NZ Dairy
ON FARM » Nick Browning
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Northland dairy farmer Nick Browning won the Jersey NZ herd scene award for this photo of cows crossing a bridge.
Testing times for new sharemilkers Kelly Deeks Business is changing at the Browning family’s Northland dairy farm this season, with Nick and Steph Browning becoming equity partners in his parents’ farm, as well as being the first season with an all jersey herd. The 430ha farm near Dargaville has been in the Browning family coming up 20 years. The family runs a 150ha dairy platform with 370 cows, a 40ha run off block, and the remainder of the farm is used to raise beef stock. Nick Browning came home to a farm manager position in 2011, having spent a year as second in charge on a high input dairy farm, after working for more than six years as a diesel mechanic for Norwood Farm Machinery. Four years later and Browning is now equity sharemilking on the family farm, and the same arrangement will continue next season as the Brownings and the industry tries to survive the low milk pay out. It has already affected operations on the Browning farm, with Nick’s farm worker finishing and not being replaced, to keep costs down. “It is pretty tough conditions for our first year sharemilking, but our accountant has advised us if we can survive this year we can survive anything. The Browning family have been running a pedigree jersey herd for years, with jersey breeding dating back to Nick’s great grandparents. Last season there were about 180 friesians on the Browning farm and 140 jerseys. This season the family decided to make the whole herd jerseys, selling the friesian cows and
buying a jersey herd, and upping cow numbers from 320 to 370. The new herd was milking once a day for the past 10 years, so Browning says it has taken a lot of work to adjust them to twice a day milkings. “We’ve kept a small once-a-day herd with lame cows right through the season, and that has hindered our production,” he says. Browning says he hopes to increase cow numbers again next season as while the jerseys are doing the same daily production as the friesians, they are not getting through as much grass. He will also be focused on improving the empty rate next season, which at 12% this season with the help of CIDRs was still an extremely good result for the area, which has been struggling with droughts and floods. The Brownings are hoping to get through next mating without the use of CIDRs. The family has been working with DairyNZ since February on a dairy condition programme, and the average body condition score has been raised by .1 to 4.3. The Brownings have also spent a lot of time this season on fixing fences and races, after the farm flooded four times last winter and demolished every fence and race in its path. DairyNZ’s Taskforce Green arrived on the Browning’s farm for a few days in the middle of calving time to help pick up debris from the floods. The Browning’s pedigree jersey herd compete in shows all around Northland and have won several supreme champion awards and other placings. Browning himself has won the Jersey New Zealand Alpha Nominated Jersey Photo Competition for the past two years, getting photos of his cows on the front cover of The Jersey Review.
Nick and Steph Browning are equity farmers on this Waihue Valley property near Dargaville. The farm sits under Mt Tutamoe, Northland’s highest mountain.
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