AginED
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FOR E FUTURIA G R R S! U PR EN E
Volume 86 I December 13th, 2021 I email: agined@globalHQ.co.nz I www.farmersweekly.co.nz/agined
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Wow, how is it December?! If you are like me you are seriously questioning how fast this year has gone, even with its surprises along the way. You are wrapping up for the school year and in good kiwi tradition, there will be some celebrating to do over the next wee while, whether it is because you aced your exams, a friend's birthday or Christmas fun! We all love to hang out together and enjoy each other's company which is made even better with the sun shining. What comes with this can be the intense pressure to drink… alcohol. You are undoubtedly going to be presented with or offered drinks over the next few months while festivities are at play so the question I ask you is, how do you say no if everyone else around you is drinking but you are not keen to or can’t? You might have just got your restricted licence and been given a car to borrow to drive to a friend’s house. You think your folks are really over the top with going over the rules about wearing your seatbelt, not taking passengers and NOT DRINKING! They are not saying this to grind your gears, they are saying this because there are too many teenagers having accidents in vehicles that involve alcohol and quite simply, they don’t want you to be one of them. So, picture this; you are with your friends after arriving in the borrowed car and you are offered a drink. What do you do? There is nothing ‘cool’ about drinking and then driving. You’ve all seen the NZ Police add ‘if you drink and drive then you are a bloody idiot’. There is a reason we are not allowed to do it and that is because it impairs our driving ability and people are killed. Restricted drivers in NZ are involved in the most crashes than any other driving group.
POSSIBLE OUTCOMES if you accept alcohol and then try to drive home:
1:
You lose control of the car and crash, injuring or killing yourself or someone else
2: You are pulled over by a traffic officer and
are charged
3: You get pressured to take passengers,
show off and lose control of the car
4: You crash the car, don’t get insurance, get
charged and lose privileges of driving
The moral of the story here is that you are already at an age and stage where driving is extremely high risk. If you allow yourself to get pressured into drinking and driving then you are making a life-threatening decision. So stop, think and ask yourself - is it worth it? The answer should always be no! Your parents would far rather a phone call asking them to come and collect you than a phone call to tell them that you have had a fatal accident. You only get one chance at life so make it a good one and make it a safe one.
Harriet
Safety checks on our farm machinery is second nature, clearing birds nests, checking tyre pressure. Have you ever thought about yourself in the same way? Ask yourself, are you safe to drive your car before you jump behind the wheel.
A
Switch to something new, that’ll benefit you! Shepherds are renowned for their uncanny skills in a number of areas – spotting gaps, bringing groups together, and ultimately showing the way forward. Silver Fern Farms David Barnett is a master in all these areas – and not just when it comes to handling livestock at the Finegand processing site. He’s also put these skills to great use when navigating a pathway for his own career. As an off-season trainee in the People and Capability team, David has been actively involved in some awesome people-centric initiatives, including our vaccination drive and COVID site messaging.
Check out our careers website to see what opportunities you can grab!
Change your job. Build your future.
Keen to find out if you can cut it in the meat industry? Use the QR code here to take our quiz and find out or apply at careers.silverfernfarms.com
Have a go: 1 How many thousand tonnes of NZ beef was exported in October this year? 2 How does this compare to last year and the five-year average?
STRETCH YOURSELF: 1 How have NZ beef exports been tracking in the last few months? Does this mean demand for our products is strong or weak? 2 In July-September beef exports to China totaled 51,053 tonnes of beef which was worth $369 million. The US imported 37,285 tonnes of beef which was worth a total of $329 million. The US imported 27% less beef than China however the total value wasn’t much lower. What does this say about the value of products that the US imported?
RAISING LAMBS AFTER WEANING Check out this module from beef + lamb New Zealand on growing good lambs post weaning at https://beeflambnz.com/knowledge-hub/module/ growing-good-lambs#block-2639 Watch and complete the module on growing lambs post weaning and then answer the following questions; 1 What are three things to consider when deciding whether to retain lambs or sell at weaning? 2 How long past weaning do lambs need to be retained to make a viable profit above weaning prices? 3 What are good alternatives to grass pastures over the summer months to finish lambs? What are the recommended feed rates for growing lambs quickly? 4 What are some important things to monitor in your lamb flocks? 5 What is an animal health protocol?