Staff Profiles
Arnie Brown
“The Stock Food Broker”
Arnie Brown considers himself to be a “Stock Food broker”. That’s how he sees his sales role with J Swap Stockfoods whom he has been working for, after leaving dairy farming several years ago.
Based in Taupo, Arnie covers the Waikato/Bay of Plenty area and loves working for Swap Stockfoods as it allows him to set his own day. “I know all my clients needs and in particular the geographical quirks of each area. For example some regions flood easier than others so after a few days rain I know to head down there to check on my farmers”.
As a former dairy farmer Arnie confessed that when he farmed he never fed stock food. However when quizzed, he also admits that if he knew then what he knows now he would have been a farmer that fed a high input system. “In my opinion it’s not just about feeding for milk production but also for cow condition. Additionally recognising the different nutritional needs of cows at various times of the year is important. Adapting your feed to suit offers the best use of stock food as a management tool”.
Having seen first hand the benefits of feeding cow’s supplementary stock food Arnie has no doubt that what he is doing for a career is of huge benefit to farmers. He also knows that dealing with farmers is all about relationships and trust. “It doesn’t matter how good my product is if they don’t believe in me or trust my advice they won’t support my company”.
Yet this is where Arnie believes he is lucky. Not only has he established mutually respectful relationships with his farmers but he also works for a trustworthy family owned and operated company. That’s two ticks. Additionally J Swap Stockfoods own the whole supply chain. Arnie believes this gives farmers huge peace of mind knowing that the quality of the Palm Kernel Extract being imported is controlled from start to finish. Swap Stockfoods import, bulk store and deliver to the farm and this is usually done within a 48 hour time frame and often within 24 hours. This really gives Arnie some great points of advantage when farmers are comparing stock food suppliers.
“In my opinion J Swap Stockfoods is pretty hard to beat”
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