8 | nzdairy Health scare spurs rethink on farm Richard Loader DAIRY PEOPLE » Burnside Farms: Mike & Raewyn Hills Throughout life and when least expected, we encounter speed bumps that threaten to throw our world into a vortex, but as Manawatu farmers Michael and Raewyn Hills can attest, it is how you respond to those speed bumps that will ultimately determine the outcome. As a young faming couple in equity partnership in both the land and the farm’s operations just out of Feilding, Michael and Raewyn’s speed bump occurred in 2019, when a lump on top of Michael’s hand was diagnosed as Epithelioid Sarcoma, a rare, slow growing type of soft tissue cancer. The farm milks 830 cows under a split calving regime, with around 720 cows calving in the spring, and the couple are also the farm’s operations managers. Michael’s hand had become increasingly limited in operation and at the time of diagnosis he and Raewyn were right in the middle of spring calving, as well as balancing the needs of three young children, then aged 8, 6 and 2. “We had to work as a team in a different way to keep moving forward and focus on the positives, taking it day-by-day and dealing with what came at us,” says Raewyn. “Up until 2019, Michael had been 100% involved in the physical side of the farm, while I was doing more of the paper work, plus looking after the kids. Between the two off us, we had quite a good balance. But it got to the point where Michael could no longer use his hand and all of a sudden, I had to become the 100% physical one, while still doing the business side of the operation in the evenings.” With the bene t of medical insurance, Michael was able to speed up the treatment process and by Christmas 2019 was in the process of radiation, followed by extensive surgery early in the new year. Michael had two major operations, one of which was almost twelve hours long. Manawatu farmers Raewyn and Mike Hills. Inset: The farm milks 830 cows in a split calving regime near Feilding. • to page 9 Everything in his hand had to go back to the bone, with tendons taken from his arms, then reconstructed on his hand. Learning to regain some use in his hand was followed by tidy-up operations with all veins being replumbed. While Raewyn’s role had switched to the cowshed and all things farming, Michael found himself in a world that he had not previously experienced. “He had never had to deal with getting the kids to school in the mornings, the lunch box hour, trying to get them moving. While he had some movement in his hand there were many times when kids needed things done and dad only had one good hand. So, I might be in the cow shed, while also doing ‘hair up’ for the dancing after school. “There was a lot of juggling and we took extra DAIRYVET THE Phone 0800 MOO VET Proud to provide Veterinary services to Burnside Farms Ltd PEDLEY SLURRY SERVICE LTD Pedley Slurry Service offers a complete range of options to eliminate your waste problems: liquid or solid, as well as being able to assist you with bulk liquid and bulk solids transport. • Solid Spreading • Effluent Pond Spreading • Klip Tank Emptying • Sumps Cleaning • Bulk Liquid and Solid Cartage Proud to be associated with Burnside Farms Ltd 0800 OH POOS 53 Kawakawa Road, Feilding, 4475 06 323 0101 CLAAS Harvest Centre Central Districts The team at CLAAS Harvest Centre Central Districts, are very proud to support the three generations of families that make up Burnside Farms Ltd. #onlyCLAASforgrass
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