The former rugby representative, surf lifesaver, and practical joker, has also worked in other industries, including a travel agency, but he said it was the cows that fuelled his nomadic lifestyle.

"Most people don’t know what opportunities are out there," he said. "Most people sit at home on Dad’s farm and don’t realise that their skills are wanted worldwide, and they can get well paid for it."

Raised on a grass-fed philosophy, milking 280 cows in NZ to managing an operation that milked 540 cows through a 60-bale rotary shed in the North Island.

He then moved to Saudi Arabia until 1991, where he was the assistant manager responsible for feeding and health for 7500 animals. The herd was fed on a similar regime to a total mixed ration, and averaged 12 000 1.

Mr Whittington brings 15 years experience in the industry to Dookie and said he liked the idea of a smaller herd of 175 cows in the beautiful rolling countryside where the Dookie farm sprawls on the way to Benalla. "You have more time for detail with a smaller herd."

He said farming in Australia was harder than in NZ because the timing of decisions regarding water and pasture management was so critical here. He said there was so much water in NZ, and its system was more forgiving without water restrictions. Mr Whittington had an interesting time in Saudi Arabia where alcohol was illegal, and massive culture differences existed.

"They had unlimited money, and they just piled concentrate into the cows, and to achieve pretty fantastic results."

He said the farm was not far from the capital and all the associated diplomatic tensions created by the Gulf War.

Mr Whittington is still settling in at Dookie , but he is planning for a herd peak of281/cow, and he wants to mate the first calving heifers to a Jersey bull next season for calving ease. He said he would also like to reach the peak with limited grain. The herd is getting 3 kg of pellets a day, and he would prefer to use more hay and urea to achieve the same goal.

"We had an inauspicious start to the season. The cows were light and they still are, but they are going forward now in leaps and bounds."

Mr Whittington misses rugby union and his mum, but apart from that he said he was settled here.