Although Talan Weekes (23) grew up in farm country upstate, his interest in making a career out of it did not peak until he volunteered on a family-run operation in New Zealand. After college, he and his girlfriend -- who also grew up in Gouverneur, New York -- wanted a travel adventure. At the end of a three-week road trip, they ended up at Gary and Raewyn Norton’s sustainable farm in Waitakere. They stayed for two months, working for a penny a week in exchange for room and board and experience.
Talan became a livestock apprentice at Glynwood this winter after working as a farmhand at Hilltop Hanover Farm and Environmental Center in Yorktown Heights.
“I enjoy taking care of the animals. I think we should give their lives some worth while they are here. I try to give them attention and make their day a little more exciting. It’s much better this way than for animals in mass production.”
His favorite animals are the pigs because they are playful and have their own personalities. He came to Glynwood not liking sheep because of a bad experience in New Zealand (flystrike on a ewe), but likes them now because he is more involved in helping them give birth and taking care of the lambs.
His least favorite task on the farm is setting up and taking down fencing. Glynwood advocates and practices rotational grazing, which requires this activity nearly every day.
“There is an actual equation of how many animals of a certain species can be on a certain acreage for a number of days. We use this equation, but a lot of times we are able to just eyeball the field and decide. There’re a few pastures here on which we can only have the cows for a day and a half at most. Every time we move, we have to set up and call them all in, which can be hard. Then we have to move the fence and start all over again.”
Talan’s long term goal is to run his own farm.
