Just four more days...
"On day 3 I was ready to quit, pack my bags and hop on a bus to a different city. My roommates talked with me about it and helped me by giving me the support and hope that I needed to be able to push through."
I believe farm work is really something of an experience. Two weeks into working on a dairy farm and I had already gained so much strength both physically, and mentally. With dairy farming there are some risks involved, cows are big and clumsy and if you’re not careful you can seriously injure yourself. I genuinely think I’ll come out of this with a lot of knowledge and understanding of a whole way of life I'd never have considered for myself until now, and now I can milk a cow!
For dairy farming specifically, it’s very tough work and hard on the body so if you want something a little less strenuous I would opt for something else! I’m being paid fairly, my bosses and coworkers listen to me when something is not right, and I have a house to live in, a bed to sleep in and food in the pantry. So I’ve got what I need and everything is alright, even though it didn’t seem like it at the beginning.
“Your arms and core get worked daily to their limits. The hours are also insane, you start at 3am, work for 5-6 hours have a few hours break then go back at 2pm and do it all again... props to all the dairy farmers.”
Before coming to Australia I always pictured myself citrus picking with a sun hat and a cute flowy shirt (super realistic, I know). The way things actually worked out, I ended up on a dairy farm in a baseball cap and poo covered hoodie, and because I had not thought about dairy farming I hadn’t done any research so I had no idea what I was walking into. The biggest reality I faced is just how resilient dairy farmers really are. It’s a super tough job and when I started I had never been in more pain. My body hurt so much, I’d never used my arms like this before and for hours at a time as well. Your arms and core get worked daily to their limits. The hours are also insane, you start at 3am, work for 5-6 hours have a few hours break then go back at 2pm and do it all again... props to all the dairy farmers.
“Farm work is tough, but while you’re doing it and especially after you’ve finished it, you’re going to be so damn proud of yourself for what you’ve accomplished.”
On day 3 I was ready to quit, pack my bags and hop on a bus to a different city. My roommates talked with me and helped me through it, giving me the support and hope that I needed to be able to push through. I told my dad “I’ll give it until Saturday, that’s 4 more days, and one week that I’ll have been here” and after those four days, I was doing okay. The pain was a lot more manageable, my body was getting used to the work and waking up at 2am.
I would suggest asking your employer what you need to supply for yourself before you get there (house supplies, food, work clothing etc…). I didn’t ask what kind of house supplies I would need and I ended up using my roommate's plates and cutlery for the first 3 days until they took me into town to buy my own… oops!
Overall farm work is tough, but while you’re doing it and especially after you’ve finished it, you’re going to be so damn proud of yourself for what you’ve accomplished and for what your body can do.
