STOCKYARD SYSTEMS (CORRAL SYSTEMS)
Having been raised on a dairy farm in Taranaki, New Zealand - with memories of thawing out my hands on cows udders - I developed an interest in cattle behaviour and cattle handling.
I worked for the New Zealand Agriculture Dept. for 17 years disease testing cattle - working in 2 or 3 different cattleyards (corrals) most days. In one corral it would take just one hour to TB test 200 cattle; in another corral it would take all day! I became interested in corral design.
After having some of my corral ideas published in a national magazine, I designed my 'ideal' corral. The design captured cattlemen's imagination, and many were soon built in New Zealand. They worked so well the new design was dubbed the "One-man Cattleyard", and soon became the subject of many magazine articles.
Articles were also published in Australia, U.S and Canada. As North American corrals are traditionally more labor intesive, the 'one-man corral' became even more popular there than in New Zealand. And having seen many accidents in corrals, many of my "ideas" focus on making corrals safer, especially for a lone operator.
Forteen years ago I made a lifestyle move to the beautiful Gold Coast of Australia where I live today. Most of my time is still involved with corral designing, but I still like to do 'hands on' work, so work part time as a handyman.
As well as cattle corrals, I have also designed dairy parlors, sheep corrals, deer corrals, outdoor furniture and general ideas for farm and garden - and have put together 'packages' of plans and ideas for each of these. I love fnding simple solutions for animal handling (and other) problems, and then drawing and describing them as simply as possible.
I'm always looking for new ideas - ways to make things more efficient, smoother and safer.
Other interests
As well as tennis, and table tennis I enjoying writing - lately, mostly poems.
Here's one about handling cattle.
Power In Disguise
Cattle circling, frustration rising;
can't they see the b... gate?
Then a thought -
"Stand still, for what will you be late?
So I stop and relax:
feels better already.
Heads slowly turn gateward
Tempted to holler, but stay steady.
And one by one they wander through.
And again I realize,
that letting go -
is often power in disguise.
Better Than Fathers Day
A day for dad
to tell him I care;
and say thanks for the times
I gave him quite a scare!
But really,
do I need a chosen day,
just because those
who gain from it say?
I know it's easier
to say it with the lot
but it means that much more
to say it when they are not.
John Kersten Oct 2011
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