“There is a real synergy in learning and information sharing.”
Hot topics included farm staff recruitment and retention, profitability and the environment.
Brown’s vision as DairyNZ chairwoman was for the organisation to become “more connected and in tune” with farmers.
At a national level, she said farmers wanted confidence that biosecurity was in hand and that this was a matter that DairyNZ, along with other sector organisations, was pursuing with the Government.
Brown said DairyNZ also shared views with the Government, in conjunction with Beef + Lamb New Zealand and Federated Farmers, on policies relating to improving water quality and reducing carbon emissions from farms.
Both matters are close to her heart, as her extensive CV illustrates.
Brown and her husband Wynn, who farm near Matamata, won the Waikato Ballance Farm Environment Supreme Award in 2010.
Seven years later they took out the inaugural Fonterra Farm Source Responsible Dairying Award.
Sustainability superstar
Also in 2018, Brown was named a “Sustainability Superstar” for the Sustainable Business Network Awards, while the previous year she was a finalist in the Westpac Women of Influence Awards.
She chaired the DairyNZ Dairy Environment Leaders Forum and served as a farmer representative on the Dairy Environment Leadership Group and Dairy Tomorrow Working Group.
Brown was also appointed, by Cabinet, to the Essential Freshwater Independent Advisory Panel and NAWAC (National Animal Welfare Advisory Committee).
A Nuffield Scholar, she is one of the Agri-Women’s Development Trust “Escalator” Alumni and Lincoln University Kellogg’s Rural Leadership Scholar.
She is an immediate past trustee of the NZ Dairy Industry Awards and chair of Te Rarawa Farming Ltd in the Far North, while other past roles have included trustee of the Dairy Women’s Network and St Paul’s Collegiate School in Hamilton.
Brown has come into the role at DairyNZ with record payouts forecast to farmers and exports from the sector predicted to grow by 10% in the year to June 2025.
Dairy’s bright future
“The future feels really bright,” she told Coast & Country News from Wellington.
Brown noted that cow numbers in New Zealand had plateaued somewhat, down from more than five million in recent years to 4.7 million currently.
This is due in part to land use changes and reductions in cow numbers.
However, dairy production is up 6.5% this year, chiefly through good climatic conditions.
Input costs are also predicted to stabilise.
“The stars are aligning with a reasonable season and an improved payout,” she said.
“Farmers are a bit more optimistic and in a much better place than last year.”
Brown believed the emphasis in dairy farming over the next 5-10 years would be on efficiency, emerging technology and managing emissions.
“It’s about reducing the footprint.”
She said farmers had made “big efforts” in the past 10 years in areas, including planting to protect the environment, and moved towards the use of renewable energy sources, such as solar power.
“Farmers should be really proud of their efforts.”
A “townie” kid from Northland who moved to a rural community at age 11, Brown started out studying at Massey University for a veterinary degree.
After a year, however, she opted for a four-year degree in ag science majoring in farm management and ag economics.
Agricultural economist
She completed a Bachelor of Agricultural Science before cutting her teeth in the workforce as an agricultural economist for the Meat & Wool Board’s Economic Service in Wellington for four years in the 1990s.
After a brief stint back in Northland for the Farm Cadet Scheme, she moved to the Waikato to work for the Ag ITO (Industry Training Organisation) and then went into rural banking with ASB.
During a 10-year break to raise a family of four with Wynn, she honed her governance skills off the farm on the boards of Matamata Toy Library and Matamata Intermediate School (three years as chairwoman).
DairyNZ funding is based on a levy paid by farmers and calculated on the quantity of milk solids supplied to their respective dairy companies.
For example, a typical farm milking 413 cows would face an annual levy of $5516 plus GST.
DairyNZ collects around $67 million each year from New Zealand dairy farmers.
The DairyNZ board comprises eight members, five farmer-elected and three professionals, plus an associate director.
A chair and deputy are elected by the board at its annual meeting.
With offices in Hamilton and Wellington, the board meets roughly every six weeks.
