A dog's life
Shearing time
Moonshine
Lambing time
Seasons do pass
Hakapoua Hilton
A farmer's life
The Czech way
Te Anau
The farmer's curse

The Czech way

A little look at what happens in Central Europe, summer 2000

Farming in the Czech Republic is a bit different from back home
For starters they have no fences and the sheep are allowed to roam
No they do have a few but not made from netting
Just logs from the forest, a basic rail setting

Some have small paddocks and a shed for them to sleep
During the day they have larger meadows to go and eat
But there's one that is tethered, not allowed to go far
So the others do not wander, because the leader says baa

The flocks are not large that are privately owned
30 is big with the rams often loaned
Now some have cows or at least some have one
Again they are limited not having far to run

These are mainly hobby farmers that enjoy summer in the sun
Or who live amongst the mountains farming for fun
Sheep are mainly to control the grass to keep it looking clean
And to provide some meat for eating that is handy and lean

Some goats are running about as well
For goat cheese makers this is just swell
I've seen a few ostrich places about
Here they have netting to stop them getting out

The deer are in the forest and get fed in the winter
The ranger taking hay as the snow would make them thinner
They are hunted in the autumn but only from high huts
Stalking is not allowed, just sit and wait until they eat the nuts

Milking cows are about, and run on corporate places
They have lots of land to use, different from private spaces
The sheep tick is a problem it brings bad news and fears
With people needing vaccinations before the summer appears

And with the mad cow all around
There's not much demand for beef to be found
So it's quite different from New Zealand farming
But NZ lamb is on the shelves so I guess it is not all that harming