Busy Week - bulls, fertiliser

Lots of different things happened this week.  First priority was all the lease bulls were going home.  We started on Monday, bringing them home and weighing them in mobs, and then trucking them out on Tuesday and Wednesday.

The first up the road were a mob of Angus, and into the yard for weighing.  Probably not the best mob to have in the yards for Fridolin to gain experience on as they were a bit toey.

Angus bulls coming up the road

Knowing where to stand with cattle is important and acting calm.  Loading the race with 3-4 bulls at a time, reading their tag, weighing and recording weights, then letting them out.  The Jersey mob we did in the afternoon were a lot quieter and by the time mobs 3 and 4 came in, there was an established routine.

All these bulls trucked home and will be leased out to dairy farmers.

We also started work on a paddock that had a 'pan' caused by pugging over the years.  In order to improve the soil structure we have applied 2 tonnes lime/ha and have aerated the soil.

First the lime went on

Then the tractor aeratorated the paddock using...

aerator, leaving the paddock like ...

this.

On Wednesday we also managed to get the rest of our spring planned fertiliser.  Earlier we had taken soil test (see earlier blog), and as a result of those tests we have worked out what fertiliser we will apply based on need and financial constraints.  The fertiliser included lime at 1.2 t/ha on our other block.  This was flown on by plane.

And Maxi Super at 250 kg/ha on our home finishing country via tractor.

The rest of the spare time in the week was spent attacking some of the thistles in our finishing paddocks and doing some repairs and maintenance on the fencelines.

Fridolin's first week

We started the week with mustering the dry hoggets.  This task wasn't as easy as first expected due to the number of lambs in the mob.  Luckily though things went our way and we managed to get them all on the road for the trip home.  We had the trailer with us, so for any lamb that was struggling, they were able to get a ride on the trailer.

Dry hoggets on their way home

Some of the stragglers getting captured for a ride the rest of the way

Fidolin has been having a bit of driving practice on the ATV.  At this stage only on flat terrain, going slow and well supervised.  An example was driving the bike home behind the hoggets, towing the trailer of lambs.

Fridolin with the trailer of lambs

Once we had the hoggets home, we took a Faecal sample and did a Faecal Egg Count (FEC), to see if there was a worm burden.  These hoggets were given a LA Cydectin injection on 3rd July.  After 100 days, by giving them an oral drench it cuts of the tail, which is when worms can become resistant.  Our FEC showed 0 epg (eggs per gram) indicating that the drench has worked to date.  We also weighed a sample of the hoggets before we drenched them, so we knew the amount of drench required to cover the heaviest animals.  The average was 45kg, which was a little disappointing, with the range 35 - 58.5 kg.

We then drafted off any hoggets with a lamb and any with dirty bottoms.

Calling for wet and dirty hoggets for drafting

We then docked the lambs.  A full detail of what is done at docking is found under 1st day of docking blog.

Fridolin getting first hand experience at docking

The wet hoggets and lambs were then reunited.  The dry hoggets were taken back to their paddock.  Finally the dirty hoggets were crutched.  We pulled out 7% of our hoggets - which equates to 22.  Of these approximately 16 were classed as daggy.  All 22, rather than be culled, have been transferred to our terminal mob so that we do not keep any of their progeny in the future.

Mal giving the 20 hoggets a bit of a touch up

Other tasks for the week have been shifting all the bull mobs on their rotation.  The spring grass is certainly beginning to kick away now.  We have on and off rain since the 10th - totalling 117.5 mls to date.  Have started on some fence repairs and maintenance (R&M) jobs.

Balsamic Glazed Minute Steaks

Have a try at the recipe below.  This was provided by Beef + Lamb NZ at http://www.recipes.co.nz/default.aspx or visit http://www.beeflambnz.co.nz/ for more information about how to cook beef and lamb, and nutritional information, plus lots more.

You can serve this dish as a plated meal, or if everyone’s glued to the television, turn the recipe into gourmet steak sandwiches which can be eaten on laps.

To make this dish into a steak sandwich, allow the cooked steaks to rest for 5 minutes covered with foil, then place onto crusty bread with a handful of salad leaves, the grilled garlic mushrooms and a good drizzle of balsamic glaze.

Prep time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes

• 3 x thick Quality Mark eye fillet steaks each cut into three 1cm thick ‘minute’ steaks (see Cook’s Tip)
• 4-8 field mushrooms – depending on their size, allow 1-2 per person
• ¼ cup olive oil
• 2 big cloves garlic
• Salt and pepper

Crush the garlic cloves and stir them into the oil. Brush the steaks and the mushrooms with the garlicky oil. Then season the steaks lightly with a little salt and pepper.

Place the mushrooms under the grill and cook until tender. While the mushrooms are cooking, heat a frying pan or grill plate until smoking hot.

Add the steaks and reduce the heat to medium. Cook them for 2 minutes, turning once halfway through the cooking time.

Great as a sandwich, or with creamy mash, or risotto and salad. Top with the cooked mushrooms and drizzle with balsamic glaze.

• ½ cup balsamic vinegar
• 1 firmly packed Tbsp brown sugar

Combine the vinegar and brown sugar in a small saucepan and simmer gently for around 5 minutes until slightly thickened. The glaze will become more syrupy as it cools.

Balsamic glaze can be stored in the fridge for several weeks.

• The balsamic glaze is easy and quick to make and really packs a flavour punch teamed with garlicky mushrooms - great lap food for a hungry croud.
• Even with a big crew to feed, you don't have to sacrifice quality for quantity. Eye fillet is the leanest and most tender cut of beef, lending itself to quick cooking, but it's also the most expensive... Minute steaks are a great way to enjoy this luxury cut while making it go just a little further. By cutting each steak into three 1cm thick minute steaks, you get around 1.5 serves from an average 3cm thick steak, so three steaks will easily serve four people.

This recipe is courtesy of Sophie Gray, Destitute Gourmet.
http://www.destitutegourmet.com/

RWC Fan Zone - Auckland

Yesterday we took a day off and headed to Auckland to see the Rugby World Cup Fan Zone, and show Fridolin some of the sights.  It was our first visit to the fan zone, and we managed to fill in all our day walking around.

We started off near the football and 'the cloud'.  With queue waiting time 2 hours to get into the ball, we decided we would take photos of it and investigate the other areas of the area.

Fridolin in front of the big rugby ball

'The Cloud'

We also saw the 'Spirit of New Zealand' coming back into port, with the canon going off which gave everyone in a small radius a bit of a fright. 

The Spirit of New Zealand

We then wandered down the wharf and looked through tents with Maori carvings and weaving, before entering 'The Waka'.  Inside there was a Maori Culture show and a static display of the NZ Maori Rugby Team. 

Maori Culture Show inside the Waka

Fridolin meeting some of the locals!

After a lunch stop and catch up with family, we all headed across the new bridge, down the more recently developed wharf area with new restaurants, event centre and children's play area.  We checked out the flash boats, the playground, back across the bridge and around to the 'Backing Black' shed.

Pins highlighting where everyone who has visited, where they are from

A Flock of Sheep

The Travelling Toilet Humour

 By the time we were set to leave, the crowd had swelled, with many of the bars bursting at the seams.  There were French and Welsh supporters decked out in their gear, ready for the big game last night.  There certainly was an atmosphere at the Viaduct and Fan Zone area. 

If you haven't been, and are able, it is well worth the visit before the World Cup finishes.

Fridolin comes to stay

Yesterday, Alice and I headed to Auckland Airport to pick up Fridolin, who had spent the last 25 hours travelling from Munich to be here. 

Fridolin is studying Bachelor of Agriculture at the Technical University of Munich (http://www.wzw.tum.de/ or http://www.agrar.wzw.tum.de/).  Fridolin on his return to Munich will do his Bachelor Thesis - pasture productivity based on varying sward height (40 year old traditional grassland, new pastures based on ryegrass/white clover).

Last year we hosted Michael and Veronika from the same university, and we encouraged them to put our name up at the intern office so that we could host other 'interns' http://www.wzw.tum.de/paw/pawv2/PraktikantenDatenbank/Sourcecode/document_root/internship/enquiry-manager/show/id/4170

Yesterday was a fairly wet day, and the scenery home was fairly misty.  We had 1 1/2 hour trip home from the airport, home in time for lunch and meet the rest of the family - Mal, Sarah and Rachael.  After lunch Mal and Fridolin went out to shift some mobs of bulls and look at some of the scenery.

Fridolin togged up after his bike ride.  The gear was mainly to keep the rain off as our days have been relatively mild.  Between the 10th - 13th October we have had 78 mls - rain that we needed.

Fridolin will be with us through to the end of January, so hopefully we can keep you posted of his activities while he is will us. 

We enjoy have foreigners and students to visit us and sharing our knowledge of farming.  Both of us have travelled and enjoy the interaction and knowledge that we share, as well as a great opportunity for the children to learn new languages.  At 3 Alice could count to 10 in French and say please and thank you, so hopefully in 4 months, she will have a basic grasp of German!

Today was a quiet day for all.  Shifting of a few mobs of bulls, a horse riding lesson and catching up on other jobs, and for Fridolin catching up on sleep!

Discussion Group

On Wednesday my discussion group meet a again ... this time in the heart of the King Country, south of Te Kuiti.  The groups theme for the day was talking about what top performing farmers do on their farm, some of the possible benchmarking that the group could do.

Smaller group today as jobs such as docking and sowing maize took them away, but discussion was still pretty full and frank.  As we worked through what top farmers were doing it created a lot of questions such as how was that benchmarked, what were the key drivers, factors that might impact on a result etc.

One of the issues the group has been grappling with is what to benchmark and how.  Resolution to our meeting was that we are going to measure different topics on-farm and compare the group along with best practice information.  An example of this is ewe hogget mating.  The group has come up with their own monitoring topics and questions, now the commitment to deliver this information.

Part of the on-farm session is to see aspects of the farm we visit.  Wednesday we were rewarded with a beautiful day and good views for the top of the farm.  This particular farm is looking at development, and the group looked at what could be done, the planning process required and some timeframes and resources around to make it happen.

The group nearly at the top of hill ... stopped for a chat.

Playgroup

We have been busy with Playgroup in the last few weeks.  Alice belongs to Naike Playgroup which is held at the old school. 

On 24th September we had our annual 'Lamb Day'.  On this day, all the children bring their pet lambs.  They lead them around a ring and over a small obstacle course, then receive a ribbon and lollipop.  The local community is encouraged to attend with all generations mixing and mingling. 

The playgroup parents put on sausage sizzle and drinks, plus have a large raffle table, fathers cakes for auction, guess the number of jelly beans and the weight of the lamb. 

We had an excellent day, weather and crowd wise.

Then on Thursday 29th, playgroup went to the Huntly Firestation and were looked after by fireman Jason.  They treated the kids to seeing what gear the fireman get to wear (and a mum even got to try it out).  The kids then got help with the fire hose.  This lead to the yard being filled with white foam, which took the kids interest and soon shoes were off and foam everywhere. 

Then we got to have a ride in the fire engine.  Alice and I got to sit in the front seat and Alice was able to turn the siren on and beep the horn.

Alice and a few of the other children do kindy by correspondence and two of the teachers came and joined us at the firestation briefly for a catchup.  Alice's teacher, Heather was there for a catchup.

Afterwards the kids all enjoyed nuggets and chips at the Huntly Lake.

BVD - Dairy Lease Bulls

Yesterday was a warm damp day, and was also the day that all the lease bulls (n=141) were getting vaccinated for Bovine Diarrhoea Virus (BVD).  The older bulls on the property are all being used as lease bulls into the Dairy industry and will make their way out to dairy herds early in November.

The actual vaccination process was quick with a quick jab into the muscle in the hind quarters and out the gate at the other end.  The longest part was mustering the 4 different mobs and keeping them apart. 

We used Bovilis, with the bulls getting 2mls each.