Goat and Sheep Milk New Zealand Issue 5

NZ CHAMPIONS OF CHEESE 2022 Still scheduled for Sunday 28 February at WINTEC in Hamilton.

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ISSUE

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FEBRUARY 2022 News, Advice, Breeds, Import/Export, Technology, Farm Focus, Profiles, Science, Facts, Contacts and Much More in this publication dedicated to the Goat & Sheep Industries

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Contents Waikato Milking Systems: Browne Pastoral . . . . 4 Weighing the pros and cons of He Waka Eke Noa options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Chris and Claire Walton - Wharepapa South, Te Awamutu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Romano Manuel

Craggy Range Sheep Dairy Farm - Havelock North Q&A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

PHONE: +64 220 454 892 EMAIL: romano@goatandsheepmilk.nz

Over The Moon Q&A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

EDITORIAL

Report trumpets scope for ice cream exports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Mike Dwight ADVERTISING

NZ Champions of Cheese 2022 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

PHONE: +64 272 639 564 EMAIL: mike@goatandsheepmilk.nz

Milestone 300th tower goes live in Coromandel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

POSTAL: PO Box 9003, Springfield Heights Rotorua 3048 New Zealand

www.goatandsheepmilk.nz Disclaimer The views expressed in the articles and advertising are those of the contributors and do not necessarily reflect the views of Goat and Sheep Milk New Zealand.

Goat and Sheep Milk New Zealand reserves the right to accept, edit or reject editorial and advertising material. All endeavours will be made to ensure accuracy at time of publication.

For any queries regarding information that is published in Goat and Sheep Milk New Zealand contact names and information pertaining to that article is usually printed or embedded. Goat and Sheep Milk New Zealand is happy to receive feedback regarding the publication but will not accept abusive or derogatory correspondence to any staff or persons connected.

Extra support to help farmers and growers affected by positive cases of COVID-19 . . . . . . . 18 Closure of Sheep and Goat Milk website . . . . . . 19 Give Your Lambs and Goat Kids the Best Head Start . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 French Cheeses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 Study on the structural characteristics and in-vitro digestion behaviours of NZ goat and sheep milk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 World-first research to breed low methane livestock recognised . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

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Cover Image: James and Kate, Craggy Sheep Dairy Farm

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Goat & Sheep Milk NZ - Issue 5 | February 2022

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Waikato Milking Systems: Browne Pastoral The emerging sheep and niche goat dairy industries continue to show signs of expansion and Waikato Milking Systems is keeping pace to ensure farmers have the best tools and capability to succeed.

The company is drawing upon its experiences of the past two years installing three dairy sheep and three dairy goat milking systems all in the greater Waikato region.

Among those to enter the dairy sheep industry are Allan and Toni Browne who run Browne Pastoral near Cambridge.

The family-run business began supplying to Maui Sheep Milk in late 2020, after commissioning a 70-point Ultimo Internal Sheep Rotary Milking System.

The prototype rotary was designed and manufactured

by Waikato Milking Systems and installed by dealership, Qubik.

Browne Pastoral is now into its second season with milk production outperforming initial expectations and the internal rotary performing “faultlessly”, Allan said.

He reckons they’ve done a better job of training the sheep to use the rotary this season, throughput has improved and milk recovery is good.

“I think we have peaked at nearly 10,000 litres, that’s a four-day collection so about 2500 litres per day.”

In the near future, Allan would like to see animal identification technology added to the rotary and it is a feature Waikato Milking Systems plans to release soon.

“Once we get accurate EID readers in there we can also add some milk monitoring features.”

The rotary already has ECR-S (electronic cup removers), SmartPulse, In-Bail Feed, SR Cluster Washer and Automatic Headlocks.

“We peaked in our first season with 1050 ewes and this year we have peaked at 1420, down to about 1320 now after moving some out.

Outside the shed, pasture and feed growth is still a work in progress, Allan said.

“We’re running the rotary platform with two people inside, milking 1400 sheep in about 2 hours, 15 minutes at peak numbers, now down to about 2 hours.”

“We have been found out a bit this season because it’s been so dry, we haven’t had those legume-based pastures.

Allan said the optimum time is 5 minutes and 30 seconds per rotation.

“But I can’t plant the whole farm up in chicory, it would be ideal if I could.”

“That time allows us to get 400 grams of feed into the animals twice a day for good weight gain.

Allan is mindful of carefully managing the 570 hectare property because the family also run 450 dairy cows and fatten about 300 prime cattle a year.

“We could run the platform faster but I’m not willing to lose out on that good use of feed.”

Having a reliable milking system has helped exceed milk production targets for Browne Pastoral, so much so that by the end of the first season the farm had to install a larger vat to accommodate the extra milk.

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“The vat was just too small for the amount of milk we were producing. We got up to about 50 per cent more milk solids than expected.

Goat & Sheep Milk NZ - Issue 5 | February 2022

But 18 months on from installing the sheep rotary, it’s still drawing interest from visitors.

“We’re still getting a steady stream of people coming through, looking to see what it’s all about and interested in entering the industry.”

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Weighing the pros and cons of He Waka Eke Noa options For more than two years a partnership of agriculture sector groups, iwi and government agencies have been discussing alternative livestock emissions pricing mechanisms. The partnership, known as He Waka Eke Noa, is due to present recommendations to the government in April.

If the sector can’t agree on a workable alternative, or He Waka Eke Noa’s proposals are rejected by the government, the government’s ‘backstop’ of including agriculture in the ETS is triggered.

In this column Federated Farmers of NZ President Andrew Hoggard discusses the merits of the emissions pricing alternatives.

For those wondering what Feds’ position on He Waka Eke Noa is – well, at this stage my opinion hasn’t changed from what I outlined prior to Christmas.

Both options have some benefits over the ETS, the ‘backstop’ alternative imposed by the Government, they each have positives and negatives.

On the positive side, both He Waka Eke Noa options presented recognise the split gas approach with a separate price for methane, both account for sequestration, and both recycle any money raised back into agriculture. At present the ETS does none of these.

The Farm Level levy more accurately reflects the individual farm actions, unlike the processor hybrid levy, but it has very high admin costs, unlike the processor hybrid levy.

Finally, with both of them there is concern that the price gets set by some committee which we may not have a lot of control over.

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Goat & Sheep Milk NZ - Issue 5 | February 2022

Personally, the idea of committees setting prices is a little too Politburo-ish for my liking. We still don’t know how the price will be set or what the price will be and there is a risk of a split gas approach taken in name only, with short-lived methane emissions being overlytaxed. Farmers who are really performing well in terms of minimising their farm’s greenhouse gases will still end up paying a price, which grates me. Under the ETS that is going to happen as well, but at the same price as other gases not a split gas price.

This is all further complicated by the Government saying the ETS backstop already in legislation may not be the backstop they go with. They’ve said they intend any backstop ETS tax paid by farmers would be invested back into the agricultural sector to support further emissions reductions. This could include elements of revenue recycling designed through He Waka Eke Noa, such as the sequestration recognition.

A core advantage of the ETS is the certainty it provides and the fact that the price is set by a market, and not a political committee.

If the Government was to fix the current broken methane targets and split out short-lived methane from the ETS, this might actually be a better long-term option then anything put forward by He Waka Eke Noa. That’s the high level stuff. Underneath that we still have a number of things that we are trying to get right, aspects it’s very unlikely we’ll get a clear picture on until perhaps we have put this forward to Government.

That raises the very real risk of us saying ‘yes’ to the big picture stuff without locking down the detail. For example, the “price setting Politburo”: who gets to go on it?; who appoints them?; what skills do they have to have? Are they endorsed by “agriculture” or could the Minister go and chuck on a mate who is openly biased against farmers? If such a thing were to happen, then when we complain, we’ll get “you agreed to this” thrown back in our faces.

Another issue we are working through is the price paid for sequestration and what is eligible. Currently you could claim ETS-eligible native trees through HWEN – sounds good, right? Means you don’t have to deal with ETS and HWEN? However, it must be paid for by money raised from farmers. If you link the price of this sequestration to the price of the ETS, then if the price of the ETS keeps rising, that’s more money that needs to come from other farmers. That disincentivises production, in turn meaning there is less of the offending gas to split the cost of sequestration over, meaning price has to be higher, which starts a vicious circle. So something that sounds good from the outset could bite us on the arse.

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The Farm Level levy more accurately reflects the individual farm actions...

This is all stuff we will need to continue working on well past the government-imposed two momnth deadline. But again, what certainty to we have that this will be allowed? GWP100 was only supposed to be a temporary metric, put in place in the early 1990s until they worked out something better to account for methane. But once something is agreed to, it risks being locked in place. But if we don’t agree to something, we may end up being locked into the ETS, which may be worse.

Some might think ‘yeah, but the next time National gets in they will change it all back’. To that I’d reply “like working for families, or interest free student loans?”.

But scepticism aside, if the entire Ag industry were to agree to something then there is even less chance any future government will change anything. Even if time proves that option to be a disaster for the sector.

So, back to where I started. What’s Feds view? Its bloody tricky, is what I would say. It’s a call our National Council will make, and we will be looking at where the final document lands, what we see as the future political risks, the costs and benefits both domestically and internationally, and ultimately what our membership is thinking.

I see our role as not telling you what to think, but pointing out all the pros and cons and the concerns we have. I’m not arrogant enough to think I know best and that I have to tell you how to think. But most of all I feel the He Waka Eke Noa options need to be judged on their own merits, not just that they are less worse than the ETS.

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To me, if something is ETS eligible, then that’s where it needs to go, because that increases the supply to market which hopefully keeps that price down a bit.

Another advantage of entering ETS eligible sequestration into the ETS is that then the rest of the economy is paying for it, benefiting farmers overall.

Currently under He Waka Eke Noa all the sequestration money has to come from taxing farmers. We’re all very concerned that carbon farming is swallowing up good farming land. If we get the settings wrong in HWEN we could well encourage more no-harvest forestry.

Ideally the outcome is that as we develop ways through HWEN to recognise current non ETS sequestration, and build in surety it is real sequestration, then surely we would want to transition that over to the actual ETS, to make more offsets available there as opposed to businesses resorting to buying up land to plant trees.

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Goat & Sheep Milk NZ - Issue 5 | February 2022

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Chris and Claire Walton Wharepapa South, Te Awamutu Chris and Claire Walton, have wanted to be involved in the sheep milk industry for many years leading up to this exciting venture at Wharepapa South, Te Awamutu. The couple were working on a sheep and beef farm in PioPio when the opportunity came to finally enter the sheep milking industry. Through years of research they have put together a fantastic sheep dairy operation on the 118Ha farm. The operation includes a 42-aside sheep dairy which Qubik converted from a 24-herringbone shed – with the ability to extend to 48 in the next few years.

Chris and Claire started the conversation with Qubik back in June 2020 with questions around possible conversion options with existing cow milking herringbones. Once Chris and Claire found the perfect farm for their Aranui Farming venture the process started around finding the most cost effective options available to convert the old 24-aside cowshed. The couple wanted to build and convert the shed to be suitable to milk 1500 sheep in year 5.

Qubik worked closely with Chris and Claire over the conversion process offering different options around both Rapid Exit and Automation in the shed. The couple decided they wanted a product that would last with the New Zealand conditions and work efficiently with two people milking in the shed.

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Goat & Sheep Milk NZ - Issue 5 | February 2022

Eventually after consultation, Qubik provided Aranui with the Qubik designed, fabricated and installed, 42-aside rapid exit system, made completely of high-grade stainless steel for longevity and strength. This was the fourth Qubik rapid exit system to be installed in the 2021 season.

Qubik also installed a full range of Waikato Milking Systems milking plant, the 42-highline swing over with automatic cup removers and state of the art sheep milking equipment including auto vacuum cups.

With easy start vacuum operated cup removers it is an easy task when cupping the lightweight sheep clusters. Sensors detect when milk flow/sensitivity combined with time activates the cup removers to remove from the sheep, this in-turn avoids any over-milking which is crucial with such delicate udders and teats and speed milking performance.

The milking plant includes a Fristam positive displacement milk pump on a VSD to maintain the valuable quality of the milk.

The vacuum system includes a BP200 Blower Vacuum also using a variable speed drive to improve vacuum stability and power cost saving for Aranui Farming.

A Qubik automatic plant wash system allows Chris to focus on other areas of the farming system once milking has finished, knowing that the complete wash cycle is carried out efficiently and effectively.

Qubik also supplied Aranui with two new dairy hot water cylinders with a complete stainless steel heater stand with inbuilt manifold and a Qubik fabricated stainless steel wash tub.

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Craggy Range Sheep Dairy Farm - Havelock North Q&A 1 What motivated you to establish a sheep milking enterprise?

James is originally from Auckland, however has traveled extensively and worked in a variety of industries from deep-sea fishing to cattle ranching and Sales and Marketing; Kate is from a 3rd generation sheep farming family from Mid-Canterbury with a Nursing and Sales Management background. Their 2 children Theo (11) and Lily (9) were born on Waiheke and attended local kindies and Waiheke Primary in their early years. Living on Waiheke from 2008 to 2017, they wanted to create a business that would allow them to “add to the table and as such the community” and decided on cheese so they created the Waiheke Island Cheese Company (WICC).

James completed a course at the NZ Cheese School in 2009 and gained an Artisan cheesemaking qualification.

This began their cheese journey. They decided that sheep were the only logical animal to attempt to milk on Waiheke and Kate had some experience of course raising sheep although only for meat/wool, never for milking.

Through an old friend of James’ from his younger days in the NZ Rodeo scene, they acquired their first small mob of 4 ewes, were grateful for the loan of a Ram from Cable Bay Farms and began milking with a very small hand pump and experimenting with making products at home. Alongside this they had 5 types of sheep cheese contract made for them which they bought back to Waiheke and matured and flavoured. They spent many years selling their products at the Saturday market as well as in several retail outlets and restaurants on the Island. In addition to cheese, they were also involved in a sheep yoghurt brand “Hipi” (Māori for Sheep) which was sold nationwide in supermarkets.

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Goat & Sheep Milk NZ - Issue 5 | February 2022

James & Kate Clairmont

Alongside WICC, James and Kate have run other businesses on Waiheke, they lived on Church Bay Road and owned The Treehouse Accommodation Bookabach Batch of the Year 2016; they owned a Silver Shadow Rolls Royce which was used as a wedding car. James also spent a couple of successful years in Real Estate for Bayleys.

With a firm desire to pursue their passion in the Sheep Dairy Industry, the Clairmont’s made a move to Hawke’s Bay in 2017 where they bought 180 acres on the Craggy Range outside Havelock North. They then went to work building a 10 stall herringbone sheep dairy shed and in their first two seasons they milked 100 ewes and this year almost 200 – and have engaged the nearby team at Hohepa Farms to make their cheese and yoghurt.

They currently make a Blue, Pecorino, Manchego, Danbo, Feta and Halloumi cheese with the Blue and Pecorino claiming Gold Medals at the NZ Cheese Awards this year and a Silver for the Feta.

2 What have been the benefits of this work/lifestyle for your family?

Ultimately we’re in charge of our destiny being self employed and we love the opportunities and advantages of bringing our children up in the country. Due to our location they have the best of both worlds being so close to a great range of schools and facilities in Hawke’s Bay. The sheep milking industry is going from strength to strength right now for obvious reasons so it is extremely exciting for us to be a part of this movement.

3 What achievements are you most proud of?

Fundamentally it would be having a dream and having the constant determination and drive to see it through. As others know it is challenging setting up your own farming business, and 10 years ago there still wasn’t a lot of sheep milking around, we took a punt and kept going so we’re very proud to be where we are today with a fully operational business, making great award-winning cheeses and getting ready to upscale and grow bigger.

4 What challenges have you faced along the way – or face at present?

Over time we’ve faced many challenges and had to take some different directions with our business but we’ve always been determined to own our own farm and be milking ourselves – which we’ve worked hard to achieve. In the current climate Covid of course, has provided its challenges in the marketplace, particularly hitting the hospitality industry and creating uncertainty – so going forward we have to keep monitoring the situation and adjust our production and planning accordingly.

5 Have you detected any shift in attitudes towards sheep milking?

Yes absolutely! Over the last 10+ years we have been involved in milking sheep. We are really seeing an increase in exposure and growth within the industry, it’s fantastic to see. There remains in NZ still a lot of room for education of the public around sheep milk however both the environmental and health benefits of sheep milking make for a compelling story in a market where those factors are increasingly important. We also acknowledge the positive contribution of the increase in sheep milking genetics in NZ, and the breeding of sheep to suit our climate and to increase yield has had within the industry.

6 Any future plans or prospects?

Always! Firstly upsizing the milking shed from milking 10 to milking 20 at a time as well as working hard on genetics and production of the ewes. Ideally, also we would look to be making some product on the farm within the next couple of seasons.

Goat & Sheep Milk NZ - Issue 5 | February 2022

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IN

GOOD

For Ruminate, it’s all about making New Zealand farmers, proud farmers. And they do that through high-spec animal nutrition and service.

The belief is, many animals across New Zealand farms are not currently meeting their potential due to a lack of nutritional balance.

Ruminate’s proven science, premium feed additives and highly experienced team, bridge the nutritional gaps to bring animals to a premium state. All of this results in happier, healthier stock, and ultimately more profitability for Ruminate’s farmers.

Nutritional specialists Ruminate, understand the plentiful and exciting opportunities within the sheep and goat industry, and they’ve backed this up by introducing a dedicated Veterinarian to the team – Quirien Cowie.

You would be hard pressed to find another New Zealand company with a qualified and experienced Veterinarian on staff, who is committed to this dairy goat and sheep space, in a nutrition framework.

Quirien Cowie (BVSc), grew up on a Dairy Goat farm creating boutique cheese.

Following some 18 years as a Veterinarian, she now resides as Ruminate’s small ruminant Vet, offering a ‘top of the cliff’ service to her clients.

Quirien’s mind set is to offer her farmers a ‘top of the cliff’ service, bringing animals to their optimal health, welfare and productivity via a strong plan looking at all the nutrition requirements of a ruminant throughout it’s different phases.

Quirien’s role with Ruminate sees her travel across New Zealand to assist her goat and sheep farmers, where she has become an integral and valuable part of their businesses.

If you’re interested in learning how Quirien and Ruminate can help your business, get in touch for a chat today.

GET IN TOUCH: Quirien Cowie (BVSc) E: quirien@ruminate.nz T: 021 123 4567

DOC TAYLOR®

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BBQ Tips for Cheese

How did we start?

• I decided in my 40’s to start my own business and decided it was going to be cheese manufacturing. I’ve always had a thing for cheese! When I was little I remember my dad would wrap little cubes of cheddar in bacon and fry them up on the weekends – I was hooked from then on.

• Trips to Europe where I tasted many kinds of cheese and saw artisan cheesemaking first-hand.

• I started making cheese at home using a mail-order kit in 2000 with milk from my neighbours, the Ebeling family. They now supply our factory.

• I live in the centre of dairy country in South Waikato, so raw milk source was available.

• I founded Over The Moon Dairy in late 2007, starting production in January 2008. We’ve just had our 14th birthday. This was supposed to be a retirement project but has turned into the small business ownership role I always dreamed of. I’d always had the idea of starting my own business before I ended my working life.

Summertime is BBQ time, and a great BBQ cheese is Halloumi which is fantastic as you can fry it. A lot more people know and enjoy Halloumi now, but it was hardly known at all when I first started Cube and skewer Halloumi alternately with steak and cherry tomatoes and fry on the BBQ. Brush with marinade beforehand if you want more flavour. It elevates plain (cooked and sliced) sausages if that’s all you can find in the freezer!

Here’s another BBQ tip but this one’s a bit naughty. Take a mini round of Camembert and fry each side for a couple of minutes to soften it up. Then cut it in half and fry the cut faces. Put on a plate then smear onto sliced French bread.

You might not be able to fit dinner in after feasting on this!

If you buy a firmer Brie/Camembert or soft washed rind, take it home and put it on a shelf (out of the sun) and wait till it’s quite squidgy. This could take several days but you’ll be rewarded with a cheese that oozes and gives you lots more flavor.

• The New Zealand Cheese School also operates from the Over The Moon factory, training professional cheesemakers from NZ – and all around the world (prior to Covid).

• In 2015 we opened another Over The Moon Cheese Deli in Cambridge.

• We also acquired the Cheese Cartel in March 2020, an online cheese subscription service, and been developing and growing our online store over several years.

What’s our point of difference?

The things that make us different are our innovation, access to four different types of milk, and consistently high-quality product.

We love a challenge. We love ‘having a play’ in the factory and seeing what we can come up with. Different blends (cow with buffalo, goat with cow). We are also introducing our new sheep cheeses this summer. Most times it works and customers love our high-quality products. We’ve won over 150 medals and trophies, from both NZ and overseas.

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Goat & Sheep Milk NZ - Issue 5 | February 2022

Favourite product?

That’s like asking me what my favourite chocolate is!

Not fair!!! I do love the hard sheep cheeses and am loving goat camembert too at the moment with its clean fresh taste and a bit of tang. My preference is to eat cheese without the addition of bread, crackers, anything (like the French)! I should also say that I think (just like wine) there is a cheese to match most occasions. Just like you’d probably spend $10 on a bottle of wine to go with a pizza, Tasty Cheddar is great on top of an oven bake, but there’s nothing like a beautifully gooey brie or camembert to share on a special occasion.

What’s fulfilling about the work?

• Coming up with new and unique cheeses to impress cheese lovers! In Europe, they are very tied to tradition in the kinds of cheese they make, but in NZ we have a culture of being inventive and adaptable which means we can develop new and interesting products. At Over the Moon we love doing that with cheese!

• Our team love contributing ideas about what to make and I enjoy seeing that.

• Being successful with really tricky cheeses like our washed rind Galactic Gold!

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Supporting other cheesemakers through curating monthly cheese boxes for the Cheese Cartel.

• Overcoming big challenges and running my own business.

• Employing lots of local people and contributing to the success of Putaruru.

Challenges?

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Educating the public about cheese.

Our cheese history has m a i n l y been about cheddar for a really long time, and that doesn’t take a lot of looking after.

I spend a lot of time educating consumers about how to keep and use their speciality cheese and many people are flabbergasted to hear that the French don’t put their soft cheese in the fridge at all!

We use warmer temperatures to mature our cheeses at the factory, and you can do this at home as well.

• In a small business, being all things to all people, such as having to know the rules about food labelling, employment law, how to read a balance sheet and how to wrap a cheese properly…. etc.

Impacts of Covid?

• Sales are not in a regular pattern so it’s hard to plan production.

• The pace of growth in online sales.

• Lockdowns have seen drops in sales overall and it is much more difficult to operate profitably.

• Challenges with the reliability of transport out to the stores we supply.

• Unreliability of ingredients from overseas has seen us switch to local and more expensive supplies, in some cases.

• The threat with Omicron is that staff will be at home isolating for long periods resulting in parts of the business being unable to function.

• Also difficult to run cheese classes and host visiting groups in the pandemic.

• … and it is harder to find staff!

Distribution?

• We have our own stores in Putaruru and Cambridge.

• A stand at the Hamilton Farmers Market.

• Over the Moon’s online store.

• The Cheese Cartel online store.

• Supply direct to restaurants around New Zealand, retail stores and some supermarkets countrywide.

Future prospects?

• Expecting our online sales to grow.

• We’ll continue to innovate and dream up lovely new cheeses for people to try – usually at least three or four a year, some of which don’t make it commercially and others which we might make seasonally – or just a few times. We do love variety and also love launching something new on our unsuspecting public.

• Surviving the pandemic in good shape has to be our focus for the next couple of years!

• Planning production of perishable products with so many unknowns during a pandemic.

Goat & Sheep Milk NZ - Issue 5 | February 2022

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Report trumpets scope for ice cream exports Latest research into our premium ice cream industry suggests exporters could find new buyers in valuable overseas markets as consumers increasingly look for tip top quality in food.

Economic Development Minister Stuart Nash has released a new report for the Food and Beverage Information Project. The new research finds scope to expand ice cream exports to Australia, Asia and the UK. It suggests premium ice cream could potentially follow the global success of premium wine and honey exports.

Nash stated that ice cream is produced in almost every region in New Zealand and there are around 48 local manufacturers.

The challenge is translating our strong global position in dairy exports into a lucrative global market for our ice cream and other frozen treats.

“Consumers are interested in ice cream made of milk from sheep, deer, buffalo or goats. Plant-based ice cream from oat milk, coconut milk or soy milk has a growing global market”.

New Zealand’s free trade deal with the UK agreed in principle in 2021 holds great potential for ice cream and other dairy exports. The industry looks forward to dutyfree access to the UK market for ice cream and a level playing field as soon as the FTA enters into force.

New Zealand already has a global reputation as a great place to produce food. We have quality raw ingredients and low production costs; a skilled workforce and processing industry trusted by consumers; and close proximity or open access to key markets which are set to grow further with new trade agreements. New Zealand already enjoys tariff-free access for ice cream under a number of Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) in the Asia-Pacific region, including the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).

This includes tariff-free access to China, our largest ice cream export market, under the New Zealand-China FTA; reduced tariffs into Japan, our second-largest export market, under CPTPP; and tariff-free access to Australia and other Asian markets (including Hong Kong, Korea, and Malaysia) through our network of FTAs. You can access the “Opportunities in NZ ice cream and frozen novelties” here.

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NZ Champions of Cheese 2022 NZ Champions of Cheese, which is still scheduled for Sunday 28 February at WINTEC in Hamilton. The chair of the New Zealand Specialist Cheesemakers Association (NZSCA) Catherine McNamara said “We have a watching brief on the Omicron outbreak and the Association 2021 Cheese Judging has mandated that all judges and stewards must have a Vaccination Passport to attend.”

The Competition categories include the judging of cheeses for goat as well as sheep milk.

Jason Tarrant will continue in his role as Master Judge.

Jason Tarrant is General Manager Strategic Projects & Technical at Open Country Dairy. His dairy industry career began as a management trainee at Mainland in 1993. Since then, he has worked for multiple iconic New Zealand dairy companies including; Fonterra, Whitestone Cheese Company, NZ Organic Dairy Company, Goodman Fielder and Open Country.

Head Judge Jason Tarrant

Tarrant’s experience covers all forms of cheesemaking from speciality and organic to commodity cheddar. He will be overseeing the assessment of more than 300 cheeses with a team of 30 judges.

More information can be found on the association’s website www.nzsca.org.nz

Quarter wheels of our Te Mata Blue are available to order for the very special price of just $48 inc. freight* Our locally-produced, double gold medal-winning blue is gorgeous, creamy and a winner on your charcuterie board or as a perfect match with fruit – or be the dinner party hero and melt it on a mouth-watering steak!

*Quarter wheels approx. 350g. Offer is currently only available to North Island urban addresses and while stocks last. Cannot be sent to rural addresses as we cannot guarantee chilled freight.

Full wheels of Te Mata Blue are also available for blue cheese enthusiasts (approx. 1.4kg), contact James or Kate for pricing and info

www.sheepdairy.nz | hello@sheepdairy.nz | 021 969 696

Milestone 300th tower goes live in Coromandel The Government’s push for better rural connectivity has hit another milestone with the Rural Connectivity Group’s (RCG) 300th 4G cell tower going live.

The RCG site is located on farmland beside the busy Tairua Whitianga Road and provides 4G wireless broadband and 4G mobile services from Spark, Vodafone, and 2degrees to over 95 households in the Coroglen area.

Coroglen’s tower takes the total number of new mobile sites in the Waikato Region to 27, with another 30 sites planned in the region by the end of the programme in December 2023.

Across the wider Waikato region, including Thames Coromandel, RCG sites connect over 2,700 homes and businesses, 50km of local State Highway, and 5 tourism areas with highspeed 4G wireless broadband and quality mobile coverage.

The Government also has several other partners delivering rural broadband under the same scheme, meaning a total of 7,625 homes and businesses in the Waikato region will receive broadband coverage.

Digital Economy and Communications minister, Dr David Clark reiterated the Government’s commitment to ensuring rural communities can reap the social and economic benefits of fast, reliable broadband and mobile services.

“Rural connectivity helps farmers modernise and streamline the way they work, it enables local businesses to offer mobile Eftpos payment options and other online services, and it gives peace of mind that emergency services are just a mobile call away.”

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Goat & Sheep Milk NZ - Issue 5 | February 2022

Extra support to help farmers and growers affected by positive cases of COVID-19 Farmers and growers are getting a helping hand to prepare for Omicron, Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor announced today.

“The Government has allocated $400,000 to support primary producers with contingency planning and response if a farmer or grower contracts COVID-19,” Damien O’Connor said.

“This funding will help ensure there’s someone that farmers and growers can speak to and provide guidance should they or their staff be dealing with Omicron.

The Rural Support Trusts are well woven into rural communities to provide wrap around support services.

“The most important thing New Zealanders can do to prepare is to get their vaccine booster dose, before Omicron takes off in the community.”

Contingency planning by farmers, growers and lifestyle block owners will minimise the risk of further COVID-19 related disruptions, which can occur anywhere along the supply chain.

There are several free checklists available which have been developed by industry and MPI. Wage support is also available through the Leave Support Scheme for people affected during this stage of the Omicron outbreak.

The targeted funding is being administered by the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) and will initially be available until 1 April 2022, in line with the Government’s COVID-19 response planning.

You can access the free COVID-19 checklists for farmers, growers and lifestyle block owners here.

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Closure of Sheep and Goat Milk website The website that supported the Sheep and Goat Dairy Project is to close.

A government-funded, not-for-profit initiative, the Sheep and Goat Dairy Project was dedicated to help grow New Zealand’s sheep and goat milk industry.

Funded through the Provincial Growth Fund, the project ran from late 2018 to 2020. It aimed to transform the sheep and goat dairy sector into one that was nationwide, innovative and thriving, so that farmers, manufacturers, and marketers across New Zealand would be better placed to meet the global demand for nutritious, environmentally sustainable, premium milk products.

While the project team of John Morgan, Jan Hales, and Shane Kells will continue to take queries from those wanting an independent view of the industry, including farmers seeking alternative dairy farm opportunities, a decision’s been made to shut down the project website www.sheepandgoatmilk.nz Much of the website content will be transferred to the New Zealand Food Innovation Network website (www.foodinnovationnetwork.co.nz) so interested parties can continue to access resources.

According to Shane Kells there has been strong, ongoing interest in the project and the findings generated from it, with the reports downloaded from all over the world, including Asia and Europe.

Since the project ended, the New Zealand sheep milk industry has continued to see rapid growth and expansion.

This, according to Shane is a New Zealand sheep milk industry credit to the outstanding work of industry founders who have paved the way for others entering the sector. The technical support and strong genetics that are now available help smooth the transition for newcomers and set them up for a successful future. On the market side, the development of nutritional powders by Spring Sheep Milk Co. and Maui Milk have provided export opportunities at scale, further maximising sheep milk’s value.

The Sheep and Goat Milk Project team is grateful for the time and knowledge that numerous people gave throughout the project and enable it to achieve what it set out to do.

Future queries about the Sheep and Goat Milk Project and opportunities for NZ businesses can be directed to: • Shane Kells, Commercial Compliance Limited shane. kells@commercialcompliance.co.nz • Jan Hales, Nutrition Business Consultant jan@nutritionbureau.nz • John Morgan, Team Lead & Chief Executive FoodSouth john.morgan@foodinnovationnetwork.co.nz EXTRA HIGH ENERGY

High Energy Feed Licks for Milking Goats and Sheep www.carrs-supplements.nz

Quality Supplementation for Goats and Sheep.

Contains a Unique Blend of Vitamins, Minerals and Trace Elements for Optimum Animal Performance

CRYSTALYX EXTRA HIGH ENERGY Contact North Island Jamie Taplin +(64) 027 6550 089 Jamie.taplin@crystalyx.co.nz

MEGASTART EWE & LAMB Contact South Island Brian Ferns (+64) 027 5970 198 Brian.ferns@crystalyx.co.nz 19

Give Your Lambs and Goat Kids the Best Head Start If you are preparing to rear lambs or goat kids in the upcoming season, then look no further than the Milligans Feeds range of high quality milk replacers.

We have you covered with our Multi Milk Replacer (MMR) product, which provides the convenience of having one milk replacer that can feed all animal types, including lambs, goat kids, foals, cria, piglets, puppies, and kittens. We also have our GOwhey range which are specialised whey-based powders for lambs and goat kids.

These can be used as a stand-alone replacer or be fed in a program with other replacers depending on your needs. Our whey products are sourced from a leading European manufacturer where performance and quality are the leading requirements for best animal welfare.

Milligans Feeds also has animal supplement products to assist with the early care and welfare of new-born animals, namely ExcelPlus Colostrum and ExcelPlus Electrolytes. These two supplements are key inputs to successful animal rearing and husbandry. Whether you are a lifestyle farmer or large scale farmer, you will know the importance of being prepared for the times when you have an orphan or sick baby at hand.

Milligans Feeds also have four specialist calf rearing products that are designed to fit any rearing system: from the ultra-premium ExcelPlus Calf Milk Replacer; Classic CMR, the original go-to replacer for over 25 years; GOcalf Boost, a high performing finisher; and GOcalf Whey for the alternative protein option. Whether it be a traditional Twice A Day feeding system, or alternative Once A Day system you prefer, our products give you the flexibility and performance anywhere, every time!

Milligans products are available throughout New Zealand at leading rural supply stockists. To see our range further, go to www.milligansfeeds.co.nz or give us a call on 0800 786 253 to discuss products and what may be right for you.

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Give your lambs and goats more GO with

GOlamb & GOgoat WHEY milk replacers GOlamb WHEY and GOgoat WHEY Milk Replacers are whey-based milk replacers developed by Milligans Feeds in conjunction with our European partner in Holland, specifically for rearing Lambs and Goats in New Zealand conditions. * Bag design may vary from what is shown.

0800 786 253 | feedsales@milligans.co.nz | www.milligansfeeds.co.nz

French Cheeses BREBIROUSSE D’ARGENTAL Brebirousse d’Argental is a French cheese from the Lyon area. This cheese is unique because it is made of sheep’s milk.

If you suffer from a lactose intolerance, sheep’s milk cheese and other products can be a great substitute.

Brebirousse d’Argental cheese has a clean smooth buttery flavor inside a mottled reddish/orange rind. The orange color comes from being washed with annatto. It has a stronger flavor than some cow or goat cheeses with a salty, grassy and even meaty taste. It can get runny at room temperature. It has quite a mild mushroomy aroma. Brebirousse d’Argental may be purchased at a grocery store, specialty cheese store, or online through multiple different retailers.

HISTORY: The name of this cheese in English means “Red Sheep.” Brebirousse d’Argental is one of the many sheep’s milk cheeses produced in France. Sheep’s milk cheese has had an interesting history, today, you can expect to pay a little more for this product, but in earlier times it was cheaper than cow’s milk cheese. Sheep’s milk traditions started in other European countries like Italy & Spain before they did in France. Brebirousse d’Argental was launched in 1985 by Fromi, a German cheese company specialising in French cheeses.

LE CLAOUSOU HISTORY:

Le Claousou is a sheep’s cheese from the Cévennes region of France made by the Fromagerie du Fédou, a family run fromagerie.

The Claousou was created by the Fédou family The sheep that provide the milk for Le Claousou graze in the in 2012. The idea was to create a pastures of La Causse Méjean eating grass, herbs and flowers. cheese with a smooth texture and a Their milk is collected from only about a dozen shepherds all strong taste. However, the initial batches within 30 kms of the fromagerie. tended to collapse during the maturation The cheese itself is an oval shape. process. As a result, it was decided to use It is semi-soft with an earthy the spruce bark binding. Development of this and nutty flavor, a little fruity delicious cheese took almost two years. The and smoky from the French name comes from the name of the small Jura spruce bark binding it is oblongue local gardens of the Causses wrapped in. The rind is washed territory which are protected from regularly in brine which results sheep by stone walls “The Claousou du in a pretty ivory pink color. The Causse Mejean,” in the same manner cheese is aged for two to three as the cheese is protected by its weeks. It is made with raw ewe’s milk strap of spruce bark. salt, and rennet. The paste is a pale milky color, smooth, creamy and silky.

CATAL The Catal Cheese (also called Cathare or Croix Catal) can be spotted quickly in a cheese store by its two most distinct elements; the tiny amount of ash coats the top of the cheese, and the design “Cathar Cross” or “Occitan Cross” in the ash.

Catal is a light, scrumptious goat cheese.

Catal is deliciously gooey, when spread on a baguette, every bite will melt in your mouth.

The taste of Catal is best explained as having a lighter weight with a very thin rind and a silky, buttery texture.

Catal has an incredible amount of flavor while still falling into the category of a “fresh” (two week old) cheese.

HISTORY: Catal is an old, classic goat cheese hailing from Southern France. The region it is from, as well as the cheese are religiously significant because the Cather region was the bedrock of an early European religion called “Catharism.” The people in this region had been taken over by the Moors previously, and this is how they had managed to make goat cheese, from the Moorish method. They then combined these methods with an element of their faith (the cross decal) to concoct Catal cheese.

Goat & Sheep Milk NZ - Issue 5 | February 2022

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Study on the structural characteristics and in-vitro digestion behaviours of NZ goat and sheep milk Dr Siqi Li (Postdoctoral Fellow), Riddet Institute, Massey University

New Zealand’s goat and sheep milk industries have seen rapid growth over the past years, playing an increasingly important role in diversifying the NZ dairy export portfolio. Ruminant milks from different species have different compositions and consumer perceptions of their health benefits, providing opportunities for innovation and development of high-value products for global consumers.

Beyond the bulk composition of milk, the structural assemblies of milk components, such as the casein micelles and fat globules, play important roles in the technological and nutritional properties of milk and milk products. These milk structures vary naturally between the ruminant species, breeds and seasons. For example, goat milk has smaller fat globules and larger casein micelles than cow milk. Besides natural variations, processing technologies used in the dairy industry can alter these structures of milk. Recent research has shown that the digestion behaviour and nutritional outcomes of foods can be modulated by altering food structures.

Schematic illustration of the Human Gastric Simulator (Guo et al. 2015)

Our research aims to provide a better understanding of the natural differences in the compositional and structural characteristics of NZ ruminant milks (cow, sheep and goat), and how these characteristics change under common industrial processing treatments. We have studied the digestion behaviours of these processed milks from different species in a dynamic in vitro digestion system, the Human Gastric Simulator (HGS).

The most common method for studying food digestion in vitro employs a “static” system, where the food and the simulated digestive fluids and enzymes are added into a closed vessel, adjusted to a fixed pH value and mixed by shaking or stirring. In such systems, the simulation of the physical movements of the stomach is oversimplified and the structural changes of ingested foods during digestion are not simulated well. The dynamic HGS utilised in our research however, was designed to simulate the peristaltic movement of the stomach based on the amplitude and frequency of contraction reported in humans. This is vital to gastric digestion and absent in “static” systems. This makes the HGS much closer to a ‘real life’ gastric system. In the HGS, a latex vessel serves as the stomach chamber. The continuous contraction of stomach walls is simulated by a series of moving rollers, controlled by motors on four sides of the stomach chamber (as shown in the photograph).

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Goat & Sheep Milk NZ - Issue 5 | February 2022

References: Guo, Q., Ye, A., Lad, M., Ferrua, M., Dalgleish, D., & Singh, H. (2015). Disintegration kinetics of food gels during gastric digestion and its role on gastric emptying: An in vitro analysis.

Food and Function.

Li, S., Pan, Z., Ye, A., Cui, J., Dave, A., & Singh, H. (2022). Structural and rheological properties of the clots formed by ruminant milks during dynamic in vitro gastric digestion: Effects of processing and species. Food Hydrocolloids.

Photo of the Human Gastric Simulator

The HGS is also capable of simulating the continuous secretion of gastric juice, the emptying of digested food from the stomach and controlling the temperature of digestion at 37°C. Although the HGS is still a simplified representation of the human stomach, the system enables a more realistic simulation of the dynamic digestion process and the study of the changes in the structures and physicochemical properties of foods.

From our studies, we found that all of the selected ruminant milks first coagulated in the stomach into structures similar to ‘cheese curds’ before further breakdown, hydrolysis and emptying from the HGS. This is due to the action of the digestive enzyme pepsin in the gastric juice, which acts on milk proteins similarly to chymosin in rennet used for cheese making.

The structures of the milk curds in the stomach varied considerably, ranging from that of a ‘firm mozzarella cheese ball’ consistency to that of ‘loose and wet cottage cheese’, and was determined by the milk’s ruminant species and the processing treatment used. Goat milk formed the softest curds among the three species.

Following homogenisation and heat treatments, milk from all the species formed looser curd structures. Differences were also found in the breakdown rate of the curds during digestion and the emptying of different milk components into the small intestine for further digestion and absorption.

Milks that formed loose and soft curds were emptied from the HGS faster and had higher digestion rates than those that formed firm and intact curds.

Findings from this study can inform the design and development of milk products from different ruminant species via different processing treatments to achieve different digestive outcomes. For instance, rapid delivery of proteins and amino acids is desired for products promoting muscle growth whereas a slowly digested milk may prolong satiety and assist in weight management.

Premium products with tailor-made nutritional outcomes can be developed to meet the diverse and ever-changing needs of consumers. This could support a diversified portfolio of NZ dairy products that convey science-based wellbeing messages to global consumers.

This study is part of the MBIE-funded New Zealand Milks Mean More (NZ3M) Endeavour programme. The programme aims to achieve mechanistic insights into the structural characteristics and digestive dynamics of NZ ruminant milks and deliver superior digestive and nutritional outcomes. For more information on the NZ3M programme, please contact Prof Warren McNabb (+64 6 951 7742; W.McNabb@massey.ac.nz).

Coagulum structure of ruminant milk during gastric digestion (Li et al. 2022)

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DCS

Dairy Cooling Solutions Tradition meets Technology

You can trust Dairy Cooling Solutions with your valuable milk Dairy Cooling Solutions offer premium milk cooling equipment for your farm to help you comply with the MPI regulations and to ensure you get the most out of every milking.

DCS has supplied over 300 Packo Ice Banks nationwide, with the units living up to their reputation of excellent quality, performance and value.

Packo Horizontal Milk Cooling Tanks

World-first research to breed low methane livestock recognised The work of AgResearch scientists to successfully breed low methane emitting sheep, as a tool to combat climate change, has been recognised with the Supreme Award at this year’s Science New Zealand Awards.

With the support of the industry through the Pastoral Greenhouse Gas Research Consortium (PGgRc) and the government via the New Zealand Agricultural Greenhouse Gas Research Centre (NZAGRC), the AgResearch scientists spent over a decade working on the science and were able to identify genetic differences which influence how much methane an individual sheep produces.

By breeding for this low methane genetic trait, the scientists have been able to demonstrate that after three generations the lowest emitting sheep produce close to 13 per cent less methane than the highest emitters, per kilogram of feed eaten.

The First NZ Packo Milk Cooling Tank installation in Karaka at Milkabit Goat Dairy in September 2015.

A 15,000L horizontal tank and a very happy farmer!

Fully Insulated double skin stainless steel provides excellent thermal storage compared to traditional NZ manufactured vats which are single skin, uninsulated and have minimal cooling capacity.

A large cooling pad covers the full length of the tank and 50% of the diameter provides significantly faster cooling than traditional NZ manufactured Tanks.

Available in either Ice Water or traditional Direct Expansion Refrigeration configuration. Patented CIP system with automatic dosing and wash cycles.

Visit www.dairycoolingsolutions.nz and talk to your refrigeration contractor for more information.

0800 122 893

www.dairycoolingsolutions.nz

facebook.com/DairyCoolingSolutions

While the actual methane reduction at the farm scale will be less when sheep are also being bred for other desirable genetic traits, it is still expected to be significant. The lower emitting sheep have been found to be otherwise healthy and productive where it comes to their meat and wool.

AgResearch senior scientist Suzanne Rowe says this knowledge is being shared with the sheep industry in New Zealand, with researchers globally and is also assisting research into breeding lower methane emitting cattle.

“Research like this is critical for the agriculture sector, which produces almost half of New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions and needs practical tools to help achieve a reduction target of 24-47 per cent less methane by 2050,” Dr Rowe says. Methane is a relatively short-lived but potent greenhouse gas.

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Research like this is critical for the agriculture sector.

Judges in this year’s Science New Zealand Awards, which include entries from New Zealand’s seven crown research institutes and Callaghan Innovation, referenced the major significance of AgResearch’s work within New Zealand and the “tangible contribution to the global issue of our time”.

The world-first AgResearch achievement also featured engineering innovation in the form of specially designed portable accumulation chambers that can be taken on to farms to measure the methane emissions of individual sheep.

Dr Rowe says it is humbling to have the work of her and her colleagues recognised.

“It has taken well over a decade to reach this point and it has been a long journey by a dedicated team of scientists. We have worked side by side with sheep breeders and farmers to achieve a practical outcome that can be applied on farms. It is a fantastic feeling to know that we have achieved something that will make a difference for the livestock industry, for New Zealand, and the world when it comes to climate change. This is why we do our science – to make a real difference.”

The full list of Science New Zealand Award winners can be found here.

Goat & Sheep Milk NZ - Issue 5 | February 2022

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