51AVÊÓƵ

Ag in my Land is an online series looking at farming across the globe. This month Emily Ashworth finds out how one young farmer from Yorkshire has carved out a new life for herself on a dairy farm in New Zealand.

A passing comment made to a friend was all it took to change the course of Megan ThomasÂ’ life.

In 2018, the 26-year-old young farmer, who is originally from Cowling, West Yorkshire, found herself ‘in a bit of a rut’ and, after telling someone she was considering a trip to New Zealand, their advice was to ‘do it and if you don’t like it, you can always come home’.

And that was the beginning of a whole new chapter for Megan.

Growing up on a smallholding – or a lifestyle block as they call it in New Zealand – she had studied Agriculture at Bishop Burton College and went on to work in agricultural sales. But she has always had an interest in travelling and since arriving Megan has really found her feet.

She says: “I would regularly milk cows on weekends and lamb sheep in spring. I was also part of my local Young Farmers and Yorkshire Holstein Young Breeders.

“But I wanted to look at the differences in the dairy industries around the world – specifically breeding and showing cattle. I have only got as far as New Zealand but in my time here I have worked on five farms progressing from farm assistant up to herd manager. In 2019, I purchased my first pedigree Jersey, Glenalla Apple Maggie. I have had her in the showring as well as exhibiting for other pedigree breeders on the New Zealand show circuit.”

Living in New Zealand

Megan currently lives in Kaiwera in Southland, New Zealand’s southernmost region. It is, she says, ideal, being nicely tucked in the ‘middle of nowhere’ yet just 15 minutes from Gore, the nearest town.

“There are the views of the hills and there is very little pollution, so you get a good view of the stars in the evenings,” she says.

“This winter is the first time I have seen snow in five years.

“My favourite place is the view out to Mount Hutt as you look across the Canterbury Flats – I would definitely choose mountains over beaches any day of the week.”

But to up sticks and move to the other side of the world was a huge move for Megan, and originally only meant to be for six months. But upon making the decision, she took to social media.

She says: “I took to Facebook emailed a few New Zealand Holstein breeders and later found a job via a Semex representative whose clients were looking for a farm assistant. I took the job, booked the flights and then told my parents, to which they said ‘what, for a holiday’?

“I flew out in August 2018 to work on an all-year-round pedigree Holstein herd with a free stall barn set-up and 36-bay rotary milking machine in Timaru, South Canterbury – big steps for someone who had never flown before, or had hardly left Yorkshire. I loved it, so I decided to stay. I have spent four years working on dairy farms in both the North and South Island, but I would say the South Island is better – to the point I call it home.”

On her current farm, Nithdale Station, she is herd manager, helping to run the dairy unit across their 1,600 hectares.

Difference to UK farming

The station also runs beef and sheep, both of which are run by other members of the team.

They aim to peak at milking around 850 Friesian cross Jersey cows, calving around 600 cows and 250 heifers, with the heifers starting in early August and the cows 10 days later.

“The dairy farming season in New Zealand is June 1 to May 31 the following year, with most herds seasonal calving from round July,” says Megan.

“Around 80 of the heifers are selected to be artificially inseminated (AI) and the others run with Jersey bulls.

The cows have 4.5 weeks of AI, then run with Hereford bulls for a further 5.5 weeks.

“This year at peak we calved around 450 animals in 17 days. We aim to keep 250 or more replacement heifers and 100 Hereford calves which are weaned at around 85kg and are moved to the sheep and beef station.”

The replacements come back to the dairy station when they reach two years old and go into the winter crop rotation. Pre-calving winter grazing is a combination of mobs on either kale, swedes, or self-feed silage, with cows closer to calving transitioning on to silage and wholecrop with added minerals on a feed pad.

Using a 54-point Deleval Rotary parlour, the cows are split into herds and all milk is sold to a processor, Fonterra.

“We sell on dollar per milk solid compared to price per litre and our stock is mostly sold direct to the slaughterhouse,” says Megan.

“It is great to see the different systems used across the globe and how some things I have learned here could be used back home or how UK systems could benefit New Zealand agriculture.

Charity in farming

“It is still surprising how behind the times New Zealand is compared to UK. Here you have more opportunity to progress up the ladder quicker in the dairy industry. There are not as many family-run farms like in the UK, with people changing farms every couple of seasons in order to progress up the ladder to herd or farm ownership.

“I have also found, due to the turnover of people moving farms, the herds can be pretty average cows that do not always have the longevity or breeding behind them like the family run farms.”

But since embarking on her travels, aside from rapidly enhancing her career, Megan has found herself involved with a charity called Meat the Need, an organisation whereby farmers help to feed those who do not have enough food.

“Nobody should go hungry here in New Zealand,” she says.

“[People] should have easy access to the delicious protein we produce. Farmers donate livestock through the stock agent Silver Fern Farms and it is processed into prime beef mince packs and distributed to more than 100 food banks.

“As well as Meat the Need we are also part of Feed Out, which provides milk. This started out with dairy processor Miraka donating milk to be processed into single serve UHT cartons and are supplied to food banks across the Waikato district.

“Earlier this year we joined forces with processor Fonterra who are going to supply milk powder and will again be distributed to food banks across New Zealand with the first target being a million litres. Farmers can donate through any of these processors.

“My role as a champion is to promote the work of Meat the Need, talk with farmers and visit food banks in our areas. The champion programme started in February and with up to 25 champions across the country, we are changing people’s perceptions around who uses a food bank – especially with the cost of living rising, more people are walking through the doors to seek help.

“I was shocked at how blind sighted farmers are - that it is only people on benefits use a food bank. But more and more everyday people such as the mechanic that fixes your tractor or the teacher who teaches your kids are the people that benefit.

“The stories you hear honestly bring a tear to your eyes. It is such a rewarding role and I am proud to be a champion for such an amazing charity.” Ìý

She is also passionate about mental health and having lived through the pandemic – in an extremely remote part of the globe and a world away from her family – it highlighted just how important looking after yourself is, especially when there is a high turnover of staff in New Zealand.

“I have struggled with my mental health for the last couple of years after getting into a bad run of employers that ruined my confidence in myself and in the dairy industry. Last year was the worst to date,” she says.

“Since documenting my struggles [with employers] the people that have come forward to share stories of how their employer has destroyed their mental health is honestly shocking and why so many great people leave the industry.

“The dairy industry struggled to obtain staff when Covid-19 hit. It put a huge strain on an already struggling sector – plus immigration changed the rules every five minutes, making it harder to obtain overseas staff to fill the roles available.

“I am lucky to have landed back on my feet again with great employers who support my career progression while helping me gain the confidence I lost, but a vital lesson I have learned is that communication plays a vital part to the everyday running of things, and this is something we are working on as a team – to be better communicators and independent thinkers.”

Despite her struggles, Megan is determined to make a life for herself in New Zealand and her choice to take a chance on travelling was certainly the right one.

And the views, the farm and the people are all part of that.

She says: “My plan is to gain residency, so I have more flexibility and freedom when it comes to furthering my career in the industry. It can lead to herd ownership which includes increasing my pedigree dairy herd under the Cinderhill prefix.

“But if you are thinking of travelling, just do it. You will make so many great connections and get to explore the world, gain experience and create ideas which could future-proof your farm or career.

“Like a college tutor once said, if you only stay in one place you will only ever be as good as that place.”