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Dairy instructor lends helping hand to South Africa Tuesday, October 28, 2003
Agri News staff writer
WILLMAR, Minn. -- Dairy instructor Brant Groen said he wasn't sure what he'd find when he took a trip to South Africa to consult for dairy production and farm finances through Land O' Lakes' Farm-to-Farm program.
In a poor area with a 75 percent unemployment rate, he found his hotel surrounded by a security fence with a guarded entrance and the farm also fenced and guarded for fear someone might steal the cattle. But he also found an eager student in Irvine Nyoka, the farm manager.
Nyoka and Groen worked steadily on production issues and financial planning for 11 days in June, from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on the farm. Groen would then work until 10:30 p.m. in his hotel.
"I didn't have much spare time," Groen said.
The farm has 12 employees and a 50-cow herd. Each cow milked about 20 pounds per day. The equipment, he said, is similar to that of a 1950s or 1960s U.S. operation. Cows were milked in a double-six parlor and during the day grazed on pasture that Groen described as lush.
Originally the operation was owned by a white farmer who sold it to the city when he retired. The city gave it to the farmer's seven black employees.
Groen addressed two immediate needs: The cows didn't have water on pasture during the day and at night had water but no hay in the farmyard. Since there were irrigation lines running through the pastures, farm workers hooked up a watering system for a tank in the pasture and purchased forages for night feeding.
Groen also found that workers were feeding the cows too much grain. By reducing the feed amount, the farm was able to save money and become more efficient.
"We are fortunate in the U.S. because we have so many resources," Groen said. "We can call other farmers, or we have other resources we can contact to ask questions. Nyoka had no one. The closest dairy was 150 miles away."
Groen set up the farm's computer for e-mail and Internet. Nyoka has e-mailed Groen several times since the Ridgewater College instructor's return, both to keep in contact with his friend and to use Groen as a resource for production information.
"It was a really, really good experience, and something you will remember for the rest of your life," Groen said. "But I almost didn't go. I am a homebody. This was the first time where I didn't know a soul going to another country. But the more I think about the experience now, the more I know I would do it again." |
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