Devon Young Farmer heads to New Zealand to learn about sheep farming down under

A Young Farmer from Devon has set off on a trip to New Zealand after winning a travel scholarship sponsored by Novartis Animal Health and the National Federation of Young Farmers Clubs (NFYFC).

Chris Berry begins travel scholarship to New Zealand

Chris Berry, who is a partner in his family’s 440 acre beef, sheep and arable farm near Exeter, will work on two different stations and gain experience about New Zealand farming methods.

His trip begins at the Mendip Hills Station, at Cheviot, north of Christchurch which is a 6,100 hectare farm with 4,000 head of sheep, 2,100 cattle and 1,300 deer. He will then move on to Dry Creek Station at Fairlie, south of Christchurch which is 1,600 hectares with 5,000 sheep, 250 cows and 200 deer, as well as a safari lodge.

Chris will have to be well-prepared for his trip as temperatures can vary between 25 degrees and -3 degrees Celsius.

Before he set out, Chris said he was very much looking forward to the trip and hoped to learn as much as possible about farming methods over there.

“With the scale of the farms, and the different landscapes and weather conditions, I expect to find things quite different over there, but I hope make the best of this great opportunity and to learn a few things that I can bring back to my own farm back home,” he said.

During the trip, Chris will be producing blogs and a video diary of his experiences and will have the opportunity to travel in the country after completing his two placements on the stations. He will also be writing a report on anthelmintic resistance and how farmers in New Zealand are tackling the problem.

Novartis Animal Health provides the scholarship as part of its long-term commitment to the sheep industry and its support for the UK’s young farmers, in partnership with the National Federation of Young Farmers’ Clubs (NFYFC). One of the aims of the scholarship is for the students to learn about the problems of resistance to parasiticides in other countries.

The address to access Chris Berry’s blog will be http://www.farmanimalhealth.co.uk/nz-blog