From sniper to share farmer

• Published date: 10 April 2024
• Publication title: Central Rural Life

When police needed assistance in the vast South American nation, the army was brought in to keep the peace during demonstrations or to help with vehicle stops to search for drugs or guns

A stint providing military assistance in Haiti eluded him, but by his third year he was deployed to stay in the jungle for three weeks.

In his role with Brazil’s Special Operations Command he was expected to lie hidden, remaining motionless for hours.

‘‘I learned to wait and wait. You train the way you are breathing and just listen to your heart rate. It was incredible how we actually stayed. It’s hard to explain, each time is different. You get to know your body. I take full control of my body and I can work three days if I have to without sleep and I will be in the same mood. I’ve done this before — I’ve been awake for two days when I have so much to do. When I talk to people what I do on the farm or my life to get jobs done in 24 hours they think that’s impossible — ‘how do I do that?’ and ‘why?’ and ‘that’s crazy’. My whole life I hear that.’’

Compared with the rigours of military life, he finds the discipline of dairying relatively easy.

As a contract milker for Dairy Holdings on an irrigated farm in Canterbury’s Southbridge near Leeston, the 37-year-old is out of the bed running at 2am each morning and hits the pillow again at 9pm.

When the irrigation needs moving at the 260ha property running 1000 cows he gets the job done, irrespective of time.

‘‘I don’t like being late. If I have to be there at 3am I will be there before then. I start and make my days easier for my guys who help me on the farm and myself because if something goes wrong we have time on our hands. I work all day on the farm and then I go to the gym, go do my workout for one hour then come home.’’

The military runs strong in his family.

‘‘I was a sniper in the infantry for a few years. I loved it, but I couldn’t stay as the maximum was seven years to stay there. That comes from generations of my family serving and my great grandfather went to the army and my father and then I went. When I left, my middle brother went to the army. It was a great time and I learned so much.’’

Raised by a solo mother, he grew up in a poor part of the town of Ceu Azul, about 1000km south of Sao Paulo.

His dad died when he was young and his mother was at home looking after a large family.

‘‘So I had a very rough life and that’s why I went to the army. Mum raised us well and we always used to share clothes, everything.’’

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