Running a farm means working with the seasons. The particular shape of the farming year varied with different areas of the country and with the type of farm, but for my dairy farmers it included these tasks:
Spring
The year’s new calves are born, and the milking season begins. Ploughing for next autumn’s crop needs to be done.
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| Mary Marsh feeding calves, Taranaki. Mossong, Verna :Negatives relating to Nelson and Taranaki, 1920. Ref: 1/4-023685-F. Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand. natlib.govt.nz/records/23177375 |
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| Man ploughing with two horses, c. 1915. Godber, Albert Percy, 1875-1949 :Collection of albums, prints and negatives. Ref: APG-0558-1/2-G. Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand. natlib.govt.nz/records/22676853 |
Summer
Milk production is at its peak. It’s also time for haymaking.
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| Unidentified men in a field stacking a haystack from hay carried on horse drawn wagons, probably Christchurch region. Maclay, Adam Henry Pearson, 1873-1955. Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand. natlib.govt.nz/records/29943096 |
Job done!
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| Group portrait with haystack and wooden building behind, farmland hills beyond. Maclay, Adam Henry Pearson, 1873-1955. Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand. natlib.govt.nz/records/29946464 |
Autumn
The main crop harvest; in the Bay of Plenty, this included potatoes and maize.
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| Man with horse and cart gathering maize. Halse, Frederick James, d 1936 :Collection of negatives. Ref: 1/2-010356-G. Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand. natlib.govt.nz/records/22708632 |
Winter
The cows are dried off to give them a rest before calving. Winter is generally the quietest time of year for the farmer, which means he has the chance to catch up on projects like fencing,or new farm buildings.
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| Dairy farm in Otaki Gorge, 1893. Halse, Frederick James, d 1936 :Collection of negatives. Ref: 1/2-010357-G. Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand. natlib.govt.nz/records/23206721 |
Y is also for You. Thank you for following my alphabetical journey thus far, with only Z to go!
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Cool theme and blog! I just found you from the A to Z list, and I’ll wander back to read some more. I love New Zealand, and was very glad when visiting that I hadn’t been an early pioneer, especially in the rainy parts (I feel the same about my native Seattle area!).
Rebecca at The Ninja Librarian
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Hi, Rebecca, nice to meet you. Great to hear that you already have a connection with New Zealand.
Thanks for visiting!
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I always learn something completely new when I visit. It makes sense that farming, so based in nature, has a rhythm to it.
http://bit2read.com/
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I think the seasonality was even stronger in the days of less industrialised farming, but even today we need to work with the seasons.