American veterinarian Paul Busman recently returned home to Grand Rapids, Michigan after his third summer working in New Zealand.
He says leaving his wife Denise, a clinical nurse, and son and daughter at home isn't easy - but he likes working in New Zealand, especially as it is 'freezing' at home.
Mr Busman is one if six partners in a veterinarian practice, but says business slows in winter so he can afford to take time away.
Plus his speciality is dairy cattle, so he enjoys coming here to see how we do business.
Mr Busman worked for VetEnt in 2005 and for Vetora in 2011 and this summer.
He says the farming techniques might be different, but the cattle are basically the same.
In his part of America about 85 per cent of the herd is pregnant at any given time.
Calving takes place year round - carefully scheduled to maintain production.
And cows spend a huge amount of time in pens - following a system: dry cows, pregnant cows, calving cows, milking cows...
Mr Busman says it is basically a factory, shifts of workers feed and milk the herd - up to three times per day in some cases.
He says it is the economics in America that has seen a shift from farming as a lifestyle to farming as a business.
"It costs about $10 million to start an economic dairy farm in the US," he says.
"You need to be milking between 1000-2000 cows."
He says the growing season is about half the year, so cropping is huge to grow enough food for a full year.
The cows are indoors for five months over winter - standing in a stall.
Mr Busman loves the Kiwi system, which he says can still provide a lifestyle and an income for a family.
"And the cows get to live outdoors and graze."
He is the fourth generation of a farming family - his great-grandfather came to America and was the first to farm the new land.
The family maintains a lifestyle block with 12 milking cows, half-a-dozen heifers, two teams of draught horses and 400 chickens.
He has been a vet since 1983 and says the practices are also quite different in the two countries.
"We are mostly a service industry," he says.
"We look after our client's stock and run a clinic, but we aren't as involved in the retail side of the business as New Zealand practices are."
But he hopes the visits mean he can bring something to New zealand, as well as take something to America.
"I'm out of my comfort zone here, but that's a good thing," he says.
And he loves it around Te Awamutu.
"It is so uncrowded, there's so much space in and around the town and villages and everyone is so civil."
"I hope I get another call when the clinic is busy and I get to come back again."