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A carding machine where the wool fibers are
untangled by brushing and straightening. |
The day started with us traveling west of Melbourne to Geelong to spend our time touring the National Wool Museum. The building was first built around 1872 with a purpose of celebrating and promoting the wool industry. The building is a place for people to tell stories and educate those that aren’t directly involved in the industry. We learned that sheep had a large impact on the land, and they were brought to Australia on the ship in 1788. Sheep in Australia are often bred for the quality of wool, and around the turn of the century made Australia rich. We also learned that the climate change has had a huge impact on how sheep are to raised and causes producers to have less in their flock at a time. Another interesting part was the there are two different types of shearers, electric and hand. As technology increases, electric shearers are more common; however, hand shearers are still used when people are looking for a more precise cut such as for fitting sheep for a livestock show.
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While back home there is cattle everywhere, here
in Australia sheep are everywhere! |
Another highlight of this tour was being able to learn more about how the solar farms have impacted sheep producers. By implementing solar panels into farms farmers can gain another source of income while also providing their sheep shelter and protection. A benefit of having the solar farms with the sheep, compared to cattle, is that sheep are able to help the upkeep of the of the solar panels by eating down the grass around it and are able to leave the panels alone where cattle like to mess with the panels causing lots of issues. The last highlight of the tour was that often Australian farmers feed both their sheep and cattle seaweed. It impacts gut health and when fed in small doses it can often help decrease methane emissions.
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A pretty picture of the beach at Apollo Bay. |
Next, we took a scenic drive on the Great Ocean Road allowing us to see some incredible scenery, and travel to Apollo Bay where we grabbed a bite to eat at a local bakery by the ocean. This was a great opportunity to see more of Australia and take some time to relax a little bit as well.
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The 12 Apostles (I guess only 6); collection of
limestone stacks. |
Following our lunch in Apollo Bay we traveled along the “Shipwreck Coast” which is a coast where numerous ships crashed during the 18th century. We stopped to look at the 12 apostles – which was a breathtaking view in Port Campbell National Park. Although there were originally 12 apostles, there are now only six of the original formations remaining. This is due to the fact that they are made out of limestone, which causes great deterioration over time as the waves continue to crash on them. Due to the wave action there is another one that is starting to form.
After heading back into town, we quickly checked into our rooms and got back on the road once again and traveled a short distance north to Woolsthorpe for a get together for dinner with local farmers in the area, the Johnson family. This was a great opportunity to ask not only agricultural questions but also ask more Australian cultural questions. We had three speakers that spoke at our meal - John Johnson who raised purebred Angus, another individual that worked on the Johnson farm, and the Council Representative for agriculture in the area that we were visiting.
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We had an amazing time with our speakers and the
Johnson Family Farm and employees at our supper! |
May 9th was a great second day in Australia, and we are excited to continue making connections as well continuing to learn more about this country. Today was also special because we saw our first Kangaroo!
Tessa Erdmann, Ollie Larson and Sara Penzenstadler
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