A year on the farm... what's this all about?

Well I've spent the 10 years or so working as a software developer in several different countries and although software development is a mentally stimulating job it does get a bit monotonous spending 40-60 hours per week stuck behind a computer in the office all day.

Add to that living in cramped apartments in the city with two young kids and it's not hard seeing the appeal of spending some time in the country. So when a recent opportunity came up we decided to go for it.

I grew up on a dairy farm in Taranaki, New Zealand and spent quite a few hours working there part-time while still at school. But then I followed the path off to University and on to city jobs and have only been back to the farm for a few short holidays when I could fit them in. But the farm is a part of me and I feel that I owe it to my daughters to give them the opportunity to experience some of the things I lived through when I was a young boy.

With world food prices on the rise and recent dairy payments in New Zealand on a high, now is a great time to take a chance and give dairying a go. It just so happens that a sharemilking position has come up on my parents' farm and my brother put the proposition to me that we give it a go together. So here we are - my wife, my daughters and I - preparing for our new life on the farm.

So that explains where I'm coming from, but why "a year on the farm?" Well I've got used to the city and international living and my wife is much more of a city girl. We want to keep our options open and not give up on our previous careers completely. Hence, "let's give it a go for year and just see how it flows".

So join us on our adventure - a year on the farm.

getting started

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