Phillip and partner Erin Brown, a teacher, have been sharemilking for Brett Coubrough and Joke Streuken on their 70 hectares Tirau dairy farm for three seasons.

Phillip comes from a well-established Matamata dairy farming family. He was brought up and became very involved on the family farm, relief milking during his school years.

Encouraged by his parents to ‘get another skill’ he took on a joinery apprenticeship in 2005 and became a qualified builder working in the Waikato before spending a year overseas. He came back to dairy farming in 2010 as farm assistant and Artificial Breeding technician and started buying stock “sneaking them onto Dad’s farm”. He moved to contract milking in 2013 all the while building up his herd ready for the sharemilking step in 2014.

Although he’s only on been the Tirau property for three seasons, Phillip has made many improvements both in pasture and in cow fertility. He re-grassed 65 per cent of the farm in the first two seasons, under-sowing both perennial and annual varieties. He grew four hectares of crop – chicory and turnips – in the first season, 9ha in year two and 1.3ha this last season.

The first season Phillip achieved 85,000kg/ms – just under the farm record – but the second year when the payout crashed he had to reduce costs to remain viable. He cut 10 cows from the herd and reduced the use of supplements – he says it was tough going.

Wet winter

This season Phillip hopes to get 75,000kg/ms even with the very wet winter and he’s had to increase the supplement feed to protect the pasture on the farm.

Phillip says landowners Brett and Joke are not farmers, so they rely heavily on the sharemilker to do the right thing for them and he has a comprehensive but simple reporting system to ensure they are fully informed.

“We have 290 cows and hope to double that number. Erin has no farming background, I’m not sure if that is a good thing or a bad thing. I have trouble getting her to give up her pet cows and calves. I have to do it during the week while she is teaching,” he says with a grin.

Their plan is to increase herd size and get to farm ownership in 10 years.

Phillip is working to steadily improve the quality of his herd. As a qualified AB technician he selects the right sire for each animal and likes to use smaller bulls to ensure ease of calving. He has a goal to produce good quality animals other farmers want to milk.

“I’ve stuck with a mainly crossbred herd, I like Friesian, but the crossbreed are more popular. I have a fairly young herd. I will keep older animals as long as they are performing.

“These last couple of seasons I’ve kept as many young ones as I can afford to send to grazing.” The herd is all recorded and Phillip is keen to improve his animals as he progresses.

“I am more aware of keeping an eye on how the grazed stock are going, I learnt from the first season when they were largely out of sight and so not as well monitored.”

Empty rate down

As an AB technician he can ensure his animals are well tended to and has reduced the empty rate from 12 per cent, down to 7.5 per cent during this tough spring.

And being the only worker on the property Phillip keeps a close eye on cow condition. He runs several small sub-herds, at 70 head, to ensure they are AB’d and then those still cycling will go into the bull herd. He uses smaller-framed yearly bulls either white-faced Hereford or well-bred Jersey. He DNA tests the calves to ensure he can correctly record his young stock.

“I don’t breed off rubbish. I choose the right bull for the cow and I’ve looked into the sexed semen for future use.

“My Somatic Cell Count is fantastic 35-40 through spring. I test the herd and I’m in the cowshed every day so if there is any mastitis I am on to it straight away. I cull cows with bad udders or to keep the body weight high.”

Phillip won the Westpac Business Performance Award, which showed he has a great awareness of his financial position and has a comprehensive business plan moving forward.

Phillip and Erin are currently looking for their next move, with their present landowners putting their son onto the farm next season.