March 28th - April 3rd Days 49-55

This was my third week of school at Lincoln Uni. The pace of things are definitely picking up. I have been busy gathering information for my genetics project which is worth half of my grade. I'm doing a research proposal on eliminating the Arthrogyroposis Mulitplex genetic defect completely from the Angus cattle breed. It has been a long agonizing start but things are beginning to come together. I do have my first two tests next week in my sheep production class and also my consumer behavior class. This week in plants, we traveled out to the Uni's dairy where we completed a pasture assessment. Allister Black taught us how to evaluate the quality of pasture and the tools that we can use. In the process of him teaching us he gave me a four leafed clover! I have never seen one before so it made my day. We finished our lab by traveling around to 20 different quadrats, evaluating the herbage mass, clover content and dead material. It was probably one of my favorite lectures for lab, definitely useful.
This past week I also got the opportunity to go home with a local kiwi student to Oamaru. The family has over 600 head of sheep with various breeds from Merino to Romney. I was able to see them work the sheep and it was very interesting to watch and compare the methods of handling and management. Kiwi's do not use horses, they make more use of their vehicles (trucks are known as utes) to move the flocks with aide of a couple good sheep dogs. The family was also telling me that they would rather have a sheep dog that is trained by a professional rather than do it themselves. It makes handling easier and the dogs would respond to particular signals more efficiently.
While I was visiting I also got the opportunity to drive in the pasture. Yes I got to drive a vehicle that had a steering wheel on the right side and it was a stick shift. So shifting with my left hand made things a bit awkward but it was rather amusing. As the visit continued we wormed their cattle by applying on a back pour. There were around 50 head of yearlings and cows together. We placed them in the corrals and filed them into the working alley ways. Now the Kiwi's did work the cattle much differently than my family does, but it was also neat to see the difference in handling. Once we filled up the alley they would literally walk above the cattle on the alley way, so they would be straddling the animal. Now,  a lot of things were going through my mind at this point. First off, I know if I ever did that my family would probably shoot me and ban me from the premises and I also thought, wow that's asking for an accident. But as they continued their system continued to work as well. I cant say there is a right or a wrong way, but there is always a method that works for particular people.
That same evening I got the opportunity to see my first penguin. I saw a yellow eyed penguin and also the New Zealand famous mini penguin. We went to a showing of the penguins because that way we were guaranteed to see them. However, in the showing we were not able to take any photos or videos. This is because the flash of the camera is harmful to the penguins eyes. So as the sun set the facility had sodium lights turn on, the sodium lights are not harmful to the bird and the bird is not able to see the lights so they think it is nighttime. We sat and watched as 36 mini penguins came from the Pacific Ocean and nest down for the night. They waddled up the rocks and settled into their nesting boxes. They made a home accompanied by rabbits and possum.
The weekend was a true success. Sunday morning as we were driving back to Lincoln we stopped off at the Moeraki Boulders. The Moeraki Boulders are a number of huge spherical stones, found strewn along a stretch of Koekohe Beach near Moeraki, a small settlement just south of Hampden on New Zealand's Otago coast. These boulders are grey-coloured septarian concretions which have been exposed through shoreline erosion from black mudstone coastal cliffs that back the beach. They originally formed in ancient sea floor sediments during the early Paleocene some 60 million years ago.

      This is one of many signs you see when you drive to the docks at the edge of Oamaru.

                A site looking down on Oamaru and out on the Pacific Ocean.

                                 A couple of seals lounging by the ocean.

                                         Pacific Ocean at sunset.

 The blue or little penguin (Eudyptula minor), also known in Maori as korora, can be found in many places around New Zealand and Southern Australia and is the world's smallest penguin. They only come ashore under the cover of darkness and live underground in burrows. Although quite common, its small size and unusual habits make it rarely seen.

                                           The Moeraki Boulders.

As the weekend came to a close it was a valuable one. Not only did I get the opportunity to get away from the hectic atmosphere of school, but I also was able to see and experience New Zealand agriculture on a different level. During my stay in NZ I really wanted to experience NZ ag and be able to compare things to the United States. I believe there is so much we can learn from each other and share. Having the opportunity to travel abroad and experience agriculture on an international level has been truly aspiring and I hope to continue this journey. After all this is why I wanted to come to NZ. As I glance across the landscape I notice many things, but one in particular. NZ is not developed. They have their cities and towns but outside of them is nothing but beautiful landscape which is succumbed by agriculture. There are no multimillion dollar homes up on the hill, there is no flaunting of wealth. NZ has really inspired me and one day I hope the world will wake up and see what we are wasting. Agriculture is a dying industry in many parts across the globe. We need to preserve our open land and stop wasting it to homes that are only lived in a couple weeks out of the year. If you eat you are involved in agriculture. So why must we need shopping malls and fancy restaurants? Yes those things are nice, but lets stop and look at what we are destroying in return for a luxury.