Balancing raising a large young family with being the sole owner of a dairy farm is not easy. But somehow Mary Williams who farms a 65ha effective unit milking 223 cows at Puhipuhi, about 25 kilometres north of Whangarei, makes it work. “I don’t really have any great tips. My house is a mess but we get through,” she says with a laugh.
Mary was catapulted into taking charge of the farm around two years ago when her husband Rhys sadly unexpectedly passed away. She has four young children: Jack, 10, George, 9, Charlie, 7 and Ruby, 5.
Mary also works as a teacher three days a week at Hukerenui School where her children are also students. So how does she make it all work? Delegation is the key, she says, and employing good people.
The farm is run by contract milkers Benson and Chevon Horsford and Mary also has the support of a good farm consultant to make sure things stay on track. While she leaves the dayto-day running of the farm to the contract milker she still manages the herd records, financials and budgets.
She says having good cows is another key as her cows efficiently convert feed into milk. Her purebred Jersey herd is one of the top in the country across all breeds with BW 154 and PW 170.
Mary says breeding has always been her main interest in farming and she is proud to be continuing the legacy of Williams Jerseys that Rhys was also passionate about.
When Rhys’ father Brian retired they purchased his herd of 70 elite cows that makes up about a third of Mary’s herd today. The breeding worth of the herd is 143 and the production worth 148. Herd improvement always remains a priority.
She artificially inseminates for six weeks and around 30 of her cows are contracted to breeding companies. The rest are nominated individually based on breeding values. Mary uses high BW breeding sires and only uses Jersey genetics.
She achieved a 77% six-week in-calf rate this year. As all cows are milked once a day she feels this contributes to the herd’s low empty rate.
children with their calf club calves, Charlie (6), Jack (10), Ruby (5) and George (9).
The farm is supported by a 68ha lease block located two kilometres away, which helps her to maintain such a high stocking rate. This is used for grazing and growing supplement.
She uses around 150 tonnes of palm kernel but will be monitoring the effect of this closely as Fonterra’s fat evaluation index grading system comes into effect in September.
“We are keeping good records of our palm kernel usage this season and the effect it has on the FEI. I suspect the implications of the grading system will change how I operate in the future.”
Last season the farm produced 64,857 kilograms of milk solids due to the drought. This season it is
on target to reach 70,000 kilograms.
Mary says that the unexpected challenges of the past two years have shown her that she does love farming and has no plans to quit any time soon: “I went through a period of uncertainty and wasn’t sure if I wanted to keep on farming.
It’s been a huge change and I’ve learned heaps along the way. Two years down the track I feel like it can tick away and is something I’m very proud of.
I have at least one son who is passionate about cows and who I can see being a dairy farmer one day so it’s been a good move to keep the farm for the future.”
This article was brought to you in association with the following businesses…
- Stan Emenoff Group
- Advance Dairy & Pump Ltd
- Johnston O’Shea
- Henty Agriculture Ltd
