Her Hearts Desire - Fonterra

Her heart’s desire
Was to belong to Fonterra
Own a cow
That’s smart and clever

Be a part
Of the Rural Scene
Know from experience
What dairy farming means

.....My beloved Maisy
This is her story
How she faced each challenge
Before well earned glory

.....”I was born
On a cold winters day
The colostrum gold was magic
So I was tagged right away

I was a precious replacement
But those mates by my side
Those surplus males
Went on a ‘one way’ ride

.....I was washed and groomed
For the calf club event
Won some ribbons
Then out to pasture was sent

We live near The Port
By the Waikato river
This great volume of water
Is to many a great giver

Here the soil is alluvial
On these flat plains we graze
The grass grows abundantly
And so does the maize

The farmers son
Feeds us well
Palm kernel and silage
And vegetables that won’t sell

The farm manager chooses
The best paddock of grass
We eat with enthusiasm
Then in the warm sun we bask

Our two herds are cared for
By a ‘Team of Seven'
Their passion and devotion
Seems inspired by Heaven

.....Today the vet came
To see if we are ‘in calf’
My test is positive
If only cows could laugh
As this modern technology
Bypasses the old ways
Yet we survived for centuries
So why am I so amazed?

My new baby is fathered
By a Pure AB bull
I desire a replacement heifer
That our vat will remain full

.....To all us heifers
The farmers are kind
They guide us onto the rotary
Backing in our behind

They will even stop the movement
Until we master THIS ART
Then the milking procedure
Very gently will start

I had just lost my calf
So my heart was heavy
As the movement was soothing
I was neither scared or teary

.....The Fonterra tanker
Comes every day
Around the circle
Flowers are on display

When the local school visited
I felt strangely proud
Yes I’m a ‘clever cow’
I know what the family vowed

“When making decisions
Be mindful of THE FUTURE
As three generations live here
And there are workers to nurture"

.....The observation room
Has displayed on THE WALL
“United we stand
Divided we fall”

Signed FONTERRA
The dairy farmers of New Zealand
May we all by example
Show democracy and freedom"

.....Yes My beloved Maisy
Was given to me
That I may experience
A dairy farmers reality

I now belong
To THE FONTERRA family
They put a number on my gate!!!
All because of Maisy’s story.

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