Makers Adding value to milk
Entrepreneurial Spirit at IHFA
In this special feature we profile some of our members who have established an enterprise to capture added value from the milk produced by their Pedigree Registered Holstein Friesian herds. There are many such farm-based family enterprises throughout the country. Some are firmly established and are familiar to many. For others it is the quintessential cottage industry. All are focused on getting their unique message out to the public.
their products. Theirs is a signature of the qualities they stand for. We are all aware of the taste, nutrition and wholesome characteristics of milk. Cashel Blue, Temple Dairy and Valentia Dairy have seized on to this and added their own authentic imprint to take it to the next level. We wish success and prosperity to all members throughout the country involved in a farming related enterprise. Read on for the entrepreneurial business story so far of Cashel Blue, the Daly family and Curtin family respectively
In this instance we feature three such family-farm enterprises Cashel Blue Cheese, Valentia Farmhouse Dairies and Temple Farm Dairies. All have a passion for their Holstein Friesian cows and for 59
Cashel Blue Cheese
Cashel Blue Cheese is produced on the family farm of the Grubb family in Beechmount, Fethard, Co. Tipperary. The farm has been in the Grubb family for generations and is now owned by Louis and his daughter Sarah, her husband Sergio and their young family - keeping yet another generation going. In the early 70s, Louis, having returned to take charge of the home farm from his mother, he started a commercial dairy herd. He purchased cows locally and in the north of Ireland. With the wisdom and knowledge of his
wife Jane and seeing that there was a gap in this market, he looked into producing a blue cheese. Jane perfected the recipe from the comfort of her own kitchen in a small cheese vat. The recipe developed then is still the same today. As the market for the cheese started to grow and with a greater demand on sales and production, Pat Morrissey was employed as farm manager in the late 80s so that Louis could turn all his time to production and sales. At that time the milk from the herd was mainly going to Glanbia, known then as Avonmore, with mobile tanks being sent over for cheese production every second day. Two others were employed alongside Jane 60
in cheese production. That has since expanded to over twenty full time employees and six part time at Cashel Blue today. As the demand for this creamy, soft, blue cheese increased, Geurt Van den Dikkenburg, a native of the Netherlands, was employed as head cheese-maker in 1991. Increasingly, more and more of the farm milk was going into cheese production. Today, all the milk from the dairy herd goes to cheese production. Sarah and Sergio returned to take an active part in the growing business with markets being developed further and afield in America, North America, mainland Europe and Australia. Cashel Blue is still highly sought in the UK. On her visit to Ireland in 2012, Queen Elizabeth II was served Cashel Blue at the State Banquet in Dublin, of which she spoke very highly afterwards.
Farm Manager, Pat Morrissey, having spent his training years on the farm of Donnie Walsh’s Ivernia Herd in Clonakilty, developed a great love for the Pedigree Holstein Frisian and with the help of Kevin Dillon graded the herd up to pedigree in the early 90s to where it is today fully pedigree. Pat, with assistant manager Stephen Baskin, take great care in the breeding programme, watching out for high protein improvements and a relatively stable butter fat level. The aim of the herd at Beechmount is to produce a high yielding, high solids milk with a greater influence on protein for Cashel Blue. Through breeding and intensive feeding with full T.M.R., the milk from the farm suited the cheese that was manufactured with all the milk now produced on the farm at Beechmount going for cheese. The average yield for the herd runs at 1825gls @ 3.98% butter fat, 3.68% protein and lactose of 4.69%. Over the past twenty nine years, the milking machine has not taken a day off as the herd generally calve all year around with the heifers calved in July followed by the older cows.
World Cheese Awards. This soft creamy blue cheese has been very well received by the top chefs throughout the world. With great attention to detail at Beechmount, what was once started by Jane Grubb in her kitchen has grown to a worldrenowned farm house cheese. The Pat Morrissey, Farm Manager at Cashelblue herd unity and family demeanour ily and their very dedicated team throughout all the management of mainly local employees. The and staff employed both on the extended Grubb family and staff farm and cheese has added to strive to maintain that close famthe success going forward. ily ethos which has made Cashel From the field to the fork and what starts with the Pedigree Holstein Frisian Herd to the cheese connoisseurs of the world, Cashel Blue has grown immensely for the Grubb fam-
As a family business, careful attention is taken to quality and consistency. As a result, Cashel Blue has won awards worldwide. In 2014 it won the Irish Food Award, Blas Na h’Eireann Gold Medal, Irish Cheese AwardsGold Medal and International Cheese Awards at Nantwich a Gold Medal in the Specialised Cheese Section. In 2015 it received two stars at the Great Taste Awards and a silver medal at the Mondial Du Fromage. Most recently it won a Gold Medal at the 61
Blue Cheese. Pat Morrissey 086 2114981 morrbros3@gmail.com www.cashelblue.com
Joe and Caroline Daly & family established Valentia Island Farmhouse Dairy. It is a thriving enterprise which perfectly compliments the home herd of Holstein Friesian cows farmed in Ireland’s most South Westerly point of Valentia Island, Co Kerry. Ice cream is the specialist product manufactured from the Daly family herd. Recently they have added an on-farm gift shop, public demonstrations and further tourist-friendly features to their business model. Joe is the third generation dairy farmer to farm the land at Kilbeg. It was his progressive mind set that wished to tap into the unique characteristics of farming in the picturesque landscape. Time spent travelling abroad sparked some ideas whereupon he then completed a course in farmhouse food production. Ice cream production, using the milk from the dairy herd, was initiated and in 2008 Joe and Caroline opened an ice-cream parlour on farm with the unique attraction of milking parlour and ice-cream parlour being located within 20 feet of each other!
It is a story of working in harmony with nature, using the best of ingredients, utmost care and attention with the herd and the products and a loving passion for what they do. The healthy, lush, unspoilt landscape of island life feeds the cows and the ice-cream produced is a taste of this goodness. Refurbishment work is on-going and as well as the expanded facilities on offer, visitors will have the option of travelling by horse and car to the farm from Knightstown, the main town on Valentia Island. Joe was the first recipient of the South Kerry Enterprise Board in recognition of the commercial endeavour as a start-up business and won the FarmBiz competition in 2008. The dairy has also won prizes from Blas na hEireann, the Irish Food Awards and in 2009 they represented Kerry at the JFC Entrepreneur Awards. A retail arrangement to supply hotels in Killarney with yogurt, buttermilk and fresh milk had been built up, however this aspect has been scaled back in order to refocus on ice-cream. In addition the herd has had numerous successes in the Kerry
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Friesian Breeders Club Herds Competition and also some showing at local shows. When asked if they would have any advice for others starting a similar enterprise “Don’t ever look back and say I wish I had given that a try” Caroline exclaims. “Don’t burden yourself with regret. Of course it is also essential to be realistic. We would definitely advise people to firstly conduct research. Do a proper costing and then make sure you have the time and commitment necessary for success. “We all know that farming is full-time and so too is business. Neither can be done halfheartedly. Results will take time, so realise this from the beginning and don’t over-extend yourself or your family. Talk to any local advisory or enterprise bodies - they may point you in the direction of helpful pathways. Business training might also be an advantage. If you feel that you dont have the time to complete a business course then it’s hard to see how you will have the time to run a business.” “Our Kilbeg herd of Registered Pedigree Holstein Friesians is a vital component of the dairy.” Joe says. “Every care and effort goes into providing the best for our herd. We take pride in our stock, all replacements are reared onfarm as we want to give them the best possible chance of expressing their genetic potential. The traceability of our milk used to make the ice cream is a major positive for consumers and having a Pedigree Registered herd links into this philosophy. We joined IHFA in 2002 registering the Kilbeg prefix and since then have been fully committed to better breeding.”
Joe and Caroline Daly with their family at Valentia Island Farmhouse Ice-cream. Photo Christy Riordan
Valentia Island Ice Cream Joe’s ideal cow for their system is trouble-free and capable of efficiently converting feed into milk. Yield of solids and overall volume of milk is important as a consistent level of supply is essential. AI breeding is used for the most part with some stock bulls introduced as a management aid. “We classify every year and it is always pleasing to attain VG or EX scores on conformation, rewarding the cow’s ability to last, develop and mature and from this production is assured.” It is planned to grow the herd to 80 cows in gradual steps over the coming years.
“The current refurbishment and expansion work is our immediate project.” Caroline says. “It will have the ice-cream parlour located within the original milking parlour as the central theme with the new gift shop featuring a selection of local hand-made items such as candles, paintings, ceramics and jewellery, with extended parking and a play area for children. There will be demos on butter making, ice-cream making and a display of heritage farm machinery and farmhouse utensils from bygone eras. Once this is in place we hope Valentia Island Farmhouse Dairy will be a very significant destination visit 63
for any tourist visiting the country.” The nature of the tourist industry is such that the demand is very seasonal. Preparation and planning in advance is vital so Caroline has assumed management of the gift shop which will allow Joe more time to focus on the herd and achieve expansion from within. Valentia Island Farmhouse Dairy is currently re-vamping its website, email: valentiaicecream@ eircom.net, contact Joe on 087 2864653, Caroline 087 2843276.
Father and daughter team Sean and Marie Curtin of Temple Daiy
Temple Dairy Flavoured Milk Temple Dairy was established by father and daughter team Sean and Marie Curtin in 2013. Following a number of tough years due to volatile milk prices, they began to explore the possible options opened to them to add value to their milk. “Marie initially helped me look into the possibility of introducing a value-added product and suggested a healthy flavoured milk range.” Informed by Marie’s sporting career, she was aware of how milk was increasingly recognized for its positive nutritional qualities and was now been used more and more as an ideal drink after a workout. “Marie was an exceptional soccer player and devoted her life to her sport until 2013 when she retired from the Irish Women’s National soccer team. By then she had appeared 45 times for the senior team, playing alongside such greats as Stephanie Roche, Katie Taylor and Emma Byrne. “We combined out knowledge of farming and high-performance
sport to form the company Temple Dairy and began trading in February 2015.” The Rosstemple Pedigree Registered Holstein Friesian herd is the critical reference point around which Temple Dairy has evolved and proliferated. The strong desire to add value to the milk produced by the herd was the initial driver in seeking to develop a complimentary enterprise. 94% of the milk used in producing the Temple Dairy product comes from the herd, now managed by John with Sean dedicating his energy towards growing the business. Family is the backbone of the business with everyone playing their part to help Rosstemple milk its success; John Curtin is farm owner and manager. Eileen Curtin is a farm worker. Jim Curtin works in the plant and product delivery, promotions/in store tastings. Marie & Sean are the public image of the Business and play a vital role in PR, marketing and promotion. Marie has a wealth of contacts within the sporting sphere from her profes64
sional career. Clearly their plan was a success. Within the first few years of trading their hard work was gaining plaudits. In both 2014 and 2015, they were finalists in the LEO Ireland’s Best Young Entrepreneur Limerick. 2015 saw them reach the final 16 Bank Of Ireland Start-Up Awards 2015 Best New Idea and the following year they made it to the final 8 in the Bank Of Ireland Start-Up Awards 2016 Best Food & Beverage Company. That wasn’t the only recognition that year as they were finalist in both the Dairy and Food or Beverage Producer categories of the Agribusiness Awards 2016 and went on to win the Agribusiness Rising Star 2016 Award. In marketing their product, the Curtins have found having a pedigree herd of Holstein Friesians suites them and their product. “We continuously aim to present a premium product. In terms of the type of cow, we believe a balanced Holstein Friesian cow suits
us. They produce a lot of milk. When you have surplus stock there is usually a ready market” Te m p l e Dairy Chocolate Milk is a low fat product with no artificial preservatives, flavourings or colourings. It is naturally high in protein. The product is 94% fresh milk, the bulk of it coming straight from the farm. Other ingredients include raw cacao powder – a natural anti-oxidant – skimmed milk powder, natural cane sugar and a pinch of Carrageenan moss. All natural ingredients. Their slogan “Your body is a temple. Treat it like one!” is a catchy one. Milk is a very natural form of nutrition. It is ideal for high-performance sport and as so is commonly used by both Cork City FC and Munster Rugby Club. The Temple Dairy business has given Sean and Marie an opportunity to negotiate directly with the retailer. Unlike the milk market, they now find they have a say in the price they decide to sell their milk at - directly to the retailer. “We still have to compete with the mass produced flavoured milk that’s on the market. We are prepared to keep paying the family farm a fair price for the milk, as well as any additional
Temple Dairy Brand Ambassador, Keith Earls, Irish Rugby International and Munster Rugby player with Temple Dairy members Donie, Sean and Marie Curtin
farmers milk we buy as we grow even if it means our price is a little more expensive than our competitors. We also value the quality you achieve from sourcing locally produced milk.”
change often. Make sure you have some level of strategic thinking or logical reasoning for whatever direction you decide to take the company. Exhaust all possible options.”
Sean and Marie have learned a lot in setting up their company and have a lot of advice for others looking to start up their own enterprise.
Sean and Marie have very practical ambitions for the future of their business. They are particularly set on improving the milking facilities on farm, both from an animal welfare perspective and in terms of reduced labour.
“Have a reserve of funds going in, if possible. There will be grant aid out there, but you are more likely to get other types of funding if you show you are prepared to invest yourself in your own company. “Use resources that are out there. You’ll find there are free mentoring supports available at your Local Enterprise Office. “Proceed only if you are satisfied by the market research and feasibility study you have undertaken. “Your
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“As it stands, the members working solely on the dairy farm side of the business begin at 6am and finish at 6:30pm. That’s every day. The technology out there is improving quality of life for farmers. That’s what we’re working towards.” Check out Temple Dairy online at www.templedairy.ie or contact via email - admin@templedairy.com or call 087 1494243