Clare Webb
2018
My scholarship trip was an experience of a lifetime!
I am a shy person and putting myself out there would have to have been one of the most daunting things I’ve ever done. I have gained friendships that will last a lifetime and memories to fondly look back on.
As a farmer, this experience opened my eyes from growing a potato to finding alternative ways to feed cattle. I have seen new technologies such as a fully automated dairy and ways to produce green energy.
I landed in Edinburgh on the 20th of June.
My first placement was at Raecruick. The farm produces potatoes, carrots and turnips, cattle and lambs. I was involved in feeding stock, weed control, irrigation and mustering.
Along with grain the cattle are also fed vegetable rejects from a nearby factory. Feeding this to cattle never occurred to me and is certainly something that could be considered during drought to fill the bellies of hungry cattle.
Supermarkets would have a large amount of wasted food products that could be beneficial to the survival of cattle and business during drought.
Wind turbines are everywhere in Scotland, farmers invest in turbines and sell the power generated to the grid or to power their own houses and farms.
Little did I know that this was the beginning of a developing interest in green energy to provide power to farms and looking for alternative ways to feed livestock.
I waved goodbye to Scotland and ventured to York where I visited several farms that really did shed a new light on each part of agriculture they were involved in.
A dairy farm with 250 head of cross bred cows focused on the longevity and strength of the cow and not just get the most milk from the cow. These targets were later supported at a dairy seminar I attended at the UK Dairy Day.
A hemp farm I visited, Hornington Manor, grew the crop then sent it straight to a local mattress company. The visit really opened another avenue I can take with me and utilise in the future as another alternative to farming. Hemp is becoming ever so popular as a fibre due to its durability and minimal fuss when growing the crop.
Another farm I visited was an organic farm that had self-replacing herds of cattle and sheep. I haven’t had much experience with organic farming so it was great to be involved in their farm for a day and asking the farmer questions that involve organic farming and the profits. Organic meat is sold at a higher price and a lot more care and work is required to meet these standards. It was very interesting and some methods used at their farm I can take away and apply elsewhere.
A recently built farm in Oxfordshire houses the calves from Tuberculosis positive farms. The calves were kept to raise in a strict quarantine area. They did not suffer from the disease but extra care must be taken in case they have the potential to spread it. This farm had a strict routine of feeding and monitoring growth. Some of these technologies included an automatic calf feeder that will provide powdered milk to a calf when it starts suckling on the machine. This machine then shows on the screen who has suckled today and who hasn’t. This farm, I believe, is steps ahead of others when it comes to monitoring cattle and maintaining high welfare standards. This farm also used alternative feeding methods. Unwanted bread from supermarkets is used in the feed ration as a filler.
Where will I go now…
Whilst in the UK I came to realise the areas I am truly interested in. I feel really passionate about green energy and how farms have the potential to be at the fore-front of leading technology and setting an example.
Hornington Manor had an incinerator that burnt hemp dust and to heat a boiler that heated the large farm house and wedding venue.
Other power alternatives are biodigesters that are dotted around the country supplying power to the grid along with wind farms, solar panels and incinerators.
At the UK Dairy Day I attended in Telford I had a discussion with a company called Biolectric where they built digesters on farms that are capable of supporting the farm with green energy.
Agriculture can have a heavy impact on the environment when not managed properly, and there are ways and new technologies that can minimise this impact to the climate and still make a profit from the farm.
I am keen to keep on investigating this in Australia and finding alternative methods when it comes to sourcing power and reducing waste.
Thank you, BBM, for providing me the chance to travel overseas and immerse myself in latest technologies and farm practices.
Thank Tocal Deputy Principal James Hooke for pulling me aside and encouraging me to apply for this scholarship and other Tocal staff who gave me ideas.
Thank you to my cousins in York for allowing me to base myself at their farm and letting me become a part of their farming life for a month.
Thank you all to those farmers involved in making this trip possible.