For the FM96 Muck Around adventure today, Bunene and George took a trip to Scott’s Farm which is well before Ratu Kadavulevu School in Tailevu. The duo were up before the crack of dawn and ready to get started. They visited farmer Sean for a masterclass in milking cows.
Sean runs his farm collectively with his wife and nephew Sikeli who is a student at Tailevu North College. They have been in the business for 5 years now. They own 19 cows, 19 calves and 1 bull. The singular, namely Jayden is the only mate for the other cows and is the father of all of the calves on the farm (Yes, we are thinking the same thing as you). Bunene would like to note that Jayden is from New Zealand therefore all his children are ‘Kiwis’ hehe.
When asked to describe her first experience milking a cow, Bunene mentioned that her cow, Dean, seemed a bit reluctant to release her milk. She tugged and pulled at her udders but Dean was not giving in. Her theory was that Dean was too loaded up on mill mix to relax. She had consumed 3 scoops as opposed to the more common 1 scoop.
It was then that Bunene remembered a trick she had learned from the internet. Music.
Scientific studies have shown that blaring loud music while milking cows will make the process much easier. This had been proven this morning. Bunene played the ol’ favourite farm-themed nursery rhyme Old McDonald and Dean immediately released her milk.
George didn’t struggle as much with his cow, Sai. One would’ve guessed that George was an experienced milker by the way he was able to grab all four udders.
In the end, the FM96 Muck Around duo were able to collect 7 litres of milk. Bunene was very proud of this. After being inquired about whether or not she would do it again, Bunene replied excitedly “Yes I would! I love pulling udders”.
Her advice for anyone looking to milk their first cow would be to have “strong hands”. Something she unfortunately did not have.
