Plane we rode from the Wellington airport on the North Island to the Christchurch airport in the South Island. Harbor view from the Te Papa Museum. We were brought back from our farm stays at 10 in the morning. Each of us were excited to hear about our experiences, and what we got to learn about with our farm stay families. We then started our trip to Wellington which was a two and a half hour drive. We stopped for half an hour for a coffee and bathroom break, and then continued onto Wellington. Along the way, we saw a major road that was under construction and was being turned into a four lane highway. The road work had started in 2014 and is projected to be done in 2020. We also passed Kapiti Island, which is a nature reserve and bird sanctuary of New Zealand that is home to many diverse wildlife. To visit this island, you must have a special permit to access the island by plane or ferry. As we entered Wellington, which is the capital, we were able to see a glimpse of th...

Olivia, Kelsey, Dani and Abby with their farm stay host Pia Lampp Abby, Dani, Kelsey and Olivia stayed with Roger and Pia Lampp at their homestead. After talking over tea, they headed to the neighbors, Jill and Charles, to join another group for dinner. For dinner, they enjoyed a traditional New Zealand meal of lamb, sweet potatoes, vegetables, dessert and wine. They headed back to the Lampp’s home until they traveled back to Jill and Charles farm for a tour of the farm as well as tea and coffee. On their farm, they have beef, sheep and crops on 400 acres. They sell around 9,000 lambs a year, each lamb at 50 kilos. They also purchase Fresian/Angus cross and Hereford cows at 300 kilos and sell them at 600 kilos. We also had the opportunity to see the sheering shed and the shoots in which they run sheep through for weighing and spraying for flies.  Brooke and Maggie with their farm stay host Dave and Maureen Smith Brooke and Maggie E. stayed with Dave and Maureen S...

Hastings Farmer’s Market.   Many vendor booths to purchase goodies from Sunday May 12- Jam samples at one of the many booths This morning we started our day by going to a local Farmer’s Market where we talked to several locals there. Networking with these individuals benefited the students by talking to vendors about their products and how they were processed. For example, some students talked to a small sheep and dairy cheese manufacturer, and they have individual codes for different farms on the label. This manufacturer also didn’t mix the milk from different farms together, hence why they were able to put the farm code on the label. Furthermore, students were able to talk to the locals about their agriculture background back in America and share a little about them. Some vendors that really stuck out were the cheese, wine, honey, jam, and vegetable.  Some of Hastings Farmer’s Market booths After the Farmers Market, we headed to the Brow Farm that...