On Thursday the 18th of September Year 9 and 10 Agriculture class went to Ian and Lisa Hindmarsh’s dairy farm.

Over T3 we have learnt about the Dairy Industry through the Calves Makes Careers Program.

Through this program we have been looking after dairy calves at school.

This would not have been possible without the Hindmarsh families donation of calves.

It has been both very time consuming and rewarding looking after these calves as they have grown.

So with great enthusiam we went to see how the Hindmarsh dairy is run.

We were very lucky to have both Ian and Lisa take us around their farm especially when we found out what little spare time they have.

We got to see the sheer scale of the dairy up close.

We saw how well the cows are looked after and how Ian even has alerts that go straight to his phone if a cow is not chewing the correct amount.

It was interesting to hear about how much the industry has changed since Ian first started.

We learnt how they supply the feed, whats in it and why.

We then got to see how they milk the cows and how much technology plays a part in everything he does.

Lisa discussed common issues with being a dairy farmer, how they deal with these challenges and how make the most of it.

One of the big things that struck with me is the hours they work.

Lisa told us she gets up at 3:20am and does 3 milkings of 4hrs each every day and won’t get to bed till past 11 some nights.

Meeting people so dedicated to their industry and learning how everything works has made me appreciate the MILK I use everyday.

Ian said you can always count on a job, if I need one, with them.