Q When did you get home?
On September 25. The rest of the team came back on September 7 but I stayed on for a bit longer to do the touristy stuff and do some farm tours to see what dairying is like over there. I visited the Netherlands, Demark and the United Kingdom.
Q You competed against nearly 200 young breeders in animal preparation techniques in Belgium. How did you go?
I placed third in my breeders class and sixth in my handlers class.
Q Your reaction to your result?
I was very happy — it’s a great competition, attracting some of the best young breeders from across the world. I was really proud to be a part of the New Zealand team and we all worked together really well.
Q Was the vibe of the event the same as an A&P show?
Yeah, quite similar but a bit more intense due to there being 200 of us, all with a heifer each. It felt like a small fieldays.
Q How challenging was it showing a heifer from another country?
Before showing an animal at home, I have got used to her and she’s got used to me during months of training. In Belgium, the challenge was getting an animal fitted to you within a few days. We were lucky all the heifers had a quiet nature and none of them were too rowdy. A lot of patience and dedication goes in to quietening a heifer.
Q Were there any hairy moments with the heifers?
Not in the New Zealand team, thankfully, but a heifer getting off the lead is part of it and we’ve all had it happen to us. Even though we came from all across the world and some of us didn’t speak the same language, we all pitched in to help to catch a heifer. We were all there for the same purpose and knew what we needed to do — the camaraderie was quite cool.
Q How is your stud, Maylea Holsteins, going on your family farm in Wyndham?
It’s going well. It is my true passion. We are having a good spring and calving produced more heifers.
Q Did you get any flooding last month?
Yeah, unfortunately our farm got wiped out a bit. The Mataura River boundaries our farm, so we lost quite a few paddocks and a few fences got taken away and washed down to Bluff no doubt. I was there fixing fences last week.
Q Would you recommend other young breeders to target representing New Zealand at the school?
Absolutely — it is an experience of a lifetime. All of our team learnt something different. It is a fantastic experience for developing your skillset and for networking and meeting people, who could be your future employer. Who knows?
Q Do you think you will work overseas?
People did offer me jobs over there and it was extremely tempting but I like my farm, my cows and my life in Southland too much.
