Country Calendar - Cow World

Television (Full Length Episode) – 1998

When Auckland-based businessmen bought Andrew Gurney's old Northland farm and offered him the job of running an American-style 'high production' dairy operation, he was sceptical. Reporter Sharon Hill discovers how this 'corporate' model has tipped pastoral farming on its head. Gurney's cows are divided into different herds, spend most of their time inside sheds, and consume a specially designed feed. The results are impressive and milk production has doubled — but not without stress for Gurney, and distrust from the wider community. The farm also offers Cow World, a tourist attraction and petting zoo.

I thought they were bonkers, to put it gently. They were going against everything the farming community was teaching, and here's these guys from Auckland that didn't know a lot about farming come up with these ideas. But it's turned totally around, and they've been right.
– Andrew Gurney on his initial reaction to new ways of dairy farming, early in this episode