Farmer Ruby
Farmer Time story – Ruby Mulinder
Location of farm: Western side of Lake Taupo
Type of farm: Beef and lamb finishing and sheep dairy
Matched with: St Joseph’s Catholic School, Grey Lynn
All about Ruby
Ruby and Sean achieved their ambitious dream of purchasing a farm in December 2019. The young couple farm 142ha on the western side of Lake Taupo with views of Mount Ruapehu and Lake Taupo.
Since the farm purchase they have welcomed their ‘now 9 month old’ son Conor into the world, and converted the once beef finishing farm into a sheep dairy operation that continues to finish beef cattle as well as lambs. The farm runs 650 dairy ewes, 120-200 beef cattle and finishes all lambs born from the dairy flock. They also have wild deer and pigs that visit the farm and are utlised for meat.
They are very focused on being wholesome food producers. This includes farming within strict environmental standards to protect the water quality of Lake Taupo as well as leaving lambs on their mums to rear before milking commences.
Ruby and Sean have a farm Facebook page called Waihora Farm which allows them to share pictures and details of their farming journey. They both love to engage with the children at school and share their passion.
What made you get involved in Farmer Time?
We love sharing our farming journey and showing people what farming is about. Farming is an incredibly complex job and there is so much children can learn about our industry and how it is important to all New Zealanders.
What have the highlights been so far?
I have loved seeing how excited and engaged the kids have been during our calls. They have asked some great questions and you can see how much they have learnt over this short period of time. The class has also produced some wonderful artwork and poems about our farmer time calls.
What tips would you offer to other farmers who are involved (or are interested in becoming involved) in Farmer Time?
Find things that get the kids excited and think about the range of topics and equipment you can show them. It doesn’t need to be complicated just keep it upbeat at fun.
Taking short videos and explaining what’s happening on farm is a great way to show them a range of farm activities.
Weighing cattle is a great topic as they can see how heavy they are and how the process works with EIDs.
I think the best outcome is that the kids understand a lot of the basic lingo and aspects of farming which will improve how they comprehend farming and farmers in the future.
Some recent topics covered in Farmer Time sessions:
Weighing cattle – how scales and EIDs work (EIDs are like a passport & ear tags are like their name tags).
Showing sheep in the yards being drenched – what does drench do etc.
Find equipment to show the class- drench gun, EID reader, Ear tags, handpiece, wool, grain etc.
