Trinity is an employment agency with two recruitment divisions, one agriculturally focused and a general recruitment team covering all sorts of other industries. However, the dairy industry – which is the focus of our agricultural recruitment team - plays a huge part on who we are as a brand and, therefore, having some knowledge of it would be beneficial for marketing purposes. So, after a little over 6 months working for Trinity, I felt the need to visit a local dairy farm and learn a bit more of their routine, processes, and different roles played by their staff members.
Our Immigration Administrator Nicole has kindly offered me to spend a few hours on her family’s farm in Dunsandel, so I could be on a NZ Dairy Farm for the first time! Upon arrival, Nicole lent me a pair of overalls and gumboots so I could be better dressed for the occasion. I’m very glad she did it as it started raining at some point and my towny boots would have been covered in mud.
I was first taken to where the calves are. From August to October, it’s calving season in the country, so there were lots of calves just a few days old in the calf shed and they were the cutest thing. They were being fed with milk and looked happy and healthy. Alice, their Calf Rearer, told me a bit of what her job was and although I wanted to become a Calf Rearer myself (due to the incredible amount of daily cuteness), I’d need to study and understand animal health among many other things. But I got to cuddle some of the calves, so I was very happy.
We then made our way to the main farm shed but, right before we got in, the Farm Manager announced that a cow was calving at that very moment! We immediately made our way to see the calf being born, obviously respecting the distance for a comfortable delivery. For a few minutes it was a bit hard to watch because we could clearly see the contractions, but the calf didn’t just pop out. The Farm Manager explained that they would be able to intervene if they realised something was wrong, but that would be a rare event and would only be considered if the labour lasted over 4 hours. When the little calf was born, it took only short of 20 minutes to be on its feet and feeding from its mother! What an amazing experience.
We finally made our way to the main shed where the milking is done. It wasn’t time for one of the two daily milking routines, but I got to see the Rotary system where the cows are milked and was explained how it works. It looked like a very stress-free process for the cows, as they only spend 7 minutes on the platform being milked (once or twice a day depending on the season) and the remaining of their day is spent outside on the grass. I also saw the milk vats and understood a little bit of the process to get the milk from the farm to the supermarkets.
To finish off my dairy farm experience, I got to drive the tractor that is used to tow the feed mixer wagon which distributes cows' feed when necessary. Despite my nervousness driving a tractor for the first time, I had a great time. I also learned that the dairy staff uses motorcycles for quickly moving around the farm.
Overall, it was a great couple of hours, full of learnings, new experiences, and lots of calf cuddles! I am very thankful to have had this opportunity as it brought to me a very sweet vision of New Zealand Dairy Farms where the animals are treated fairly and respectfully. Also, as I mentioned before, it was raining and very cold for a while and this was great in a way because dairy workers need to be outdoors in all weather conditions, so it just made the experience more ‘real’ I think.
As Trinity’s Marketing Manager, I also took the opportunity to take a hundred photos and short videos to be used on our social media and other materials. I’ve already made a nice reel on our Instagram and a few more are on the pipeline. Make sure you follow us to check them out! Thank you Nicole and Trinity Team for the amazing and unforgettable opportunity! I’ll definitely be back to a dairy farm soon!
- Bruna Tardetti – Trinity’s Marketing Manager
