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Detailed travelogue on Australia and New Zealand

Detailed Travelogue on Australia and New Zealand

Larry
2006-05-27 03:23:16

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to be one.
Located a few kms outside of Te Anau is Glen Monarch farm, run by an
interesting fellow named Graham Johnston. Graham raises sheep, cattle, and
deer (with the deer antlers going to Asia), though sheep is the primary
livestock. With the farm economy the way it is in New Zealand now, Graham
gives tours of his farm to earn some extra money, and to show people what
life is like on a real farm. Though the tour usually lasts 2.5 hours, I
wound up staying for almost five.
When I first arrived, Graham and his friend Jodi sat down and talked to
me a bit about farm life in New Zealand. It's economically very difficult
to make a living raising livestock right now. Unlike the U.S., the New
Zealand government doesn't have artifical price supports for farm products,
or offer much help to farmers. The price of livestock is set solely by the
marketplace, and if the price drops too low, farmers go bankrupt -- and the
price for livestock, meat, and wool is very low right now. Graham mentioned
repeatidly that he should sell his cattle, because with the way prices are,
he's losing money every day he keeps them, but he loves his stock (they're
fine cows), and just can't bare to get rid of them. Even the price of wool
is low, and he hardly gets anything for what he sells. Graham himself
wasn't raised on a farm, but said he always liked working outdoors, and
decided to become a farmer years ago. One of his complaints was that his
way of life is one that seems to be fading away, as more and more farmers
leave the business. According to Graham, between the low prices for the
product, and the New Zealand government's unwillingness to do anything about
farmers' problems, it's very, very hard right now for an independent farmer
to make a living. It's a hard life, and there are few rewards.
After some ...

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