32 yesterday and five this morning.

“Those that skipped a pick-up [because the milk did not meet the grade or for some other reason] was 150 three days ago, 86 yesterday and 39 today.”

Generators deployed across Southland

Emergency Management Southland is moving 31 generators around to support critical infrastructure, dairy sheds and community hubs.

Controller Vibhuti Chopra said power restoration was “progressing well”, with many rural properties reconnected and dairy operations returning to normal.

“Farmers across Southland have rallied together – sharing generators, opening their dairy sheds to neighbours, and ensuring animals are milked and watered through challenging conditions,” she said.

Most of the 31 generators being deployed by Emergency Management Southland in key locations had come from outside the region, but some had been shared locally, including one from Fire and Emergency New Zealand.

“In addition, there are many generators that were already here and are now in use by Southland District Council at their wastewater and drinking water plants and the milking companies to support their dairy farmers.”

Chopra said the authorities were grateful to those “communities who are supporting each other to get through”.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

The New Zealand economy is set to benefit from an estimated $4.5 billion increase in spending, should the sale of Fonterra’s consumer businesses go ahead.

ASB economists said the proposed sale of Fonterra’s Anchor and Mainland brands to France’s Lactalis was expected to deliver a tax-free capital return of about $3.2b to 8000 shareholding farms throughout New Zealand.

“The average return (to shareholders) would be around $392,000 if the sale goes ahead, and we estimate around 60 percent of shareholding farms could receive at least $200,000,” ASB chief economist Nick Tuffley said.

“Some of that money will flow out into broader communities. It will help support on farm investment and all the contractors who are involved in that.”

However, there would also be a trickle-down effect of an estimated $4.5b of direct and indirect spending, once farmers set aside money to pay down debt and for long-term savings.

“This capital return would be a welcome tailwind for farmers, offering a timely boost to confidence and investment.

While it may not single-handedly drive a broader economic recovery, it strengthens the foundation for growth in key sectors.”

Rural communities as well as manufacturing, retail, accommodation, and real estate sectors were likely to directly benefit.

“While many farmers are likely to save or pay down debt to some extent, their investment in cost-saving upgrades and equipment is expected to indirectly lift demand in these sectors,” Tuffley said.

However, the sale was not a done deal, and had been strongly criticised by New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters.

The sale was still subject to shareholder farmer approval in a vote to be held later this month, as well as regulatory approval.

Tuffley said the sale offered opportunities and risks, including greater vulnerability to global trade shifts and changing consumer preferences, particularly in developed markets.

However, he said the timing of the sale coincided with a strong dairy sector with robust incomes.

Strong global demand and resilient commodity prices were expected to keep dairy farm profitability high in the year ahead, with rural areas generally outperforming urban centres.

The proposed sale also aligned with Fonterra’s strategy to shift back to a commodity focus.

“One key thing for everybody to bear in mind is we rely quite heavily on our export incomes,” Tuffley said adding the $4.22b sale price reflected the value of the consumer business built up over time.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

They used to be a regular sight on New Zealand’s roads and paddocks – the plodding, but magnificent Clydesdales.

The horses with the hobbit hooves helped tame the land in earlier times, ploughing wheatfields, carting lumber and carving out New Zealand’s infrastructure, but these dignified animals are now becoming a rare breed.

While they may have passed their ‘use-by’ date for some, their charm, ability and legacy have inspired others to save the breed from extinction – people like Susie Izard and daughter Cate Smith of Silverstream Clydesdales in Kimbell, South Canterbury.

It all started when Cate worked at historic Erewhon Station, where she discovered these gentle giants and fell for them.

The station has a large Clydesdale stud and they often still use ‘Clydies’ instead of machines to do the cultivating work and to tow wagons.

Suzie and Cate decided they would learn how to breed, with the one proviso – the horses had to pay for themselves, including vet bills and feed.

“I was the horsey one, not mum or dad, and I had normal horses, which now are the not normal ones,” Cate told Country Life.

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The Clydesdale Horse Society of New Zealand notes there are 750 registered Clydesdales in New Zealand and they are regarded as an “at risk” breed.

Cate said Clydesdales were the labradors of the horse world, because of their love of food, but she said their personalities made them most endearing.

According to their farrier, you have to keep an eye on Clydesdales, as they’re not sleeping – “they’re plotting”.

To illustrate, Susie told the story of Billy, who spent three years planning a raid on the food barrel.

“He had to wait until there was an open gate,” she said. “Race up the driveway round a corner, through the other side of the shed, through a man door, and tipped one of the food bins over and started eating.”

He had thought about it, made a plan and executed that plan over three years, and no doubt savoured every mouthful, she said.

Twenty-one year old Billy was quite the character and Cate described him as her mother’s one true love.

“Sorry, dad! He’s incredibly cheeky, loves whiskey, loves going into high country huts. He’s had about five shepherds lined up along his back and he’s hilarious.

“He’s not really a horse, he’s a person. He’s brilliant.”

One job that was a constant with six horses was picking up their poo.

“That’s a full-time job in itself,” Cate said. “Mum grew 150 pumpkins on it, just put them in the poo pile and away we went.”

They were also great to ride, something most people didn’t realise.

“It’s a bit like a lazy boy recliner chair, comfort wise, and they are beautiful pacers, because they’re very expressive,” Susie said.

“They have beautiful drops and canters, and they can cover the ground too, if you don’t let them be lazy, they can – they can really go. “

Basil was the first horse they bred and, at 18 hands, he was huge and had just turned four.

“He is like having a puppy around, such a darling, but very large,” Cate said.

She said she almost needed scaffolding to climb on him.

“I had to bail off him the other day on a ride and I couldn’t get back on, so I had to walk all the way home, get on, on the big mounting block and then carry on the ride.”

Susie appreciated the way Clydesdales were responsible for “breaking in” land by towing the sledges and wagons that picked up all the stones on the Canterbury Plains, and logging.

Clydesdales would carry children to school and pull the milk carts.

Their demise began between the world wars. Numbers dropped, because of mechanisation and the loss of so many in World War I, towing guns into warzones.

“They mean so much to us,” Susie said. “We really enjoy working for them, with them, even when it’s difficult.

“You still look at them and the things that we do and the adventures we have and the people we meet. I think it’s a lot about the people and the Clydesdale community.

“We love watching what goes on in the paddock. The dynamics are brilliant, the game playing the dysfunctional marriages, the whole thing.”

Susie said. at night, they had “parties”.

“We can hear them crashing around in the paddock, galloping and fighting, and carrying on. You know, you can see the slashes of footprints down the end of the paddock.

“At the end of the day, I love them to pieces. They are so special and I am very proud to have them.”

Learn more:

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Conservationist Ben Banks spends a lot of his spare time trying to protect the Okorero -Thornton Lagoon wildlife reserve but it seems joyriders are just as much of a threat as the pests he’s trapping.

The lagoon and its surrounding sand dunes lie by the mouth of the Rangitāiki River in eastern Bay of Plenty and are home to some threatened species and rare vegetation.

The seven hectare reserve provides a protected breeding and feeding area for native birds, fish and invertebrates and is the only remaining wetland on the lower Rangitāiki River providing habitat for culturally and ecologically important whitebait species, according to Jesse Burt, the Department of Conservation’s Operations Advisor in the Whakatāne District.

DOC administers the reserve alongside Fish and Game.

Standing on a ridge above the lagoon, Banks explained how he had been setting traps in the area for more than a year and had caught 200 or so rats and mustelids.

“The apex numbers are kind of dropping off.

“We’re seeing little skinks appear, and their size has gone from being quite small and getting bigger really quickly, because there’s no mustelids predating them.”

But the unfettered access for vehicles was proving to be a huge challenge, he told Country Life.

On cue, a vehicle appeared revving as it gathered speed to climb the nearby dune, its occupants cheering on the driver.

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“I think this is conservation East Coast style at its best. Sometimes we find a few cars ending up here that get burnt out at the end of the weekend.”

He pointed to tracks crisscrossing the reserve. There were also evidence of people doing ‘doughnuts’ in the sand.

Banks would like to see a designated track for off-roaders.

“The coastal areas are so fragile, it’s pretty much like running a bulldozer through some of these areas.

“They’re just not getting a chance to recover at all so without any intervention or management, it’s likely to get worse over time.”

DOC said vehicle access within the reserve causing damage to dunes or flora and fauna is prohibited and enforceable by DOC.

In the past, it has tried to reduce off-roading damage by erecting fencing to block certain sections of the dunes from public access. However, it has been torn down by members of the public.

While the visitors have fun on the tracks, Banks points out the vegetation. He said a rare variety of kānuka is found here.

Volunteers have put in more native grasses and plants to help restore the area and protect the dunes.

“They’re just trying to get a hold in amongst all the tracks.”

He said recovery is difficult for the low dunes with young vegetation if they are being driven on.

The dunes are also a nesting spot for birds.

“[Driving is] currently being done all over the frontal dunes, and people are just going wherever they want.”

As the population increased along the coast, he was noticing more and more vehicles using it as a playground.

There was plenty of room for everyone to come and have fun and enjoy what the coastal reserve had to offer, but access needed to be managed, Banks said.

“It’s just a high ecological area, so it’s almost like everyone’s competing for the same space, which makes sense. It’s a beautiful spot.

“I don’t think it’s anything tricky or hard.”

DOC said anyone observing vehicles damaging dunes or disturbing wildlife in Okorero should call 0800 DOC HOT (0800 362 468) to report the incident in confidence.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Ever wondered about the origins of the ride-on mower or the humble pair of longjohns? Then Te Radar and Ruth Spencer have the book for you.

The couple have partnered with Harper Collins to publish their new book Kiwi Country: Rural New Zealand in 100 Objects.

It tells the stories of the often-overlooked items that make up the rural experience.

Spencer told Country Life she’d gained a new appreciation for such objects after learning more about their stories.

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The book’s 10 chapters explore 10 objects from different aspects of a traditional farm or homestead, including the paddock, orchard, livestock, shed, cowshed, creek, backblocks, smoko and the road.

The homestead covers things used inside the rural home like meat safes, mangles, dunnies and Aunt Daisy’s Book of Handy Hints.

The research was a lot of fun, Spencer said.

“It takes time but it’s wonderful discovering things. It’s kind of like gold mining. You turn up a nugget here or there and it takes you on a journey somewhere else.”

She said the objects chosen – by no means an exhaustive list – reflect changes to rural life and society more generally over time.

“There are some massive changes of course. We brought a lot of amazing innovation in.”

It also highlighted the resilience and adaptability of rural New Zealanders, she said.

The book is also quite personal, with the couple both weaving in memories and funny anecdotes of their own rural experiences.

Spencer drew heavily on the Blue Mountain sheep station’s shearers’ quarters den in Marlborough where she spent holidays as a child with her family.

“It was just kind of paradise for kids. There’s lots of that place in the book.”

She struggled to choose just one example to exemplify rural experience, emphasising it was not only a book about farms or just for farms.

“This is a book about the rural experience across the board – I mean people who go fishing on a wharf, who have been to a wild hot pool, these are people who have a ride-on mower, have a lifestyle block or just drive in the country and see an honesty box.

“It’s not just for people who have experience on farms. It’s for people who have experience in New Zealand – you’re never very far away from rural life in New Zealand.”

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Source: Radio New Zealand

The first stage of the 67km Waimate Trail – Te Ara Waimatemate is nearing completion. It will pass through native forest, limestone rock formations, tussock tops, river flats and valleys.

It’s hoped the shared-use trail will be a world-class visitor experience that celebrates heritage and South Canterbury’s varied and spectacular scenery.

The aim is to open the full trail early next year and sponsors are being sought for an accompanying art project.

Cosmo Kentish-Barnes spoke to the trail’s project manager Jo Sutherland.

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Learn more:

• Find out more about the trail.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

For many rural children, spring means calf club time – a much loved tradition where children raise a young farm animal and show them off for ribbons and prizes.

In the Waikato community of Pāterangi, Janet Macky’s calf club has been going for almost four decades.

The 67-year-old still remembers every child who had joined her club, and many stayed in touch.

She spoke to a photo taken almost 30 years ago.

“This young fella is [now working] on a big, big farm, absolutely awesome with stock, bloody hopeless with machinery. This lady, she is an architect over Tauranga way. She’s a nurse, married and got one child. And it’s really nice when the kids keep in touch, even if they call in out of the blue.”

Macky also remembers her first calf, when she was just five-years-old.

“I had this black woolly calf (crossbred). I called it woolly aphis. I won fifth for leading, which was a white velvet cloth ribbon. Calf chewed the end on it. And I can remember that clear as.”

It’s a common experience for country kids to raise their own calf, but Macky’s club means “townie” children from places like Te Awamutu can also join in.

Staci Wilson was one of them, and she still helps at the farm today. She said before joining the calf club, she had barely stepped foot on a farm.

“When I was a child and had a calf out here, every kid came lived in town, Janet opened it up for the kids at Pātarangi School to be able to have a calf. I moved back to the area as a mum, and we send our kids here because Janet gets them in line and they listen to her.”

“Because imagine trying to do this at home with your kid by themself, after a couple of weeks they get sick of it. But here it’s social, but it’s also they get to work really hard and it’s a bit more of a competition because they sort of look at their mate’s calf and go, Oh s**t, is mine a bit dirtier than theirs?”

The club is free to join, Macky said it’s a “social but serious” activity and it requires children to commit everyday after school and some weekends, for a few months.

The commitment is one that many children are happy to make.

Twelve-year-old Hamish Sexton has been coming to the club for six years.

He said his mother is allergic to animal fur so they cannot have pets, and he’s grateful for the opportunity Macky’s club provided him.

“It gives me responsibility and something else to love and an opportunity to have a pet.”

He’s starting the club by brushing his calf, Phoneix.

“So, I’m just brushing really hard to get all the hair out to come off because when the judges come down here (behind the forearms) and like push up, all the loose hair will come out.”

Staci Wilson’s son Loki Hanley is raising his fourth calf at Janet’s club and he still gets to see some of the bovines he helped raise.

“I’ve always just liked the Herefords and the different types of beef breeds. Last year, I had a calf called Danger Zone. She was a Jersey calf and she got a very bad infected ear. So I had to get a boy Hereford, Janet’s leftover calf. I ended up getting some pretty good ribbons. It’s name was Lasagna.”

At the club, the children learn about every aspect of their animal’s life.

Twelve-year-old Jade Guise told me everything about her calf, Toblerone.

“She was born on the 13th of July, and she is a Friesian Jersey crossbreed. And she drinks 4.5 litres of milk a day with water, grass, and hay. She’s had 5-in-1 vaccine, pour on for worms, and vex for Lepto. She can’t eat the whole avocado tree, rhododendron, and tutu trees.”

After about 40 years running her calf club, Macky is planning to retire and she hopes someone will take up the baton.

She’s loved seeing kids and calves growing up together.

“If a child’s got a little bit of a learning disability, especially those children, to see them grow with their calf it’s amazing. It changes them. The parents and the teachers have noticed the change in them.

“By doing something that they wouldn’t usually have the chance to do, they pick the calf, they name it, they teach it to lead, they groom it, we wash it before the group days. So they get really involved, and at the end when we let them go, there’s tears.”

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand