Donate to the rescue helicopter

On the farm, dry weather and the meat works are frustrating Suzie Corboy. But she has been kept busy in her second job as an ambulance officer.

Mid April 2021. It’s dry but  nearly all the lambs are gone. Wish the same could be said about cattle. Frustrated by the meat company. Very sick or seriously injured people. Visitors arriving. I think this summarises my column in 27 words, but as this is not going to fill the page probably set aside for my ramblings I had better expand on this summary.

The farm is a green dry, but the rocky ridges are browned off. In this area if it doesn’t rain for 10 days we start to say it is getting dry, but in reality our dry is nothing compared to other areas.

The main problem is we are stocked for a moist summer/autumn, whereas areas that expect to be dry are normally de-stocked.

Thankfully we are down to the last 60 works lambs, but unfortunately the same cannot be said for cattle. I dread to have a proper count up, but there are over 120 cattle ready and waiting to be killed. Our meat company promises the earth at the annual farm meeting, but is not delivering when it comes to reality, and this is getting me very worked up. It doesn’t happen often, but Paul will tell you that an angry, small, Scottish female is not a good person to have an argument with. Her bark and bite are much worse than is expected when first sighted.

Our cattle have grown very well, and if all had gone to plan most of the once-mated heifers could have been killed at weaning in March and April, with some good calves weaned for breeding and finishing next season.We buy our replacement heifers as weaned calves, about half privately and the rest at the local calf sales. There have been good quality calves for sale. We prefer to buy calves in the heavier weight range, as we have our own heifer calves to grow out for mating in December, and they are generally lighter, being October born and all from heifers. If the bought-in calves are 50kg heavier than ours then this eases the pressure getting everything up to mating weight.

Paul will tell you that an angry, small, Scottish female is not a good person to have an argument with.

We shore all the ewes and ewe lambs in the past month and I have paid the not insignificant bill. Not that I begrudge the shearers, they did a great job, and it is one I am never going to do myself to save a few dollars. We are waiting for a price quote for the wool to see if the wool sales will cover the shearing cost. We have heard of local farmers with hundreds of bales in storage, but we have chosen to keep selling as we don’t know when prices will improve, and wool does deteriorate in storage.

My other job as an ambulance officer working at Balclutha has been busy recently. Every officer has attended a number of serious incidents, including cardiac arrests, serious medical events and serious motor vehicle accidents. With our area being rural, and having a transport time regularly over 60 minutes, we are often very relieved to hear the thump thump of the rescue helicopter arriving with extra skilled people to help us and transport the patient to medical care rapidly. I encourage everyone to donate to their local rescue helicopter trust as you never know
when it is going to be you or your family who need the help.

On a brighter note, a few of Paul’s friends and partners from his Lincoln College days are arriving at our house tomorrow for a few days together in the Catlins. They have been having these annual catch ups for a few years, and locations have included Great Barrier Island, Northland, Chathams, Stewart Island and they have walked the Routeburn together. Hopefully none need my ambulance colleagues or my skills on the tramping, kayaking and exploring planned this week.