Teaching inmates skills is rewarding work on prison dairy farm in South Otago

The cows are back home on a South Otago prison and inmates training for a brighter future will help deliver their calves soon. About 350 cows returned to 142ha farm Milburn Dairies, outside the razorwire on Otago Corrections Facility near Milton last week. Department of Corrections dairy instructors Robert Reyes said the KiwiCross herd was dried-off in May, spent winter in Millers Flat and returned home for calving. The prisoners assist during calving. After a delivery last season, Mr Reyes said to a prisoner he was “a nanny now”. M r Reyes began working on Milburn Dairies about two years ago. He said the work was rewarding, as it was helping prisoners on a path to a new life. “It is satisfying to see them progress.” The main aims of the farm were the rehabilitation of prisoners and maintaining a high standard rather than maximising milk production. “The milk we produce is additional.” Two prisoners now work on the dairy farm, after one was released earlier this month. The prison was built in the middle of the farm in 2007. No recidivist offenders had returned to work on the farm since he had worked on Milburn Dairies. More inmates worked on the farm when there were more lower security beds in the prison. As the number of high-security beds increased, the number of farm workers declined, he said. SHAWN MCAVINUEDepartment of Corrections principal dairy instructor Robert Reyes in the milking shed on Milburn Dairies at Otago Corrections Facility in South Otago. Photo: Shawn McAvinue Department of Corrections data shows there were 532 prisoners at Otago Corrections Facility as of March 31. Mr Reyes said the prisoners working on the farm since his tenure were all from “self-care” units, residential style accommodation designed to be used primarily by prisoners who were nearing release. All of them were deemed a low risk of escaping. “They have certain criteria to pass before they get approval to work outside the wire.” When the herd required milking, prisoners were picked up at 7am and returned at 3pm. During winter, the prisoners did maintenance work, such as fencing, on the farm between 8am and 4pm. The day Southern Rural Life visited last week, days before the herd returned, prisoners were trimming a hedge. Often a prisoner was reluctant to work on the farm but they learnt to enjoy it. “It is something to do, rather than sitting in their cells.” Prisoners were paid 60c an hour as a training incentive. If the prison was in lock-down, the dairy instructors completed the tasks on the farm by themselves or asked for help from other Corrections staff on site. The milking platform on Milburn Dairies was 135ha and a 16ha leased run-off block. Nearly 50 paddocks across the platform provided a stocking rate of 2.6 cows per hectare. The cows’ diet featured only feed produced on farm, including pasture, kale and oats. Cows were milked once a day. An average cow produced about 370kg of milksolids last season. “For a grass-based system, that’s not too bad.” A target was to produce 400kg of milksolids per cow. SHAWN MCAVINUEDepartment of Corrections dairy instructor Prabath Ariyarathna began mentoring prisoners working on Milburn Dairies on Otago Corrections Facility in South Otago. Photo: Shawn McAvinue He had asked his bosses for a budget increase to put smart collars on cows and automatic cup removers in the 40-aside herringbone milking shed, so the prisoners had more skills on release, Mr Reyes said. “We are pushing for it so the boys don’t get a surprise when faced with new technology on a farm.” The mating programme includes six weeks of artificial insemination using LIC genetics. An achievement was 76% of cows becoming pregnant in the first six weeks of the mating period last season. After the insemination programme, bulls were deployed for another six weeks. Originally from the Philippines, Mr Reyes emigrated to New Zealand from Saudi Arabia in 2010. He worked on a dairy farm in Saudi Arabia for five years. Before taking on the prison job, he worked on eight dairy farms in Southland, South Canterbury, North Otago and South Otago, progressing from farm assistant to management positions. “Farming is a very rewarding career, you just need to love your work.” Working on Milburn Dairies and creating a safer community was a way to give back for the opportunities provided for him and his family in New Zealand. The plan was to work on Milburn Dairies until retirement. "I don’t think I could go back to twice-a-day milking,” he laughed. Dairy instructor Prabath Ariyarathna started working at Milburn Dairies in January. His prior job was as an assistant manager, waking at 3am to start the day to milk 870 cows twice a day on a dairy farm in Ashburton from 2022. The primary focus of the new job was to mentor prisoners rather than being under continual pressure to push milk production. “Here it is totally different … it is like a dream.” SHAWN MCAVINUEDepartment of Corrections dairy instructor Prabath Ariyarathna (left) and principal dairy instructor Robert Reyes at the entrance of prison farm Milburn Dairies in South Otago. Photo: Shawn McAvinue When he immigrated to New Zealand from his home in Sri Lanka in 2019, he worked as a dairy assistant, east of Invercargill. Before arriving, a friend told him he could comfortably farm in shorts and a t-shirt in Southland. “I had no idea about the weather.” He progressed to a herd manager in Oamaru in 2021 and then on to Ashburton. Before immigrating, he worked in Sri Lanka as an agricultural instructor on a dairy farm, teaching people including prisoners. When the position on Milburn Dairies was advertised, he knew he had the skills but doubted he would land the job. “I never thought the job would come to me.” Mr Reyes said lots of people had applied for the dairy instructor job and there was a rigorous selection process. “He was a stand-out.” Another dairy instructor was now being trained. Dairy farmers should give former inmates a job on release because they had the skills to work on a commercial farm, he said. “Absolutely.” Prisoners were supported to learn on the job towards a New Zealand Certificate in Agriculture — Dairy Farming from Primary ITO, Mr Reyes said. “The boys we have here are really good, they want to work and learn more because they know the value of skills, and not just farm skills, but teamwork, responsibility and self confidence.” shawn.mcavinue@alliedmedia.co.nz

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