Real Milk Timaru

A tale of two herds

In the paddocks of Stu and Andrea Weir’s farm there is living heritage munching on the grass.

Some of their 220-strong herd of Holstein Fresian cows (aka the black and white ones) are the great-great-great-great-great-greatgreat-great granddaughters of the original herd established at the family farm, on the outskirts of Timaru, in the 1940s. A smart operator knows when to embrace progress and what traditions to hold on to. The Weirs have struck a balance in their milk production, at Glenwillow Farm, which caters for both the processed retail milk market and for a niche unpasteurised, non homogenised clientele. Real Milk Timaru is now in its seventh year in business, which came about after the Weirs realised they needed to make their raw milk sales to the public more formal. “Because of our proximity to Timaru, people would come out for a drive to the country with a container to get milk from us, they’d leave cash in the mailbox. It grew to a point where we knew we had to tidy things up,” Stu says. He puts this growth in demand down to people wanting to get back-to-basics with their food. Stu says people understand the benefits of unpasteurised, non homogenised milk. “All the good bacteria that helps with digestion. It’s also the taste. I’ve just picked up a new customer this week who’s an ex-dairy farmer. He told me it was great to have proper milk again.”

Our customers are what keeps driving us. They’re so grateful for the opportunity to get this milk. ”

- Real Milk Timaru owner and operator, Stu Weir

People of a certain age will know what whe means. Milk in glass bottles with a silver foil top, that when peeled off revealed an inch (yes, premetric) of solid cream in the neck. Theoretically, you were meant to shake the bottle to disperse the cream before opening. This didn’t always happen when there were kids around who wanted to scoff the cream or dad wanted to put it on his porridge. This nostalgia combined with the demand because of the growing consciousness of the health benefits of raw milk, led to the Weirs upping the ante. They came across Food safety Real Milk Timaru sends milk samples once a week for testing at a lab in Christchurch. They test for: plant hygiene (aerobic plate count), e.coli, salmonella, listeria, campylobacter, staphylococci, coliforms, and inhibitory substances.

Takaka-based Village Milk and signed up with them as a franchisee. In 2016, after two years of doing that, the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) made regulatory changes. This meant the franchisees had to disband and register as individual producers. Setting up from scratch, under the MPI regulations, is considered a huge and daunting task by many milk producers. Fortunately for Stu and Andrea Weir, they had already set up through Village Milk, so they already had most of the MPI processes in place. Stu says the transition to becoming independent was “pretty much seamless”. Real Milk Timaru’s set-up costs were about $100, 000. This went towards buying Italianmade dispenser units and one-litre, screw-top glass bottles. As the demand for the milk has grown, the company has invested further capital into building a new dairy shed with a retail shop attached.

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DeLaval Parallel Parlour P2100

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They have a driver who delivers 100 litres a day, four days a week. This covers the Timaru urban area, Waimate to Fairlie/Tekapo (West), Pleasant Point/Temuka/Geraldine (East). Stu says there’s no set boundary, but they wouldn’t go over the Rangitata River as there’s another supplier in the area. “Aside from that, if there’s enough customer interest, we’ll travel.” Stu says the swap-a-bottle system is simple and works well for their shop customers and those who get deliveries. The customers buy their bottles, which they return to be sterilised at the plant and refilled. The farmgate shop sells 100-120 litres a day and is self-serve 24/7. The story of Glenwillow is a tale of two herds, those milked for Fonterra and those for the raw milk business, kept completely separate. There are 15 cows dedicated to producing milk for the shop to ensure the consistency of the milk. Andrea is in the milking shed with her assistants who carry out a strict hygiene regimen. The teats are hand washed and dried, then sprayed with iodine, inspected before the cups go on, then milked into a separate tank, which flows into the vending machine. Once those cows are disconnected from the machine it’s the turn of the Fonterra herd. Glenwillow was the first farm in the central South Island to provide raw milk and, according to Stu, is now one of the longestserving. The raw milk now accounts for 15 percent of the farm’s overall business. How it works

Step 1

Make sure you have your reusable glass bottles. These can be purchased for $4 each online or may be purchased at the vending machine at 22 Fariview Road.

Step 2

Place your online order for refills and select the day you’d like your milk delivered. Orders must be placed before 3pm for same day deliveries.

Step 3

Ensure you have your empty Real Milk glass bottles out ready for replacement between 5.30pm and 6pm on your chosen day.

Step 4

Enjoy your fresh milk and remember to put your empty bottles out for your next delivery.

“Our customers are what keeps driving us. They’re so grateful for the opportunity to get this milk.” Despite the success of Real Milk Timaru, Stu and Andrea have no plans to get into cheesemaking. “When customers ask I tell them to buy the milk and make their own,” laughs Stu. CT

Real Milk Timaru farmgate shop 22 Fairview Road RD 2 Timaru 027 221 4552 info@realmilktimaru.co.nz www.realmilktimaru.co.nz

Moving earth big or small

Contrax has been in central Otago for almost 20 years and are almost locals.

Based in Cromwell, John Marnane, his eldest son Johnny and wife Robyn provide a huge range of civil earth moving services. Robyn says they’ve got everything from little diggers to massive bulldozers. They work on a wide range of projects. “We can undertake most earthmoving projects including, land development for things like vineyards and orchards, creating subdivisions, underpasses and water reservoirs. We often work alongside other contractors depending on the scope of the project.” Some of their recent projects have been an underpass under the busy State Highway 6 between Cromwell and Wanaka, which involved a double lane diversion road, preparation for sealing Ballantyne Road near Wanaka and converting farm land for a large cherry orchard development about 15 minutes out of Cromwell. Having the appropriate machinery to undertake such projects means clients have a “one stop shop” from start to finish for their projects as Contrax offers project management as well. “Where we’re based, it’s such a condensed area,” Robyn says. “It’s amazing the variety and versatility of land use in this little valley, and the money this little valley can pump out is incredible for the district.” Robyn reckons it’s a pretty fantastic place to work. It’s not just the views or the range of work either. Robyn says they’ve got an excellent team of around 15 staff. “They’ve got their families who have made a life here.” Robyn says they’ve got a lot of skills between them. John, the operating director, knows earthmoving inside out as he has had a lifetime of experience which in turn has rubbed off on to Johnny their eldest son. They make a great team. Robyn says when they first moved to the area back in 2001 it was a very different landscape. “We’ve been very lucky to be involved in the changes,” she says. “The work sites around here are stunning and we get to go up there and help them.” She says they’re a very diverse company in that they can generally complete many facets of a job. “We’re adaptable, versatile and practical so we’re capable of taking on most earthworks projects,” she says. Contrax also has their own mechanic on site. Robyn says they feel pretty much like locals these days and although they’re a small company, they’ve got quite the reputation and name in Cromwell. Contrax’s main services include horticultural development, land conversion and development, site preparation and landscaping, subdivisions, roading, water reservoirs. The company is committed to the health and safety of their staff and has achieved site wise gold status. CT

Contrax Central 240 Mt Pisa Road Cromwell 03 455 0455 contact@contraxcentral.co.nz www.contraxcentral.co.nz

— Advertising Feature

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