Brad Markham: Farm Life In Taradise continued

Brad Markham with the milking herd. Photo / Supplied

The farm's been rattled by earthquakes, buffeted by ferocious winds and battered by horizontal rain this month.

We felt the monster earthquake which caused carnage in Kaikoura. It jolted us awake in the middle of the night.

The following night howling winds partially lifted the roof on one of the hay barns and snapped off countless tree limbs.

Several days later we had to fire up the generator for the first time when the power went out during milking.

I've been using rare periods of fine weather to spray willow weed and thistles while they're still small. The weather doesn't appear to have affected mating. We're heading into our seventh week of AB. We're now using short gestation semen, which helps condense calving.

The second lot of turnips was sown last week, giving us a total of 9.5 hectares to feed during the summer and early autumn.

There's also 6.5 hectares of fodder beet, which we're growing for the first time to use over the winter.

We pre-mowed in front of the herd for a few weeks to help maintain pasture quality and allow the daughter tillers to thrive.

A surplus of 10 hectares of pasture was cut for silage.

It's been a busy month off the farm.

The first of the district contests for the FMG Young Farmer of the Year was hosted by Central Taranaki Young Farmers at Toko.

Contestants had to drive a digger, measure pasture, set up a shearing handpiece, do a budget and identify weeds.

It was interesting chatting with many of them. Some had travelled from Taihape and Marton to take part.

Michael McCombs and Blair Briscoe, who're both dairy farmers, secured spots in the regional final in Hawera.

I can't wait to cheer on members of our club when they take part in the next district contest and skills day in Okato.

I've almost finished the Human Resource Planning and Management module for the NZ Diploma in Agribusiness Management, which I'm studying through PrimaryITO. My tutor's love of templates has rubbed off on me. I made quite a few as part of my first assignment. They're re-useable and make the process of collecting information in the recruitment process simple.

Over the past month I've written a job ad for a relief milker, interviewed several candidates and chosen the successful applicant. He's already done his first milkings.

What I learnt in class has given me confidence in an area I previously hadn't had much experience in.

In my former profession - journalism - the HR requirements of our newsroom were handled by an entire department of specialists.

We're looking forward to heading north this week to meet the entrants in the 2017 Auckland/Hauraki Dairy Industry Awards. It's hard to believe 12 months has passed since we entered the awards.

The entrants will now begin the rewarding process of working on their goals and presentations ahead of judging starting in January.

Brad Markham left his high-flying journalism career in Australia for a new life on a dairy farm in Aotearoa. Now, he's the 2016 NZDIA Share Farmer of the Year for Auckland/Hauraki and a rising social media star.

You can find Brad on Twitter here