220 acres. As it was a functioning ABOVE Northfi eld
dairy unit, the decision was Farm has been home
taken to run a fl ying herd there
to the Bown family
and this is run as a completely
for 80 years.
separate enterprise with cows
bought in and 90% of the cows
LEFT Richard, Dawn,
served to Simmental. Managed Daniel and Hannah
on a low input system by Richard were presented with
and a herdsman, they are
the Premier Pedigree
paddock grazed with cake in
Herd Award at this
the parlour and self-feed silage.
year’s Dairy Event.
The main focus however, is the
Richaven herd. BELOW LEFT Calf
Walking through the cows pens house a cracking
you are struck by the level of
Ayrshire heifer and a
consistency throughout, with
Blackstar son (right).
every individual demonstrating
the power that Richard has
family, but after winning the Championship at the West Midlands Calf Show
always insisted is essential
she fi red up his enthusiasm for the job. Another purchase is currently the
to provide a long lived cow.
oldest cow in the herd. Flettdale Stardust Kay EX96-7E LP130 SP is Richard’s
Added to this, great feet and
kind of cow – a big, framey, powerful cow that milks. She is now carrying her
legs from the oldest cow to the
tenth calf after producing 136 tonnes in nine lactations and was last shown
youngest fresh heifer, terrifi c at this year’s National at 13 years of age. The most well-known of Richard’s
locomotion and youthful udders, investments and the biggest contributor to the herd today however, has to
you soon realise how the herd be Severnvales Chief Squaw EX93-3E SP LP50 14*.
are averaging an incredible Richard was responsible for managing David Garside’s sale in December
classifi cation score of 89 points. 1995 and whilst clipping, spotted a calf he really admired. Unfortunately,
Richard has made a number of Dawn went into labour the morning of sale day so a decision had to be
astute purchases over the years. made. Richard decided to stay and fi nish the job and whilst working,
One of the fi rst was Evesbatch successfully bid for the calf. In the interim, Dawn gave birth to the couple’s
Counselor Nadine that Richard son, Daniel. In typical male fashion, Richard describes it as the ‘best day’s
showed in 1993, the fi rst time work he ever did’! It is hard to disagree actually, indeed Squaw now accounts
he had shown an animal of for almost a third of the herd today and 13-year-old Dan took himself off to
his own. Nadine has not left a
top the grazing fi elds before the end of milking on the evening of my visit!
FARMFACTS
Richaven Holsteins
• Total area; Three farms, 480 acres in total
• Herd average; 10,377kgs, 4.48%BF, 3.19%P, 795kgs CFP,
CC114
• Summer ration; Grazing April to November, buffer fed
grass with maize silage, 1kg 38%P
• Winter ration; 60% grass silage, 40% maize silage,
1.5kgs 38%P, ad lib hay (18-20kgs from the manger) top
up in the parlour
• Cow families; Adrienne, Bud, Biddy, Dellia, Fransci,
Ghost, Kay, Katie, Mahala, Papoose, Roxy, Squaw.
• Current sires in use; Goldwyn, Jasper, Allen, Bolton,
Journalist, R. Majestic, Pagewire, Raider, Squawbuck,
Sanchez, Million
• Current classifi cation; 33 EX, 40 VG, 2 GP (both 84 point
heifers), 10 heifers not classifi ed
THE JOURNAL DECMEBER 2009 27
e6-09 Richaven.indd 3 11/11/2009 17:25:55
Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84  |  Page 85  |  Page 86  |  Page 87  |  Page 88  |  Page 89  |  Page 90  |  Page 91  |  Page 92  |  Page 93  |  Page 94  |  Page 95  |  Page 96  |  Page 97  |  Page 98  |  Page 99  |  Page 100  |  Page 101  |  Page 102  |  Page 103  |  Page 104