Minnamurra Public School Visits Clover Hill Dairies
On Wednesday the 10th of September Year 4 and 5 went to Clover Hill Farm for part of our Picasso
Cow work this term.
We arrived at 10 o’clock and Mrs Strong and Emma talked to us about the cows and what they eat
on Clover Hill Dairy Farm. At Clover
Hill dairy farm they only have
Friesian cows and the Friesian
cows eat corn-meal, pellets, wheat,
rye-grass and clover.
In a round barrier there were two
chocolate brown calves and boy
weren’t they cute! You wouldn’t
believe what we called them.
Guess what? Apricot and Elvis
were their names for life. I fed
Apricot some pellets and she
sucked on my hand. It felt like a massage but when I took it out it had wet slobber on it “yuck!”
After that we looked through the dairy vats and learnt how they are computerised. We also looked
at the milking equipment. We saw where the cows get milked.
Year 4 and 5 also did some awesome sketching of grass, trees and of course the beautiful Friesian
black and white cows.
At 11.45 the cows ambled down the rocky
gravel while stamping their feet waiting to
be milked.
“Gosh I would have to have a lot of energy
carrying a big udder”
After the cows arrived at the milking bails,
we were invited to see how the cows are
milked. First the cows go into the milking
bails then a tube is put on their teats. When
the cow has finished being milked it kicks
the tubes off. The farmer sprays iodine to
keep their udder clean.
In the afternoon we five planted some native plants in the forest. First we dug a hole in the dirt then
we put our plant in. I planted a red cedar tree and there were lots of leeches. We planted the
plants in a native environment so that when they grow big and tall it will be a perfect habitat for the
native animals and creatures in the forest.
I had a great day and I was so excited to be going to a farm for the first time. My favourite part was
patting the adorable calves Apricot and Elvis. By Ellie Year 4
She gazes and eats the fresh pasture on a hot summer’s day down by the
lane. She sees the farmer strolling down the lane. Her tail swishes to get
the creepy crawlies off her
backside. She sits down she does
not want to be milked. The
farmer says to get up. She gets
up and moos really loudly. She
passes the farm house and
chicken pen and where the pigs
are sleeping. She waddles into
the bails to get milked. She spots
a spider spinning a web. The
farmer plugs the pipes to her
teats sucking the milk out. She
feels much better now. She
gallops back to the trough out in the paddock for a drink. Oh no she is
zapped as she touches a fence. The farmer runs to see if she’s alright.
She’s okay. She trots over and has a look in the river. She sees herself in
the reflection. She thinks. “Oh I’m pretty aren’t I?” She sits under the
shade of the big green figtree. She waits happily under the tree for a few
hours. The farmer comes to look for her. She sees the farmer coming
towards her. She knows what is going to happen. She slowly strolls past
the farmhouse to get to the bails. She spots the same spider spinning the
end of the web. The farmer once again plugs the pipes to her teats. She
feels the sucking of the pipes –relief! She trots back out to eat some
pasture. That’s a hard day for a cow!
By Jarrod Barnes Year 4
Clover Hill Dairy Farm Visit
Our Class and 5M went to Mrs Strong’s farm on Wednesday to learn more about dairy farms
and how they work.
Firstly we arrived at 10 o’clock. The weather was beautiful. After that we sat on the damp
grass Mrs Strong talked about what cows eat and all
the different breeds of cows. She showed us two little
baby calves. They were so cute. We fed them
cornmeal and hay. Lilly called them Apricot and Elvis
even though Elvis was a girl. Emma the helper took us
through the dairy and showed us the computerised
equipment.
After Recess we sketched the grass the cows eat and
the beautiful scenery on the farm. At 11:45 we saw the
black and white cows amble down the road to be
milked.
In our groups, we took turns to go to different places on
the farm. My group went into the forest to plant some
native plants because dairy farmers are putting in trees
for a habitat for native animals, to prevent erosion and
provide healthy air. Victoria and I planted a native
grass.
The other group saw the cows being milked. When we
got back the other kids went to plant grasses and we
went to see the cows being milked. First we went into
the pit to saw the milking. The farmer let us put our
finger in the tube they put on their teats. The suction
felt funny. You could also see the milk as it went
through the clear tubes. Some of them had their milk
going into a container. This was for the calves in the
pens.
After lunch we drank flavoured milk and we got two
books. One was an activity book and the other was
about cheese. Lastly Mrs Strong talked about all the
things they do to help the environment. Soon they
hope to put in wind turbines. After that we said
goodbye and we returned to school.
I had a great day and my favourite part was watching the cows being milked because the man
let us put our finger in the tube to be sucked.