42 | Farming in step with the seasons in Taranaki Kim Newth Siblings Paul and Bryant Fabish, of Fabish Brothers Farms, continue to lead productive, efficient dairy operations on their respective farms in the Taranaki region, adapting to each new season to get the best out of their cows and land. Both have been farming at Tariki since the 1980s. Bryant is based on the original Fabish family home farm, comprising 149ha effective while Paul runs a 108ha farm on higher ground. A smaller farm of 68ha and two run-offs complete their operation. The collective herd of around 900 cows is predominantly Friesian with a sprinkling of Jerseys on Paul’s farm. “Earlier this year we bought one of the run-offs that we were leasing as part of our system, so we now also own that,” observes Bryant, who manages the run-off land. Back in 2022, Bryant made the decision to employ a contract milker for his farm to take some pressure off and leave more time for strategic oversight. Sri Lankan-born Anura Subasinghe and his family moved to Tariki from Opunake to take up that role in June 2022. “That has been working out really well and I’m pleased to say he’s also signed on for next season. Paul still milks, assisted by another guy, and Paul’s wife Heidi helps too. We also have a couple of casual part-timers in the mix. “The smaller farm has got a contract milker on it too. The last couple of guys we’ve had there did a great job and were pretty good at detail with grazing and feeding – total production from the 190 cows there is tracking towards 71,000kgMS.” Taranaki has been experiencing a dry autumn. By early April, there was a ‘green drought’ emerging in some areas, with pastures still green but soil drying out. “We had 100mm of rain here overnight and more today, so that has been pretty welcome from our point of view,” says Bryant, referring to a wet weather front that swept up the country in RURAL PEOPLE » Fabish Brothers mid-April. The home farm is currently running 3-in-2 milking, a flexible system that reduces the amount of time spent milking compared with milking twice a day (TAD), without reducing milk yield as much as milking once a day (OAD). “We’ve also just dried off some of our early calving cows and some of the younger ones.” Calving generally starts on the home farm at the start of August with the higher altitude farm following a week to 10 days later. Bryant says their early pregnancy scanning results are in step with expectations. “We’re always trying to improve – there are always a few more things to work on as we try and get better at what we do.” Fabish Brothers Farms are predominantly all-grass operations, with some palm kernel also brought in – “though we are still pretty much low use.” While there is regular re-grassing, there is no cropping. With a precision grass farming approach, electric fencing is deployed to manage pasture in an efficient way and for best yield. Overall, Brayant says production from Fabish Brothers Farms for the season is up on last year though drier autumn conditions have led to some lost production. Proud to partner with Fabish Brothers Proud to support Fabish Brothers Phone: (06) 756 7785 Mobile: 027 663 5675 Address: 34 Richmond Street, Inglewood 4330 EXPERIENCED SERVICING & REPAIR OF FARM EQUIPMENT Equipment Servicing & Parts Agents of ForÿallÿyourÿAccountingÿandÿ ManagementÿAdvisoryÿneedsÿ andÿTaxationÿServices Contactÿusÿtodayÿ Phoneÿ(06)ÿ756ÿ8189 Email:ÿÿfintaxltd@xtra.co.nz PÿOÿBoxÿ7,ÿInglewoodÿ4347 28ÿBrownÿSt,ÿInglewood Taranaki Fintax Chartered Accountants Limited 39 Cutfield St, Inglewood 94 Broadway, Stratford 0800 662 6455 www.moamilking.co.nz Proud to support Fabish Brothers Taranaki brothers Paul and Byrant Fabish have been farming at Tariki since the 1980s.
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