CONVENTION FARM TOUR Convention Farm Tour Host: Brownhaven Farms | New Bremen, Ohio

Brownhaven Farms of New Bremen, Ohio will graciously host a farm tour for the Ohio Convention on March 8th, 2024 at 07353 SR 364, New Bremen, Ohio

Founded in 1959, Brownhaven farm began in a two-stanchion barn with Holsteins and

Guernseys. Today the Brown brothers running the farm are Lou and his wife Deb along with Alan and his wife Ruth in addition to many family members.

Brownhaven Farms Highlights:

• 409 cows with an RHA: 24877M 891F 783P and the herd is 99% registered.

• They milk in a double 10 Germania parlor but are expanding this spring to a double 20 Surge parlor.

• They have a 250-cow drive through barn and just recently finished an 80-stall calf barn.

• Their manure is kept in a 3 million gallon holding tank and their comprehensive nutrient management plan includes 900 acres.

• They farm 400 acres of corn, soybeans and alfalfa and they have been extruding the soybeans since 1974 to feed the herd.

• They recently added a second bulk tank to accommodate the spring flush and only use it when needed.

• They had 213 heifer calves born in 2023 and all the help on the farm is family.

• They averaged seven tours per year for the last 10 years with people wanting to see their wetlands, conservation practices, the monarch butterfly habitat, the blue bird boxes, the quail that were released last year and their cover crop management.

• They recently hosted a farm safety meeting with the local fire department to discuss the silos, the manure storage and the most dangerous equipment on the farm including feed mixers and choppers.

• In 2019 Brownhaven was honored with the Member of Distinction Award from Dairy Farmers of America.

The Browns are excited about hosting the farm tour and welcome everyone on March 8th! A full feature on Brownhaven will be included in the May-June issue of the Ohio Holstein News continued from page 8 and two vet visits, no trucking, therefore it has been much more appealing to me. Toppglenn Atwood Waki has been my primary donor for selling embryos from. She is one of my best cows, her daughters are very impressive and are following in her footsteps. She has produced close to 400 good embryos. She averages close to 30 embryos per IVF. Transova only bills you per egg up to 15. So, when she averages 30 embryos per IVF, that cuts my cost per embryo in half.

Q. What do you think about online bidding?

A. I think online sales have found their place and have taken off pretty well. They are very advantageous from a seller and sales force standpoint. The seller usually gets less commission taken out and as far as whomever is hosting the sale, there’s a lot less work involved which is a big deal. I think the internet bidding at live auctions has really played an important role. Every sale I’ve been to, there is a large number of bids that get taken through the internet. Although online sales have gained a lot of traction, everyone enjoys a live auction where you can look at the animals in person and also socialize with friends and

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And if they want some ideas for nutrition or need a fitter, I try to line someone up or sometimes I will do it myself.

Who Are You Selling To?

It’s whoever comes and buys. I sold one to Missouri last year and I was shocked. It’s cool to see where your genetics go, but it’s hard to keep track of it as well.

Time of Year?

I think spring fever has something to do with it. People are ready to get out after a cold winter in the Midwest. Plus, people like to see a fresh clip job in March, they haven’t seen that in a few months, so I think people like to get out and see the cattle and want to buy something for the spring shows and the rest of the show season.

Advertising?

Of course we are advertising in the Ohio Holstein News, Facebook is a great marketing tool, but as far as the tag sale, having success with our previous two tag sales helps with getting buyers to the sale. Out of the cattle that we’ve sold, we have had a couple of All-American nominations and junior champions at bigger shows and that history means something. The calves that didn’t sell that my kids have shown had some good results as well. They had an Ayrshire that was nominated All-American and Jr All-American, we had a Jersey junior two-year-old that won her class at the Ohio State Fair Junior show, so some of those that didn’t sell were successes for my kids. fellow breeders that you don’t get to see very often. I also think it’s a great place to meet new people. Back 10 plus years ago, a very successful dairyman/mentor of mine from California told me that his goal at any show/sale he attended was to meet and talk to at least one new person that he didn’t know. I have tried to do the same thing and throughout  the years have made a lot of new friends this way. You don’t get that with an online only sale unless it’s held in a banquet room at a hotel or a bar in Nashville.

Q. Do you use online bidding?

We use Cowbuyer for online bidding, they do a great job. North to south, east to west, they cover the whole United States really well. I think they are necessary for us and they have worked well with me.

Q. What’s one of the mistakes you’ve made in the past that you learned from?

No pictures are better than a bad picture. One bad picture on Facebook or Cowbuyer can hurt you. I’m getting better at taking photos, but I’ve definitely had some bad photos and they didn’t sell and my kids ended up with them.

Q. What is one of your biggest successes in cattle marketing?

I mentioned those champions and All-Americans in an earlier question and that makes you feel like all the work is worth it. We have also been fortunate that our animals have gone to some good homes and they were successful for them and that’s what it’s all about.

One piece of advice for selling: You have to sell your best because you don’t want to get a bad name for selling a bad one. It’s not good for your name, your farm or you breeding program.

One piece of advice for buying: I’m big on strength. Once they get older they will need to have strength, the strong ones last. I like to look for good feet and legs, width through the chest and rump. A good rump structure will bring you a high and wide rear udder.