Day 6: May 28

Day 6: May 28

Last night was the first time we had free access to wifi at our hotel, it was heavenly! O, The things we take for granted! It also had a heated mattress pad! I'm so glad we get to stay there another night :) This morning we visited the Wagga Wagga Livestock Marketing Centre, aka salebarn. Today was a cattle sale day and 2800 head will be auctioned off. The trucks in Australia are rather small, I found a Volkswagen truck for ya dad! It's even a TDI tehehe

We then got all gussied up and toured through the Cargill Beef abattoir, equipped with ear plugs, hard hats, masks, safety glasses, and rubber boots. The boning room was very advanced and very Americanized. There were four different lines running and each line dealt with a quarter of the carcass. It was one of the biggest disassembly lines I've ever seen lol We learned how nearly no part of the animal is wasted and got to see tongue, stomach, kidneys, and
ligaments just to name a few. They plant harvests 1250 calves a day and the kill to chill time is just 25 minutes.

After lunch we had a bit of time to enjoy the small town atmosphere and go shopping in Temora.

We went to the Jindalee feedlot later in the afternoon. The feedlot houses 17000 cattle. They can have a capacity of 30,000 cattle however due to city water limitations they cannot have any more cattle. Im still trying to spot some Roos, I need ol Ritchie to turn off the roo whistle on the front of the bus! Haha

Pictures:
1.Cargill
2.VW truck :)
3.Wagga Wagga sale yard

Until tomorrow mates!

Day 5: May 27

Day 5: May 27

Started out the morning by visiting Trigger Vale Sheep Stud farm. They raise Polled Merinos and White Suffolks. Andy Bouffler, owner of the farm, was very passionate about genetics, measuring traits, and making improvements for the breed. He was very knowledgeable and talked about the correlation between fat and muscle of ewes and reproduction percentage. Many traditional Merino breeders care solely about wool and consequently give up reproductive rate. Since growing wool and raising a lamb is nutritionally stressful on the ewe, she may give up the lamb to meet her own requirements.

The afternoon was super interesting with a visit to an emu farm! They were some pretty interesting little critters. Haha it is mating season for the emus so they were being very aggressive toward one another trying to hold their territory. When they fight, they jump and use their legs to beat up the other birds. When a bird is harvested ten kilos of emu oil can be gathered. A kilo of emu oil is worth $A 50, making each bird worth $A500.

We enjoyed a Barbie ( BBQ ) on the emu farm for lunch and took in the amazing view from the hillside.

The evening was enjoyed at Sprys Shorthorns. We were able to see some of their superior stud bulls, I really like the roan calves :) We enjoyed our 3rd steak meal in two days for dinner. The hospitality here is superior.

Photos
1. Sprys Shorthorns
2. EMUs!!
3. Sprys Shorthorns
4. Having fun :)
5. Trigger Vale sheep

Until tomorrow mates!!

Day 4: May 26

Day 4: May 26

The hotel we stayed in last night looked a bit sketch when we pulled up. The rooms were surprisingly nice on the inside however and the bed was even equipped with a heated blanket! (I never imagined I would be so happy about a heated blanket in later May) Started off the morning by visiting Lawson Angus. It was a bit chilly looking at the bulls as there was a heavy mist in the air and the sun was still in hiding. Lawson Angus has worked in partnership with Gardiner Angus Ranch in Kansas which I found very neat.

Lunch was enjoyed in Bonnie Doon, at a very cozy restaurant that was equipped with a fire place that we greatly enjoyed. Walking out of the restaurant we had pleasant surprise, the sun was shining :)

Our afternoon was filled with a visit to Lima Park. We learned about his commercial Hereford herd and crossbred lambs. It was very interesting to learn about the sheep as we aren't as familiar with them. He said the greatest predator of his lambs were crows and foxes. I found this very intriguing. The crows attack the lambs and eat on their eyes, noses, and rectum then the fox cleans them off. Those dirty rotten birds!

We continued our journey northward, crossed the Murray River, and are now in New South Wales in the town of Albury.

Pictures:
1. Lima Park Hereford Bull
2. Lawson Angus
3. Sunshine!

Until tomorrow mates!

Day 3: May 25

Day 3: May 25

So much for the beautiful Australian weather, today it is chilly and raining a sweet hickory. We started off the day with a tour of the Brooklyn Abattoir, owned by JBS. The abattoir harvests 5000 sheep and 1200 cattle a day. It was utterly amazing walking through the kill floor and and the boning rooms. It was very fascinating seeing how well the system and assembly line worked as it takes only thirty minutes from when a calf is stunned to when it heads to the chill room.

On the bus radio the DJ said that 100 millimeters of rain is expected with this rain storm. The average for May in Victoria is only 50 millimeters so some people are talking that it may flood.

The moment I had been waiting for happened today!!! I spotted my first kangaroo on the side of the road! Woop Woop!

Kudos to Ritchie our awesome bus driver for his good work diving our tour bus down narrow, windy, hilly, wet roads :)

The ausies at Webb Black Simmental were some very friendly, genuine people. I enjoyed getting to learn about how their farm is trying to integrate more black Simmental into Australian beef. The Australian beef industry hasn't caught on to black simmentals and their hope is that Australia will follow the pattern the United States has set.

Pictures:
1.Webb Black Simmental (Maryann,Ali, Lauren, Elli)
2.Brooklyn Abattoir
3.Cattle at Webb Black Simmental


Until tomorrow mates!!

Day 1: may 23

Day 1: May 23

What a day it has been!! Started the day off with breakfast on the airplane about 5:30 a.m. Australian time, 2:30 pm ks time. I was able to get quite a bit of sleep on the plane which was a blessings since we were in flight for 15ish hours. Once arriving in Australia we were pleasantly met by our checked luggage and waited in line for customs. It would have been much easier if I didn't live on a farm. O well, they didn't deport me abut along with a few others i got a visit from a cute beagle sniffer outer dog :)

Upon leaving the airport, we met up with our tour guide and began our adventure. First stop, McDonald's!! I think I have had numerous mini heart attacks while in our tour bus as cars cars drive on the opposite side of the road here. Keep left signs are definitely new for a kansas girl. The scenery is absolutely beautiful here with mountains, autumn leaves, green pastures and blue skies. There are also a lot of vineyards and wineries.

Healesville sanctuary was a very neat experience. Got to be close and personal with a kangaroo and a koala ( not koala bear as it offends them haha, they aren't bears because they are marsupials.) A few of the other fascinating animals were the dingo, platypus, and Tasmanian devil. Be proud, I even walked through the snake exhibit that housed Australia's top ten deadliest snakes!

Tonight's dinner was adventurous calamari and veal!

Until tomorrow mates!!

Day 2: May 24

Day 2: May 24

Another beautiful day in Australia. Started off the day by learned about the national livestock identification system. Tony Britt, director of animal health and welfare, informed us about the mandatory ID system for cattle. I found the presentation very informative and the system is very facing ting. Each calf is required by law to be tagged with the eID tag. Each transport of the calf requires a scan and is reported to a state database. They instituted this system about ten years ago. Australia is very advanced in animal health and the tracking system would be of great value in the case of a disease outbreak. Farmers can also use the tracking devices on their farm to help them better manage their animals. Tagging of sheep is not mandatory but within a few years it likely will be.

After visiting with the department of primary industries we had a little down time to sightsee around Melbourne. The city is absolutely gorgeous, the fall weather makes me so happy :) We stopped by the Shrine of Remembrance, a memorial built in remembrance of world war one. We also walked through a st. Patrick's cathedral. The cathedral was absolutely stunning and beautiful.

We wrapped up the planned activities with a tour of the Carlton United Brewery. It was neat to walk through the plan and see the bottles getting filled. They produce two million liters in 24 hrs, that's quite a bit of booze. The class's favorite event was most likely the taste testing. I tasted most of the beers however it's not really my thing. They tell me I don't have to acquired taste haha

Pictures:
1.Botanic garden
2.Shrine of Remembrance
3.Brewery
4.Cathedral

Until tomorrow mates!