Miraka hipi he rau hononga he rau puāwai

Strong relationships key to new venture - and an exciting future

While milk tankers in Taranaki are an unremarkable sight, there is one pick-up that signifies a journey with kotahitanga and whanaungatanga at its heart.

Around 500,000 litres of milk will be collected in the first season from the Parininihi ki Waitōtara Miraka Hipi farms in South Taranaki by the Spring Sheep Milk Co and taken to a Waikato plant to be turned into highly nutritious milk products.

Conversations between the two organisations started more than three years ago and culminated in a relationship that brought an innovative alternative land use to Taranaki, and further diversification of the PKW investment portfolio.

“As with any potential investment, alignment with our strategic approach and core values was the key to pursuing Miraka Hipi as a possibility to be explored, ‘says Te Rau Whakahaumako/ General Manager Ahuwhenua Shane Miles. “We found our approach, vision and kaupapa really resonated with the team at the Spring Sheep Milk Co and so the partnership was formed on strong foundations.”

For PKW, Miraka Hipi aligns closely with the strategic focus of Property, People, Protein and Place, providing considerable opportunity to not only leverage the Incorporation’s most valuable asset, the whenua, but also to build new relationships on both a local and national level, develop knowledge and capability, and establish a clear growth strategy that involves the involvement of hapū and uri into the future.

These goals formed a clear synergy between the two organisations, and was the catalyst for the partnership to develop, according to Joe Highet, the Taranaki Regional Development lead for Spring Sheep Milk Co.

“Our business has already established 14 sheep dairying units in the Waikato, and now as we look to scale, we wanted to expand into another region,” he says.

“Taranaki was the obvious choice as turning grass into milk is something its farmers know about, but we needed to find the right people to work with, a partner that understood the environmental, social and economic benefits sheep dairying offers and one willing to embrace innovation and find new ways of doing things.”

“From the initial meeting with PKW, it was clear that the potential was there and we are very pleased to have reached this stage where milk produced on a PKW farm is being collected and processed at our facility here in the Waikato.”

“This is a big milestone in the journey we have mapped out ahead of us, so it is good to stop and acknowledge the mahi that got us to this place, and the strength of partnership that will see us forge ahead with our mutually beneficial plans for the future.”

Above (left to right): Mike Swift (PKW Miraka Hipi Operations Manager), Joe Highet (Spring Sheep - Taranaki Regional Development Lead), Shane Miles (PKW General Manager Ahuwhenua) and Thomas MacDonald (Spring Sheep - Chief Operating Officer).

The growth strategy will see the PKW flock grow from 1600 ewes at two farms to 13,000 ewes at 12 farms and be the driving force behind the development of a Taranaki production hub. A further 15 partner farms with another 13,000 ewes are planned from year three, increasing the region’s involvement in the sheep dairying industry up to 25-26 farms and more than 26,000 ewes within the next ten year.

“Together with the Spring Sheep Milk Co, we have the ability to collaborate with potential partners who share our kaupapa and vision to create opportunity for those who want to be connected to their whenua, who want to build this industry into one that will provide a prosperous future for the generations to come,” says Shane.

“It is a very exciting prospect, and while it has been something we have been working towards for some time, seeing the lambs on the ground and the ewes coming through the brand-new milking shed really helps bring home how real what we are planning to achieve is.”

“Everyone involved, from both PKW and the Spring Sheep Milk Co, is excited to see what the future will bring as we continue to strengthen our partnership and add new ones to create a network of sustainable opportunity and potential for the benefit of all.”

“All our kaimahi are critical to the success of PKW, and our new Miraka Hipi farming team are no exception. They have come together in a short period of time and really embraced what we are trying to achieve. Although we are still in the early stages of our journey, they have been instrumental in ensuring we have made a positive start.”

Sheep’s milk has a high nutritional value, particularly in calcium, which provides elevated health benefits to young and old alike. It is also more acceptable to the human digestive system than cow’s or goat’s milk and doesn’t have the strong smell or taste of goat’s milk, making it more acceptable to consumers, which is helping to build the global demand for sheep’s milk-based food products.

Miraka Hipi also offers some potentially significant environmental gains compared to a similar expansion in conventional bovine dairying.

Extensive financial modelling, industry research, market potential and return on asset analysis underpins the growth plan, but the strength of the strategic approach comes back to the core values of kotahitanga and whanaungatanga – trusted relationships, working together and the belief in collective action.