SPECIAL REPORT | GO DAIRY PROGRAMME
Tasha has a range of waiata she likes to sing to the cows in the dairy shed.
Singing the praises of dairying
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Going from traffic management to dairy assistant has been inspirational for a GoDairy graduate, as Anne-Marie Case-Miller reports.
asha Morgan can’t stop smiling. “I just love dairy farming! I love the cows, they are just amazing animals. I even love milking! I just love what I am doing, it’s amazing.” “I never, ever thought I’d be dairy farming, never ever in my life! And now look at me. I’m here and going places,” says Tasha. What began as an accommodation arrangement has become a new lease on life for the former city girl, with her new role as a farm assistant on Harry Janssen and Winton Bebbington’s 300 cow, 130ha farm at Hampton Downs. “I was working in traffic management for Higgins so I was used to working outside in all sorts of weather, but what I’m doing
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now is completely different from city living to actually living and working in the country,” Tasha explains. “I used to go down and talk to the calves, and then I asked Harry if I could help raise them and he said yes, so I began to help by rearing calves and from there Harry and Winton taught me to milk so I was able to do relief milking.” Researching dairy farming education online led Tasha to the GoDairy programme offered by DairyNZ. GoDairy is designed to attract people to work in the dairy sector. It offers Farm Ready Training, which is entry-level training to help people find out what it’s like to work on a farm and learn some farming basics. The training includes a week of online learning followed by two weeks of practical training on a farm. GoDairy is about creating awareness of
Fast Facts Tasha’s Top Cow Waiata: Tiaho Mai Ra Mr Postman - LaTasha Lee Isn’t She Lovely – Stevie Wonder My Dearest Darling – LaTasha Lee Tēnā Rā Koe – Stan Walker Please Don’t Go – Six60
job opportunities in dairy – and it has a big emphasis on ensuring newcomers understand farm life before they arrive. Anyone interested in taking part can sign up at godairy.co.nz. Tasha has completed the first week, with
Dairy Exporter | www.nzfarmlife.co.nz | October 2020
