A DECISION to expand the operations of a Tamworth dairy saw 200 cows be walked some 3.5km alongside a busy Tamworth road to their new home on Sunday morning.
Wes and Julie Brown have lived at the 200-acre property, “Trewlawney”, on Wallamore Rd for the past 25 years.
On Sunday – with the help of neighbours, family and friends – the family moved 200 head of dairy cattle to their new 476-acre property, “Willow Lynn”, on Browns Lane.
It took horses, two-wheelers, quad bikes, utes and plenty of hands to keep the mob contained as they made their way along the Wallamore Rd stretch, with passing cattle trucks and plenty of curious motorists checking it all out.
“It went well,” Mrs Brown said on Sunday afternoon.
“It took us about an hour and 20 minutes with plenty of help.
“We’ve done nothing like that before.
“They’ve never even been into the front paddock, so it was a big thing for them.”
The decision to move the dairy comes back to the family’s plan to expand operations at the family-run business.
The family transformed “Trelawney” from a lucerne farm to a dairy farm when they took over the property about 25 years ago.
“When we came here, we were milking 55 when we first started,” Mrs Brown said.
“Now we have 200, and we want 350 to 400 eventually.
“It’s a bit of a gamble.
“We were kind of treading water where we were, we couldn’t expand any more.
“So this gave us an opportunity.”
Mrs Brown says at the heart of the operation is family. Both Wes and Julie grew up on dairy farms, before raising their son and three daughters at “Trelawney”.
“We’ve done (dairy farming) all our lives,” Mrs Brown said.
“Both our families are dairy people. It’s always been a family affair.”
The Brown family hopes to have 340 head at their new place by autumn.
“It’s certainly been a busy couple of months,” Mrs Brown said.
