Sheep and Goat Milk New Zealand

News, Advice, Breeds, Import/Export, Technology, Farm Focus, Profiles, Science, Recipes, Facts, Contacts and Much More in this Publication Dedicated to the Goat & Sheep Industries

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2

View the videos on the Rurtec Youtube Channel

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From the Editor

A warm welcome to you. Thank you for reading your latest edition.

We received a massive amount of positive feedback from the first edition and this edition sees a wide-variety of topics sure to be of interest. As you know the Dairy Goat and Sheep industries are growing significantly and is this edition we have highlighted some of exciting developments in terms of product developments and economics.

Also we cover: • Industry comment from Labour Party MP Jamie Strange

• 2020 Massey Food Awards Now Open For Entries • New Appointment To Landcorp Board

• Extended rural events guide NZ-wide

• Showcase Farm: Waikino Station

• Primary Sector Export Value Continues To Climb

• The White Sheep Co – NZ hand crafted Sheep Milk Spirits & Liqueurs

• Rural Health Training Hubs Praised • NZTE And Enterprise Singapore Ink ‘Partnership For Growth’ Arrangement Great News For NZ Dairy Goat And Sheep Products

• Goats Remain Susceptible To Internal Parasites • Sheep – Modern Day Super Heroes By Federated Farmers Meat & Wool Industry Group Chairperson Miles Anderson

• Historically Speaking: Goat & Sheep • Sheep Dairy Education

• Product Focus: Q&A With Fernglen Farm Performance Protein: Cameron Ravenswood

• 2019 Outstanding NZ Food Producer Awards Medal Winners Announced

Disclaimer

• Origin Earth Offers Manufacturing Options • And more!

Mark Nogaj

• Te Anau Goat Milk Soap Farm Experience

• Hearty Potato Soup With Goat’s Milk

• Goat Island Dairy – Opportunity For Investment

Kind regards

• NZ Champions Of Cheese 2019

• Sheep Milk Lotion

Goat & Sheep Milk New Zealand, Biz Waikato, Prime Hamilton and Prime Tauranga reserves the right to accept, edit or reject editorial and advertising material. All endeavours will be made to ensure accuracy at time of publication. Neither Goat & Sheep Milk New Zealand, Biz Waikato, Prime Hamilton and Prime Tauranga accept responsibility for omissions or consequences that may arise from information published.

• Government Initiatives Paying Dividends On The Farm

• Deer Milk On The Menu At Prestigious Asian Restaurants Awards Night

• Sheep And Goats’ Milk Exports updated from Andrew Holden, New Zealand Trade and Enterprise

The views expressed in the articles and advertising are those of the contributors and do not necessarily reflect the views of Goat & Sheep Milk New Zealand, Biz Waikato, Prime Hamilton and Prime Tauranga.

• Dairy Goat Breed Focus: Toggenburg

Editor

Contact For any queries regarding information that is published in Goat & Sheep Milk New Zealand, Biz Waikato, Prime Hamilton and Prime Tauranga, contact names and information pertaining to that article is usually printed or supplied.

Goat & Sheep Milk New Zealand, Biz Waikato, Prime Hamilton and Prime Tauranga are happy to hear feedback regarding publications but will not accept abusive or derogatory correspondence to any staff or persons connected.

Mark Nogaj, Editor – 07 839 1101, 027 552 5345, info@bizhamilton.co.nz GOAT & SHEEP MILK NEW ZEALAND | BIZ WAIKATO | PRIME HAMILTON | PRIME TAURANGA Offices: 17/18, The Homestead, Ruakura, Hamilton | Email info@bizhamilton.co.nz, www.bizhamilton.co.nz

Issue 2

Foodbowl: AgResearch Sheep’s Milk Being one of New Zealand’s Crown Research Institutes, AgResearch Ltd delivers new knowledge and technologies to support New Zealand pastoral agriculture and agri-food sectors with research spanning from forage science; farm systems and the environment, animal science, and food & bio-based products.

It is the last category of research, food products which brought AgResearch scientists to The FoodBowl to conduct innovative trial work on sheep milk.

With the impressive nutritional profile of sheep milk and NZ research into its digestive benefits, the national dairy sheep milk herd continues to increase with 16 different breeds of milking sheep in New Zealand.

The increase in herd numbers gives rise to the opportunity to innovate via numerous means.

One such means is the commercialisation of sheeps’ milk for export.

Commercialisation of any export product has its challenges.

The reality of the geographical challenge New Zealand faces, mean that an export focused product requires a shelf life that is commercially feasible.

Making this technically possible is where a collaboration between AgResearch and The FoodBowl was forged.

The FoodBowl, which is part of the NZ Food Innovation Network was established to support the growth of innovative added value products which are export focused.

The FoodBowl offers the NZ food and beverage industry access to infrastructure and expertise for the development of new food products.

The FoodBowl also offers training to the industry. It was at one of the training events that Ag Research became aware of the capability at The FoodBowl.

Capability which includes the appropriate equipment, relevant expertise and the food safety certification required to produce food products.

Paul Harris – Senior Scientist from AgResearch comments: ‘I had done an Approved Persons Course on UHT processing at Foodbowl in 2017 so I was fully aware of the capability there.

We needed to make a food grade product that would be consumed by the public so firstly we needed a plant that could provide this, but also the experience and expertise of staff to guide us in making a safe product.’

CONTACT: Alexandra Allan, 021 912 541, www.foodinnovationnetwork.co.nz, alexandra. allan@foodinnovationnetwork.co.nz 3

Innovation In The Seed Industry A gricom researches, develops and markets a wide range of proprietary pasture and forage crop seeds to the agricultural industry.

Their core business is investing in the research and development of forage options, and in the advancement of endophyte technology to increase profits returned back to farmers.

They have partnerships in place with Grasslands Innovation, a joint venture which includes Grasslanz Technology (a subsidiary of AgResearch).

Forage crops are also sourced from external relationships via Plant & Food Research (NZ) within the Forage Innovations joint venture programme.

Agricom understands that there are many cultivar options currently available, so were the first to initiate grazing system trials to identify the critical link between using a product and using the right management to achieve the greatest return per-hectare.

They also invest in on-farm trialling to compare different forage cultivars under a wide range of environments around New Zealand.

This trialling system gives them confidence in recommending the correct cultivar for each situation.

Agricom’s efforts in releasing Ecotain has earnt them several accolades:

Agricom are also active participants in the independent National Forage Variety Trials (NFVT®), co-ordinated by the NZ Plant Breeding and Research Association Inc.

• winners of the 2018 Launch NZ Innovation award

The NFVT data contributes to the DairyNZ Forage Value Index (FVI).

• finalists in the 2019 Hi-Tech Awards.

Most recently Agricom launched Ecotain® environmental plantain, the only plantain proven to work in four ways to reduce nitrogen leaching from the urine patch.

• finalists at the 2018 Sustainable Business Awards in two categories

Contact: 0800 183 358 or visit www.agricom.co.nz *Woods (2017)

The results have been significant, with one study showing an 89% reduction in N leaching from the urine patch*.

Ecotain was developed with the aim of allowing efficient pastoral farming to continue while addressing the major environmental concerns of nitrate leaching.

Being a proud participant in the NZ agricultural industry Agricom believes they have a responsibility to assist farmers to be more sustainable and reduce their environmental footprint.

WE WORK TO DELIVER YOU WHAT WORKS. And then work with you to make it work better.

AGRICOM.CO.NZ 4

We say a seed supplier is only as strong as its weakest product. All of our products are proven performers season after season. Most rank very highly in independent trials. But it’s not enough to just have excellent products. They should perform to their potential. And that’s what sets us apart. Our people are dedicated to providing you the expertise, local knowledge and systems to ensure our products work even harder for you.

Bringing you some of NZ’s most popular forage products:

Exciting New Industries

By Jamie Strange, Labour list MP, based in Hamilton.

Sheep and goat dairying are emerging industries with significant potential, driven by high consumer demand for: • environmentally sustainable • high quality • alternative milk products.

Internationally there is a large and growing market for sheep and goat milk products, where digestibility of cow’s milk is often an issue, nutritional health is a key consumer driver, and good flavour profile is critical.

The emerging sheep and goat milk industry in New Zealand is well-placed to take advantage of, and build on, our global reputation as a producer of high quality food products.

Goats have been used for milk production for over 9,000 years, but in New Zealand dairy goats are a relatively recent introduction.

Milking goats were often kept on the ships that brought European immigrants to New Zealand in the 1800s, to provide dairy products en route.

The New Zealand Dairy Goat Cooperative was formed in 1984, and has been steadily growing.

72 farmers currently own this cooperative, with an annual revenue of over $200 million.

I recently had a tour of Dairy Goat’s Hamilton premises, and was impressed with their commitment to quality, innovation, and desire to expand into more markets.

They provide consumers with a world-leading premium baby formula product, uniquely individualised for each international market.

Most dairy goats in New Zealand are Saanen, a breed that originated in Switzerland.

They are medium-large, with coat colour white or cream and they have erect ears.

The Sable is a coloured variant of the Saanen developed in NZ.

Goat milk is popular because it has the reputation of being more readily digested and less likely to cause allergic reactions than cow’s milk, it’s suitable for a range of dairy products and is particularly good for making cheese.

In November last year, I was honoured to officially open the Waikato-based hybrid pilot farm for Spring Sheep Milk, which will be crucial for trialling a new farming model in New Zealand.

Sheep dairy is a new venture for our country, but I see parallels between the success of the dairy goat industry and the future of sheep milk.

Internationally there is a large and growing market for sheep milk products, particularly in Asia.

Spring Sheep Milk Co. is a unique public-private partnership between the coalition Government’s Landcorp Farming Limited (trading as Pāmu) and the boutique sales and marketing company SLC Group.

Visiting Diary Goat’s Hamilton plant

The partnership combines the best: • • • •

farming know-how resources branding in-market expertise.

To build an industry, New Zealand needs around 40 commercially viable sheep milking farms by 2030 that are environmentally, economically, and socially sustainable.

Horizon Three is a six year programme through the Primary Growth Partnership that will run from 2016 to 2022.

It will receive $12.56 million investment from the Government through MPI and $18.83 million from Spring Sheep Milk Co.

The programme’s aim is to build a high-value and sustainable New Zealand dairy industry, by building a fit-for-purpose New Zealand sheep milk farming system that is replicable by other New Zealand farmers.

The programme’s long term goal is a marketdriven, end-to-end value chain for sheep milk worth over $200 million by 2030.

The programme has already achieved a lot in its first two years, from the new product development and market launches, to the farm nutritional trial yielding exceptional results from the New Zealand flock, and the development of the two pilot farms in Cambridge.

A $50 million sheep milk dryer is planned for Hamilton’s Innovation Park, which will service this emerging industry.

The coalition Government’s Provincial Growth Fund is investing $490,000 to scope further development of the sheep and goat milk industry in Southland.

The report will focus on four products which are considered to have high-value potential: liquids, cheese, butter, and protein powders.

Southland sheep milk farmers stand to benefit from the information and insights this project will create, including workshops and market research.

Goat and sheep dairying are both emerging industries, providing exciting potential for our country.

I would like to thank all those who have been involved in the investment and development of these enterprises over many years.

CONTACT: Jamie Strange, Labour List MP. Phone 07 839 6803, email jamie.strange@ parliament.govt.nz

Cutting the ribbon for the Spring Sheep Milk farm

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PRODUCT FOCUS: Q&A With Fernglen Farm

Performance Protein: Cameron Ravenswood WHO STARTED PERFORMANCE PROTEIN? As a family we have started the Fernglen Farm brand which produces the Performance Protein sheep milk drinks.

WHEN?

WHY?

WHY SHEEP MILK?

The idea started in my last year of school (2015) when dad cut out a small article on sheep milking which didn’t have many details about sheep milking, but it did state that it was selling for $18 / kg of milk solids at the farm gate.

As I was doing research I found that the nutritional content was very good.

Sheep milk was chosen because of the nutrition, digestibility and low environmental footprint.

This sparked an interest and from here I looked further into the idea of sheep milking.

I carried out lots of research and budgets, eventually everyone was on board with the idea.

In 2016 we started breeding stock for milking.

In 2017 we developed our products, and began to work on the milking shed and processing plant. Our product was finalised in February of 2018.

We finished building our milking shed in December of 2018 and finished upgrading Kingsmeade Cheese processing plant (who we are in partnership with) to accommodate the processing we required in October.

At the end of November 2018 we did our first product run in our own processing plant. In January we started selling to a few supermarkets and little stores.

CUT AND CARRY MADE EASY

I have always been really into nutrition so when I analysed the characteristics of sheep milk I was very impressed with many aspects of its nutrition.

High in micro and macro nutrients such as; protein, calcium, magnesium, vitamins B complex and phosphorus were some of the things that drew me to the raw product.

The milk is also easily digested with the majority of people who can’t tolerate cow’s milk being able to tolerate the sheep milk.

This is due to sheep milk only containing A2 beta caseins and the fatty chain acids are mostly short to medium in length (which is easier to digest than long chain fatty acids which cow’s milk has a lot more of ).

Lastly, the low environmental footprint sheep have compared to other stock types fitted well with my interest in sustainable agriculture.

WHERE? We Farm on the east coast of the Wairarapa, near Riversdale beach.

Our farm is located right on the coast, about 50 minutes from Masterton, which is where we process our milk.

Our farm consists of around 580 hectares of retired native bush or pine trees and about 520 hectare of effective land.

We share the processing facilities with Kingsmeade Cheese Just outside of Masterton.

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It is a product with so much potential domestically and internationally.

WHAT ARE THE RANGE OF PRODUCTS? We currently just produce a healthy prebiotic flavoured milk with natural ingredients added for flavour and minimal sugar.

DETAILS ON FERNGLEN FARM Fernglen farm has been home to us for over 23 years, in this time we have had a large focus on ensuring its sustainability – acting with consideration for future generations is key in our eyes.

It carries about 5300 stock units.

We also do honey and cashmere.

We have bought cashmere goats into our system to use them as natural weed control.

This allows us to reduce chemical sprays while maintaining healthy pasture.

Animal welfare is highly valued by us.

We leave the lambs on mum, not weening them until day 55-60 (a normal weaning age) because we know the importance of the ewe/lamb bond and no one brings up healthier lambs than their mother.

We lose milk production this way, but it is a necessary sacrifice to ensure the lambs get the best possible start to life.

Our brand has only just started with selling milk but our mission is “To create value, opportunities and a positive impact on the planet. From farmers and their communities, to consumers and theirs”.

CONTACT: Cameron, Fernglen Farm, fernglenfarm1@gmail.com, 027 439 3312, www.fernglenfarm.co.nz

We have three flavours, vanilla, coffee and chocolate in 450ml bottles.

WHAT IS THE TARGET MARKET? Our flavoured milk is ideal for anyone looking for a tasty, healthy alternative to other flavoured milk products.

The nutrition of the product makes it ideal for athletes/active people to use to help them recover.

The elderly could also benefit hugely from our products as they are a complete source of nutrition with a lot of key macro and micro nutrients such as protein, prebiotic, magnesium and calcium in it which are essential for the body to stay healthy.

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8

Understanding What’s Best

For Sheep And Goat Industry W

aikato Milking Systems is looking to build on its successful foray into the New Zealand and international goat and sheep dairy market.

The company installed a 100-bail goat rotary in Canada in 2017. The platform had proved a positive experience, for both the animals and the operators.

Andy said the company was also committed to understanding and meeting the needs of Kiwi farmers in this particular industry too.

“There is also an increased awaress of the nutritional benefits of sheep and goat milk products which has resulted globally in an increased consumption.”

Waikato Milking Systems Product and Project Manager, Andy Geissmann, said feedback showed the rotary takes care of the animals in a calm, quiet and relaxed way.

“We want people to know we’re not just transforming a cow milking system into something smaller.

It was opening up opportunities to expand the market in New Zealand and overseas.

“We want to use our knowledge and farmers’ expertise, to further develop milking platforms specifically for small ruminants.”

As with many other New Zealand agricultural products, sheep and goat milk products have a high level of acceptance in many export markets.

There was also a focus on the differences between sheep and goats, in terms of animal behaviour, psychology, yields and their specific needs.

Having the appropriate milking equipment makes it easier to meet the rapid growing demand.

“It’s a good milking experience for the goats but also very quick and easy for the milker too. The system has proven to be able to milk 1200 goats per hour repeatedly but it can handle even up to 1500 goats.”

Andy said Waikato Milking Systems had also entered the Chinese market with its rotary platform for small ruminants.

“The product is durable, heavy duty that can easily be used in large industrial situations but it’s also lightweight and easy to operate.”

Andy said public awareness of the lower environmental impact of sheep and goat dairy was growing.

Andy and the team from Waikato Milking Systems will be at Fieldays to speak about its products as well as gather vital feedback from farmers.

Government Initiatives Paying Dividends On The Farm

N

ew Zealand’s bovine industry can be credited for the gains it’s made in milk yield and farmer returns from its pioneering work in farming systems.

While the gains have taken decades of research and development, the sheep and goat industry can benefit from what was learned during this period of optimisation.

To support this, a number of Government funded initiatives are underway to help determine which farming systems will be best for sheep and goat milking in New Zealand conditions.

Initiatives such as The Sheep – Horizon Three Programme through the Primary Growth Partnership Programme (PGP), is enabling Spring Sheep Dairy to explore the impacts of different farming systems, genetics and farm management practices on milk production.

The programme will also cover commercialisation opportunities for sheep milk by gathering market insights and evaluating the potential for high value products.

Combining the genetics of three breeds: 1. East Friesian 2. Awassi 3. and Lacunae

The programme will run from 2016-2022.

The team at Maui Milk have created what is thought to be a world first “Southern Cross” breed. Drawing upon their extensive experiences in breeding dairy cattle and deer, Peter and Jake are using their science-based approach to determine which breed will optimise milk yields.

Over the next few years, Spring Sheep Dairy’s goal is to develop the right farming system and breed of sheep for New Zealand’s unique environment.

Like Spring Sheep Dairy, genetics is also a focus for Maui Milk.

With assistance from the Ministry for Primary Industries, Maui Milk’s General Manager, Peter Gatley and Geneticist, Jake Chandon, developed an import protocol to allow the best sheep genetics to be imported into New Zealand.

Dairy Goat Cooperative is also reviewing its farming systems as part of the Government funded Primary Growth Partnership Programme (PGP), The Caprine Innovations New Zealand Programme (CAPRINZ).

Running from 2018-2023, the research will focus on how it can enhance the natural features of goat milk for infant formula.

Article source: The Sheep and Goat Dairy Project www.sheepandgoatmilk.nz 9

Deer Milk On The Menu At Prestigious Asian Restaurants Awards Night The unique Pāmu Deer Milk featured on the menu at the prestigious Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants awards, being held at the Wynn in Macau.

Pāmu deer milk, which was made into a panna cotta for the event, is invaluable exposure for the product in the Asian market, says Pāmu’s business development manager Hamish Glendinning.

“Asia’s restaurant scene is very competitive and for Pāmu deer milk to be on the menu at their annual awards menu is a real coup.”

Glendinning said Pāmu worked with New Zealand food service company Eat The Kiwi, which supplies premium New Zealand products in Asia, to secure the spot on the menu.

Following the successful launch of deer milk in New Zealand and Australia, Pāmu is now in the early stages of developing Asian markets in partnership with Eat The Kiwi.

“There is arguably no better venue or event to showcase the unique properties of deer milk, than at one of the region’s most prestigious restaurant events. To be on the menu at this event is a measure of the growing interest in Pāmu deer milk, especially from chefs who want to work with new and exciting ingredients.”

“We are taking a cautious approach with a select number of chefs, but the inclusion of deer milk at tonight’s Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants awards is a real boost for the profile of our product on the international stage,” Mr Glendinning said.

Goats Remain Susceptible To Internal Parasites Unlike sheep, goats remain susceptible to internal parasites (worms) throughout their lives.

High levels of internal parasites may cause: • • • • •

ill-thrift scouring weight loss anaemia and sometimes even death.

Underdosing is likely to be ineffective and may encourage drench resistance.

Overdosing can result in poisoning, particularly with levamisole (‘clear’) drenches or mineralised drenches containing selenium.

Careful management can help reduce your reliance on drenches to control internal parasites: • Use cattle or horses to cross-graze pastures as these do not share the same parasites as goats.

• Avoid grazing goats with lambs and hoggets. Both goats and young sheep are very susceptible to internal parasites and share the same worms.

Young goats, underweight animals or goats suffering other health problems are particularly at risk.

• Allow goats to graze longer pastures. Forcing goats to graze very close to the ground increases their parasite larval intake.

Treating with an anthelmintic or ‘drench’ can remove worms but it is important to get the dosage and type of drench right.

• Feed supplements such as hay, silage or commercial pellets/meal.

This will reduce your goats’ pasture larval exposure and keep them well fed.

Using a single active drench for goats is not recommended as drench resistance is widespread in New Zealand.

Article courtesy of Franklin Vets www.franklinvets.co.nz

ENGINEERING

10

Drench doses are weight dependent.

• Avoid overstocking and overgrazing. Too many animals on a property results in short pasture covers and increased pasture larval contamination.

• Parasite management involves many factors. Talk to your vet about the best parasite management plan for your goats.

ANLAMB

™

Anlamb™ is New Zealand’s favourite lamb milk replacer.

It is a specialised milk powder sourced wholly from cow’s milk in New Zealand and has help raise thousands of animals, not just lambs, since the 1970s.

Anlamb™ is made from only the best Whole Milk Powder sourced by NZAgbiz.

As lambs are often fickle to hand rear, they need the finest quality raw materials to fatten and grow.

The formulation contains essential vitamins and minerals required for early growth and development.

As Anlamb™ is made from full casein ingredients, it made to curd in the gut.

Not only is Anlamb™ popular with rearing lambs, it can be fed to other species. It is particularly popular milk food for goat kids.

Anlamb™ contains no coccidiostat so is safe for all label claim species.

The Maui Sheep Milk Farms experience with Anlamb™

By Peter Gatley, General Manager, Maui Milk

Maui Milk has two sheep dairy operations, both on the western shores of Lake Taupo, both milking about 3000 ewes.

We have evaluated various milk replacers and settled on Anlamb:

Over the past four years, over 20,000 of our lambs have been reared on milk replacers.

 It is casein based, which is essential in the first couple of weeks

We have reared up to 4,000 on one farm in one season.

We have also contracted Rearers to raise ewe lamb replacements for us. (We’ve supplied the replacer and hard feed.)

 It also suits the latter stages of rearing so we don’t need to manage a transition between different replacers  It mixes well

Male lambs that are not required as sires of the future have been given to other Rearers along with milk replacer.

 It is NZ made, so we’re supporting other Kiwi farmers and we have more flexibility with ordering

All lambs are left on mum for at least a day so that they get their colostrum directly.

 Losses during rearing are minimal. Bloat only seems to be an issue if lambs are allowed to gorge, or if hygiene standards slip.

They are then trained on a teat, and when feeding vigorously, are put into pens with about 30 others.

Despite our large scale, we prefer simple multi-teat feeders rather than automatic ad lib feeders because it gives us control over: • volume • concentration • and frequency of feeding.

This level of control is particularly useful during weaning.

It’s also surprisingly labour efficient, as two workers go from pen to pen very quickly.

One puts the milk into the feeders, while the other ensures that all lambs get their fair share.

It is important that no individual lambs are allowed to gorge.

Apart from that, hygiene is the key.

We are happy with the weight gain in the lambs.

This is important to any sheep farmer, but particularly so for dairy sheep operators.

We’re aiming for 50kg hoggets at mating, and our better ewes can earn over $1000 per lactation in milk income.

Bigger lambs means:       

More hoggets make the cut for mating Higher conception rate Higher lambing percentage Hoggets in turn have bigger lambs Higher first year milk production Better lifetime milk production More new-generation rams (our best genetics) ready for mating at their first opportunity.

11

Recipe:Hearty Potato Soup With Goat’s Milk Ingredients

Instructions

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1. In a 5-quart soup pot, heat the butter over medium-high heat until melted.

7. Once boiling, reduce the heat to maintain a simmer and partially cover the pot with a lid.

2. Add garlic and onion, and cook for three minutes.

8. Let cook for 10 to 15 minutes, until the potatoes are very tender.

3. Adjust the heat as necessary and stir often to prevent the garlic from burning.

9. Remove the lid and reduce the heat to low. Use a potato masher to partially smash the potatoes, leaving large chunks, but smashing some pieces so the starch will thicken the soup. Stir in the salt, pepper and paprika.

• 2 cloves garlic, minced • ½ cup chopped onion • ½ cup chopped carrots • ½ cup chopped celery • 1½ pounds Russet or gold potatoes, chopped • 4 cups chicken stock

4. Add the carrots and celery, and cook for five more minutes.

• 1 tsp finely ground sea salt

5. Stir in the chopped potatoes and cook for one minute longer.

• ½ tsp pepper • ¼ tsp smoked paprika • ½ cup goat’s milk

6. Pour the stock into the pot, and increase the heat to bring the soup to a boil.

Rural Health Training Hubs Praised Minister for Rural Communities Damien O’Connor has welcomed the Minister of Health’s commitment to develop rural health training hubs.

12

10.Remove the pot from the heat and stir in the goat’s milk.

11.Serve warm.

“Those living in rural communities can enjoy excellent lifestyles but they face unique challenges that must be reflected in Government policy.

Developing rural health training hubs in which a range of medical professionals are trained inside rural communities is a great way to build communities up and encourage connections.

“This past year alone has seen drought, floods and biosecurity incursions, which cause stress across in rural communities. The Rural Proofing Policy ensures that when policy-makers sit down to design the rules they take into account the unique factors that affect rural communities such as low populations, isolation, and reliance on the primary sector for employment.

“We’ve all heard stories about rural communities finding it hard to attract GPs and other health professionals. This is a real concern. It means rural Kiwi’s aren’t getting the same access to healthcare as urban Kiwi’s – and that has to be fixed. If students are training in rural communities and becoming a part of that community, many will stay at the end of their studies.

“Rural Kiwis should have equitable access to social and economic opportunities, to reach their full potential.

“I know there’s still a lot of detail to work through but I’m very excited to see progress towards the first hub and I look forward to watching this initiative flourish.’’

Sheep And Goats’ Milk Exports

By Andrew Holden, New Zealand Trade and Enterprise

D

airy produce remains the giant of New Zealand’s export income, but within that broad sector is a small and dynamic group of companies who are a perfect example of the Government’s drive to move from volume to value.

Unfortunately, we can’t tell exactly what the value of this country’s total sheep and goats’ milk exports are.

There is only one tariff code for “milk”, regardless of which animal it came from.

What we do know, though, is that the global market for liquid goats’ milk was US$330 million in 2013 and that has since grown to US$390 million.

For sheep, milk production was jut over 8 million tonnes in 1995, and is now consistently over 10m tonnes each year.

The growing trend, as the industry knows, is thanks to the difference their milk has in both composition and nutritional properties from cows’ milk.

Due to its potential health benefits, goat milk is particularly recommended for infants, older adults, and those recovering from illness.

Several peptides, fats, and oligosaccharides present in goat’s milk can be potentially useful in cardiovascular disease, metabolic disorders, neurological degeneration, or in promoting intestinal health.

Sheep milk, in turn, is higher in total solids than cow or goat milk, and contains more minerals and vitamins.

The total value of sheep milk formula exports was $2.4m in the four months to March, according to Stats NZ. According to a Customer Director with New Zealand Trade and Enterprise (NZTE) Craig Armstrong, “sheep milk is a very, very early stage and start-up industry.

We’re probably only in the processes of opening up exports for pure sheep milk powder and products.”

He is aware of a handful of New Zealand companies that are experimenting with sheep milk, hoping to tap into a potentially lucrative market throughout Asia.

Landcorp, the country’s largest farmer, has made yoghurt and ice cream products from ewe milk and last year invested in a Hamilton drying plant, which is expected to deliver $129 million in export returns each year.

Another example to attract interest was the Tauranga-based sheep milk spirits company The White Sheep Co, which makes gin, vodka and a liqueur, and began selling them overseas at the start of this year.

The state-owned enterprise, which trades under the name of Pamu, stated a few years ago that sheep milk was an “exciting” niche product and more environmentally sustainable because it uses less water and creates less run-off than cow dairying.

Armstrong said the White Sheep Co was a good example of the move from volume to value in the agri/foodtech industry.

More recently it has also focused its efforts on deer milk.

Sectors like this attract interest from the Coalition Government, partly because of its emphasis on ensuring that economic activity takes into account its impact on the environment, and also because it wants to encourage the shift from volume to value: that means moving away from high volumes of products that are at the whims of international prices, such as dairy, to quality products that can command higher prices.

Last December, for example, the Parliamentary UnderSecretary for Regional Economic Development, Fletcher Tabuteau, announced a $490,000 boost for sheep and goat industry resources, to scope further development.

“Sheep and goat dairying is an emerging industry with significant potential driven by high consumer demand for environmentally sustainable, alternative milk products,” he said at the time.

“Sheep milk farming exists in pockets around the country, particularly in Southland, but this project will assess the economic viability of developing a nationwide industry.”

“There is a huge opportunity in exporting New Zealandproduced spirits that combine alcohol purity, New Zealand’s reputation for a natural environment, clean pure water, our strong country brand and the huge untapped potential of various flavours and fragrances.”

Armstrong said there was a strong innovation mindset in the New Zealand alcoholic beverages industry – seen in products from wine, (craft) beer and RTDs to spirits (vodka, gin, rum, whisky, Asian spirits such as sake/shochu and baiju are all made in New Zealand and exported globally).

He believes there’s untapped potential in using various New Zealand flavours and fragrances in alcohol, especially in spirits. Interestingly, the base for most alcohols is ethanol, derived from whey, a byproduct of the milk production process.

The biggest challenge for our early-stage enterprises is reaching consumers – meaning distributing to, and getting their range into, high-end bars, clubs and hotels where the ‘real estate’ is controlled by the major corporations (such as Bacardi).

“We encourage our exporters to be very unique, and leverage that New Zealand brand; we’re a very clean, natural environment and we have some of the best water in the world, and with the dairy industry’s whey-based ethanol as a base, those three things and some unique flavours and fragrances makes a very good product.

FoodSouth, which received the funding, will develop a national business case to identify export opportunities, estimates required for goat and sheep milk volumes to meet potential demand, and consider the best locations for plants.

“Within our primary product industry, it doesn’t matter whether its dairy, the fruit industry, alcohol, it’s about going from volume to value – [sheep milk] is a very niche ingredient in the industry and I think the White Sheep Co story is a classic example of how in New Zealand we have many more untapped opportunities for value creation.”

The report will focus on liquids, cheese, butter, and protein powders – the four products which are considered to have high-value potential.

Contact: Andrew Holden, New Zealand Trade and Enterprise.

Andrew.Holden@nzte.govt.nz, www.nzte.govt.nz

Recipe: Sheep Milk Lotion Ingredients

Instructions

• 10oz Distilled Water • 10oz Pasteurized Sheep Milk • 5.2oz Oil(s) – such as, avocado, sweet almond, apricot kernel, sunflower, vitamin E • 2.3oz Butter(s) – such as, cocoa, kokum, shea, mango • 3.9oz Emulsifier • 1.9oz Stearic Acid • 0.5oz Preservative • 0.5oz Essential Oil(s)

1. Combine all of the oils, butters, stearic acid, and emulsifier in a small double boiler and heat until they are completely melted.

2. While you are doing this, warm the distilled water and milk in the larger double boiler.

6. You’ll want to keep the blender fully submerged to prevent messes.

7. Once your lotion starts to thicken (it takes less than a minute), pour in the preservative and any fragrance you want to use.

3. Once your oils are melted and 8. Blend until everything is liquids warmed, it’s time to blend. combined and you have a thick lotion.

4. Immerse hand blender fully into the pot containing the liquids.

9. If your lotion isn’t thick enough, just melt more emulsifier, add 5. Then, slowly pour the oils into it to the lotion, and blend. the liquid pot as you blend.

13

Q&A: NZ Hand Crafted Sheep Milk Spirits & Liqueurs WHO STARTED THE WHITE SHEEP CO?

WHY?

WHERE ARE THE PRODUCTS MADE?

The White Sheep Co was founded by Sam Brown [pictured].

The desire to create something uniquely ‘kiwi’ that could represent New Zealand in the spirits space.

Our range of spirits are distilled in a traditional copper style still in the Bay of Plenty.

Sam has a background in international trade and export.

WHAT IS THE RANGE OF PRODUCTS?

WHEN?

HOW DID THE RECIPES ORIGINATE? WHY SHEEP MILK?

The lightbulb moment came in 2009 while overseas in a bar – drinks were being consumed in honour of various countries and when it came to New Zealand there was no spirit that had the same link as say Tequila to Mexico or Brandy to France.

WHAT ARE YOUR BUYERS DEMOGRAPHICS AND IS INTERNATIONAL SALES A SCOPE?

We currently have Sheep Milk Vodka (which was just named NZ’s best Vodka at the inaugural NZ Spirits Awards), Sheep Milk & Honey Gin, and Sheep Milk Cream Liqueur.

The spirits have wide appeal due to their uniqueness and strong ties back to New Zealand.

The tourist market is definitely a focus and we are also already in talks with a couple of big overseas spirits distributors.

It has been a long process with a lot of research and development.

It is a bit more involved than with a conventional spirit so we had to really nail down the science behind it. A lot of trial and error and taste testing!

CONTACT: Sam Brown, info@thewhitesheepco.com

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Milligans Feeds Introduce Two New Products For Lamb And Goat

By Joseph Paton, Milligans Food Group

Milligans Feeds are excited to introduce two new products for 2019 for the lamb and goat markets: • GOlamb Whey • and GOgoat Whey

While we praise the merits of whey milk replacers, we can’t ignore the traditional casein products outright such as our long-standing MMR or Multi Milk Replacer, which is suitable for multi species animals, as these are still the highest consumed milk replacers on the market and for good reason.

are WHEY based milk replacers specifically formulated for each species and offer excellent nutritional values for growing infant animals.

Milligans Feeds have carefully selected to partner with one of Europe’s largest animal milk replacer manufacturers with proven history of top quality and performance throughout Europe.

The is to offer New Zealand farmers and rearers more options as Milligans Feeds saw the need to offer another whey milk replacer to the NZ market with the growing dairy goat and sheep sectors as well as the traditional farms who prefer whey over traditional casein-based milk powder.

The use of whey-based milk replacers has steadily increased over the past 5 years, especially in the dairy goat and lamb sector under ad-lib feeding systems due to its safety margins with reduce bloating incidence.

Although whey replacers tend to be slightly lower in nutritional analysis than New Zealand made casein products, the way it digests in the animal makes it equally as good for growing healthy animals due to its assimilation in the body.

It also helps that whey is slightly cheaper than casein powders which gives an economical advantage.

Whole and skim-based powders are seen in trials to give the best start to infant animals, at least for the first 3-4 weeks of life.

From then onward there are choices to continue right through to weaning with them or look at options like transitioning to whey alone or mix both casein and whey together for the best of both worlds approach.

GOmulti is suitable for: • lambs • goat kids • calves Due to its specific nutritional profile and vitamin and mineral inclusion.

Look for the Milligans Feeds GO Milk Replacer range at your local: • Farmlands • RuralCo • Independent retailers • selected vets throughout NZ • check online at www.milligansfeeds.co.nz

It really comes down to what suits the farmer based on: • performance • safety • and cost Milligans Feeds can also help with the afore mentioned option of having a blend of both proteins with GOmulti, a milk replacer designed to provide a robust growing formula of both casein and whey for those looking at convenience of using the two powders without the hassle of mixing themselves.

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NEW

Give your lambs and goats more GO with

GOlamb & GOgoat WHEY milk replacers * Bag design may vary from what is shown in this advertisement

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.

Check out www.milligansfeeds.co.nz for more information on the range and where to buy.

BY MILLIGANS FEEDS

0 8 0 0 7 8 6 2 5 3 | f e e d s a l e s @ m i l l i g a n s . c o . n z | w w w. m i l l i g a n s f e e d s . c o . n z 15

Advertisement

Matt and Sarah Bolton in their goat barn.

No Kidding Around with Goats From the very start, Matt and Sarah Bolton had a vision for their goat operation – to be the best.

In 2014, the couple decided to step up and start the first goat milking operation in Auckland. Partnering with New Image Group Nutritionals to provide premium infant formula to parents around the world, they made a commitment to quality and transparency from day one.

The challenge ahead wasn’t easy. The couple had one shot to design and build a robust, profitable farm system to care for 3,000+ goats. The biggest hurdle was working with a council new to goats, not just for approval and consents, but in building a model for others to follow.

It was in these early days that picking the right infrastructure partner payed off.

Peter from Aztech Buildings was the man

“

Have a clear vision and invest in the right people and systems to get you there - be it staff, mentors or partners like Aztech.

“

16

for the job. Before the technical work and council box-ticking, Peter took up a support role for the couple. He arranged farm tours with other goat raising clients, guided the council approval process and helped the couple shape and define their vision.

Great infrastructure is about getting the small stuff right. Mistakes and missed opportunities matter in the long run when a building stands for decades.

Optimising the 1.2 hectare shed for the local weather, daily wear & tear and biological challenges of goat raising meant the details really mattered. Including: • Wall and ceiling heights that allowed for a breeze, but no wind.

• Finding the lighting sweet spot between warmth and bug-loving humidity.

• Making the tough calls on a time-saving, but expensive and complex feed conveyor.

• Choosing a colour that balanced aesthetics with heat reflection and resilience.

great “Building infrastructure is a one-time project that will make a difference to your bottomline for decades to come.

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An investment in the future returns dividends today.

groups. For them, putting their best-foot forward and proudly telling their farming story today, started with getting the basics right years ago.

As for growing the operation, another shed is in the works. No design changes necessary.

The couple have some straightforward advice for other up-and-coming goat farmers – have a clear vision and invest in the right people and systems to get you there. Be it staff, mentors or partners like Peter, find those people who genuinely want you to succeed and nurture that relationship.

Four years later and the operation is not just up-and-running, but primed to grow. True to their word, Matt and Sarah have opened their farm to the public and regularly host tourists, customers, school and community

The kids love the goat barn.

conditions, conditions, so most so most farmers farmers operate operate a a • Processors • Processors are are renowned renowned for tightly for tightly Get Get the the Facts Facts onon Goats!

Goats! barn-home barn-home model model andand feedfeed via avia cut-anda cut-and- limiting limiting the the number number andand calibre calibre of new of new

carry carry forage forage system system withwith supplementary supplementary suppliers suppliers to protect to protect theirtheir premium premium niche. niche.

TheThe NZ Dairy NZ Dairy Goat Goat Industry Industry grains grains or maize or maize for afor balanced a balanced diet.diet.

Shareholder Shareholder buy-ins buy-ins cancan be expensive. be expensive.

• There • There are are around around 66,000 66,000 dairy dairy goats goats in New in New • A heathy • A heathy doe,doe, raised raised indoors, indoors, willwill produce produce• For• For those those newnew to dairy, to dairy, adjusting adjusting youryour Zealand, Zealand, housed housed across across 92 farms.

92 farms. an average an average of 2of kids 2 kids andand 86kg86kg of milk of milk business business to ato payout a payout schedule schedule cancan be be • The • The Waikato Waikato is our is our dairy dairy goatgoat heartland, heartland, solids solids per per yearyear which which is roughly is roughly double double challenging. challenging. withwith 72%72% of the of the national national population. population. the the production production of those of those raised raised outside outside • Finding • Finding qualified qualified staffstaff andand support support people people andand willwill be less be less likely likely to have to have worm worm or feet or feet likelike vetsvets cancan be tough be tough in the in the small small sector. sector.

On the On the Up and Up and Up Up problems. problems.

• Goats • Goats are are veryvery susceptible susceptible to disease to disease andand • Goat • Goat milkmilk products products are are increasingly increasingly health health risks. risks. popular popular - from - from lowlow lactose, lactose, nutritious nutritious TheThe Dairy Dairy Goat Goat Lifestyle Lifestyle infant infant formula formula to high-end to high-end cheeses cheeses likelike • For• For many many kiwikiwi farmers, farmers, dairy dairy goats goats chevre chevre andand feta.feta. represent represent a lighter a lighter wayway to farm. to farm.

TheThe • It all • Itstarts all starts withwith the the milk. milk.

A high A high protein, protein, animals animals are are easyeasy on the on the environment, environment, To find out more about how lowlow fat profile fat profile makes makes goatgoat milkmilk more more easily easily small small enough enough to handle to handle andand generally generally Aztech Buildings can deliver an digestible digestible andand lessless allergenic allergenic thanthan its cow its cow placid placid andand gentle. gentle. infrastructure investment for your counterpart. counterpart.

It’s aIt’s great a great fit for fit lucrative for lucrative • Goats • Goats givegive farmers farmers flexibility flexibility to fittotheir fit their nutritional nutritional niches niches around around the the world, world, likelike lifestyle lifestyle – be–itbe partial-retirement, it partial-retirement, making making dairy goat business, get in touch. medicinal medicinal powdered powdered milkmilk tablets tablets in Asia in Asia or orfarmfarm work work accessible accessible for younger for younger people people supplementary supplementary milkmilk for lactose for lactose intolerant intolerant andand women women or manageable or manageable diversification diversification 0800 298 324 infants. infants. on the on the farm. farm. www.aztechbuildings.co.nz • The • The dairy dairy goatgoat industry industry is projected is projected to be to be worth worth a tidy a tidy $400$400 million million in export in export revenue revenue TheThe Numbers Numbers by 2023, by 2023, thanks thanks to ato new, a new, $30 $30 million million • The • The goatgoat milkmilk payout payout hovers hovers around around $13 $13 public-private public-private programme programme to deliver to deliver to $18 to $18 per per kg ofkgmilk of milk solids, solids, withwith costs costs breakthrough breakthrough research research andand improve improve around around $8-9$8-9 per per kg. That’s kg. That’s a healthy a healthy return return farming farming standards. standards. generated generated from from a relatively a relatively small small parcel parcel of of land. land.

Dairy Dairy Goats: Goats: TheThe KiwiKiwi WayWay • Starting • Starting costs costs cancan runrun highhigh though, though, youyou • The • The average average herdherd sizesize for afor commercial a commercial onlyonly get one get one shotshot to build to build the the rightright operation operation in New in New Zealand Zealand is 750 is 750 milking milking infrastructure infrastructure for your for your operation. operation. does. does.

• Around • Around 85%85% of the of the locallocal population population are are It’s It’s Never Never Easy…

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Saanen Saanen goats, goats, favoured favoured for their for their highhigh milkmilk• While • While dairy dairy goats goats are are an attractive an attractive option option yield yield andand docile docile nature. nature. for diversification, for diversification, there there are are pitfalls pitfalls for for • Dairy • Dairy goats goats cancan struggle struggle in wet, in wet, coldcold first-timers. first-timers.

The goat The goat barnsbarns are home are home to over to over 3000+ 3000+ goats. goats.

Source: Source: New Zealand New Zealand Goat Goat Industry.

Industry.

Scholtens, Scholtens, Lopez-Lozano Lopez-Lozano and Smith. and Smith.

Massey Massey University University 2017 2017 17

Primary Sector Export Value Continues

To Climb

New Zealand’s primary sector exports continue to exceed expectations with revenue forecast to grow 6.9% on the previous financial year.

The Minister of Agriculture Damien O’Connor [pictured], Minister of Fisheries Stuart Nash and Minister of Forestry Shane Jones announced the Ministry for Primary Industries has released its Situation and Outlook report.

The report forecasts primary industry revenue to reach $45.6 billion for the year to June 2019, 3% more than December’s forecast. Damien O’Connor says primary industry export performance is up nearly $3 billion on the previous year.

“This export performance is all the more impressive considering there is a more modest outlook for the global economic environment and high degrees of uncertainty generated by trade tensions. Import demand from China continues to strengthen for most primary industry products, and exports to the United States are still higher than historic levels,” Damien O’Connor says.

NZTE And Enterprise Singapore Ink ‘Partnership For Growth’ Arrangement Great News For NZ Dairy Goat And Sheep Products

C

ompanies from both New Zealand and Singapore can now look forward to more opportunities to learn and connect through various activities, such as business missions, business matching and market intelligence support, thanks to the signing of a two-year ‘Partnership for Growth’ Arrangement.

NZTE Trade Commissioner for Singapore, Hayley Horan and Enterprise Singapore Global Markets Director, Johnny Teo, sign the NZTE-Enterprise Singapore Arrangement, witnessed by Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and New Zealand Prime Minister Rt Hon Jacinda Ardern.

The agreement will help New Zealand businesses expand operations beyond their own borders, through the exchange of market expertise and sharing of business networks.

New Zealand and Singapore already share a close and collaborative relationship based on shared history and interests.

As Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern noted, New Zealand and Singapore’s common interests as small and advanced economies makes Singapore a “valuable and natural partner for New Zealand’.

Singapore is New Zealand’s 7th largest trading partner (the largest in Southeast Asia), with total trade of goods and services in 2018 worth NZ$5.2 billion.

There are opportunities to further bolster that relationship through collaboration, given both countries’ strong market potential.

In fact, momentum is already underway in the collaborative space, with Enterprise Singapore recently leading a delegation of 11 Singapore companies in the food, logistics and transportation sectors to explore collaboration opportunities, engage local business networks and better understand the business culture in New Zealand.

Fixed stall milking system for Sheep & Goats A simple, efficient milking system which has a low service demand The Fixed stall (F200SG) from DeLaval is a perfect match for small to medium sized goat herds of up to 500 animals.

It utilises the cascade concept where animals enter and exit from the end of the shed with individual headlocks which are opened by each animal entering its milking position.

With stainless steel mangers as standard and optional head dividers, this fixed stall system requires minimal servicing so keeping costs down.

Phone 0800 222 228 or contact your local DeLaval dealer

delaval.com 18

DAIRY GOAT BREED FOCUS: Toggenburg The Toggenburg originated in Switzerland where its breeding was strictly regulated for purity and type.

BACKLINE: • Back strong, straight and horizontal to hips.

FOREQUARTERS: • Fine withers, with shoulders sloping and blending into body.

• Chest full between the forelegs, deep in bucks, fairly deep in does.

BODY (barrel): • Length of barrel proportionate to height.

It was widely exported and has a presence in many countries, including Australia, Great Britain and the United States of America.

• Rib cage well rounded, large, deep and a wedge shaped body.

SIZE (height): • Does 79cm (31 inches). Bucks 90 cm (35.5 inches).

When imported into Britain the Pure Toggenburg was maintained by some breeders while others used selective outcrossing to develop a larger animal.

COAT: • Does and Bucks to have a short coat, a short coat with longer fringes, or a long coat all over.

Where the Pure Toggenburg had a short, dished face and well developed fringes of hair the British Toggenburg had shorter hair and a longer face.

COLOUR: • Light fawn to chocolate (with no preference for any shade) with white Swiss markings as follows – facial stripes from above the eye to the muzzle, edges and tips of ears, legs from the knees and hocks down to hooves and insides of legs to trunk, on rump and around tail.

It also had more colour variation, ranging from light fawn to dark chocolate.

The breed’s robust nature makes it a hardy goat able to look after its best interests.

It prefers temperate regions but is found in all climates, with its dark skin providing good protection against skin cancer.

HINDQUARTERS: • Gradual slope from hips to tail, good width between hips and between thurls.

• Rump broad and strong, pin bones wide and prominent.

LEGS (hooves): • Well boned, strong, straight and parallel (not cow hocked).

GENERAL APPEARANCE (style & quality): • A robust dairy type of animal, active and vigorous, showing breed character and vitality, well proportioned.

• Any tendency to raciness or legginess is undesirable.

• Does feminine, bucks obviously masculine in appearance.

HEAD (skull, eyes, ears, mouth, nostrils): • Head medium length, facial line straight, polled or neatly disbudded. Eyes set well apart, full and bright.

• Ears erect and pointing slightly forward.

• White hairs throughout coat. White spots on head or throat.

• Indistinct facial markings. White ears.

• Horned.

• Hooves sound and well-shaped.

• Uneven tassels.

UDDER:

CONTACT: Carol West, NZ Toggenburg Breeders Association. Email westgoats@hotmail.co.nz or phone 07 887 2979.

• Carrying well up the back and broadly attached with good fore development.

• Not pendulous or unduly divided, showing good capacity.

• Skin: colour fawn to dark brown and softly textured.

TEATS: • Of adequate size for ease of milking, well attached and distinct from udder.

• Set well apart, pointing slightly forward and down not outward.

• Scrotum well attached relatively even and not divided or unduly penduIous, carrying two testes.

• Bucks fine and strong, not coarse.

• Cream or fawn instead of white markings.

• Strong in pasterns.

• Side profile should show no tendency to undershot or overshot jaw.

• Does long and fine, but not too slender.

DIFFERING FROM IDEAL (found and recognised):

• Raised bridge to nose or dished facial line.

TESTICLES:

• Clean at junction with head and blended smoothly into shoulders, with or without tassels.

• Facial stripes may be indistinct in mature bucks.

• Hocks slightly bent when seen from side.

• Muzzle broad and strong, but without coarseness.

NECK:

• Spots at base of tassels or on neck in place of tassels.

RUDIMENTARY TEATS: • Two, set wide apart slightly to the fore and side of the scrotum, of good size but not overdeveloped, unless the buck is milking.

19

2020 Massey Food Awards Now Open For Entries

F

or more than 30 years the New Zealand Food Awards has given food and beverage producers of our small nation the opportunity to showcase just how big they can be.

With ongoing themes of innovation and creativity, and strong ties to Massey University, the Food Awards quality mark remains the peak of excellence in New Zealand’s food and beverage industry.

The annual programme aims to showcase our artisanal producers and large-scale food and beverage manufacturers.

Since inception by Massey University and New Zealand Institute of Food Science and Technology Inc. in 1987, the awards have celebrated New Zealand’s finest food innovations.

Each season includes an application period, a thorough judging phase and a finalist announcement, which culminates in a spectacular winner’s announcement gala dinner in October.

JUDGING THEMES Judging criteria vary across the categories however, the products exhibiting the highest levels of the Awards’ core characteristics will rise to the standard of finalist category winner and supreme winner.

The themes that are judges are looking for are innovation, excellence and sustainability.

AWARD CATEGORIES Products in the New Zealand Food Awards are judged in two types of awards: 1. Product awards 2. Special awards The supreme winner is selected from among the winners of each of the individual category awards.

You may enter each product in up to three categories.

PRODUCT AWARDS

SPECIAL AWARDS

Alcoholic Beverages: Open to all beverages containing more than 0.5% alcohol.

Business Innovation: Awarded to a company who demonstrate the use of technology, functionality and innovation in marketing channels, distribution or business models in either local or international markets.

Artisan Food: For producers demonstrating exceptional standards, showing dedication to creating innovative products with a philosophy which focuses on retaining the integrity of the highest quality ingredients.

Examples include: Artisan cheeses, boutique chocolates, condiments and beverages – products positioned in the high added value segment of the market; ingredients specific to artisanal products.

Chilled Foods: For food products or ingredients with a limited shelf-life that requires cool storage to maintain food safety and product quality.

Examples include: Yoghurts, cheeses, dips, pouch soups, meats and deli products, dressed poultry and chilled ready meals; ingredients for chilled food products.

Frozen Foods: For food products or ingredients that require frozen storage to maintain product quality and shelf-life.

Examples include: Ice creams, ready to eat meals, pastries, frozen desserts, prepared fruits/vegetables; ingredients for frozen food products.

Grocery Foods: Products (including ingredients, partially prepared and ready-to-eat foods) that can safely be stored at ambient temperatures for the period of their shelf-life.

Examples include: Sauces, soups, spreads, condiments, cereals, bread and bakery mixes, energy bars, potato chips, cured meats, meal preparation kits; ingredients for ambient-stable food products.

Non-Alcoholic Beverages: Open to all beverages containing less than 0.5% alcohol.

Examples include: Water, flavoured milks, energy drinks, smoothies, carbonated beverages, juices, juice concentrates, teas, kombucha, ginger beer, kefir; ingredients for these beverages.

Food Safety Culture: Awarded to a company displaying innovative approaches to introduce, change or sustain a food safety culture, ideally evidenced by a case study. Entrants must be able to demonstrate through management, staff and supplier behaviour, that not only do all aspects of their business have a commitment to food safety, but they consistently show it in what they do every day.

Health and Wellbeing: This award can be presented to a product(s) which demonstrates benefit to the health and wellness of consumers through the positioning and performance of those products.

Novel Food or Beverage: Open to all food and beverage products whose growers and manufacturers demonstrate innovation in formulation, manufacturing or packaging to develop a profitable new food or food ingredient product. Product development and manufacture must have occurred in New Zealand.

Primary Sector Products: Awarded to primary sector food and beverage products where value has been added through the introduction of new varieties, cultivars or breeds. Alternatively, where innovative products have been introduced through new or different harvesting, processing, packaging or distribution channels. For the purposes of entry, primary sector products are those sold in their purest form, with minimal processing (also referred to as “wholefoods”).

Examples include: meats, poultry, seafood, milk, fruits, grains.

CONTACT: Email nzfoodawards@massey.ac.nz or phone 06 951 9462.

BREED FOCUS: Dairymeade NZ By the New Zealand Sheepbreeders’ Association

DairyMeade NZ is the first recognised Dairy sheep breed in New Zealand.

Their descendants were of the original East Friesian milking genetics brought into Dunedin, New Zealand by Dr Jock Allison in 1992.

BREED DESCRIPTION

These East Friesian frozen semen straws were put into big framed Coopworth and Border Leicester, which proved hardy enough for New Zealand conditions.

Bodyweight and size (average weight) Ewes 75-85kgs, Rams 100-120kgs, (average at withers) Ewes 75cm, Rams 85cm.

Careful breeding with East Friesian rams and meticulous culling over the years have resulted in a very highly adapted milking ewe for New Zealand and international conditions.

Head and neck are long and balanced with a slightly roman nose. Eyes, large, bright and set well apart. Rams have a muscular head. Backline is strong, easily detectable vertebrae.

Withers slightly raised, set well into shoulders.

They come in both pure white and black with a white blaze, feet and tail, originally known as Zwartbles which come from the same areas of Germany and the Netherlands.

Chest moderate in ewes and wide and deep in rams. Rump long broad and strong with prominent pin bones. Tail, well set, thin and free of wool.

We have re-named these as the “Woolblacks”.

The DairyMeade breed are hardy, highly fertile, big framed and have been bred with a suitable temperament for milking.

They do not require housing.

20

An attractive alert dairy sheep with a placid demeanour.

Milking Adapts well to milking, up to 250 day lactation.

Top ewes producing between 500-600 litres per lactation.

Legs fine boned but strong and hocks well apart. Pasterns short and strong. Hooves sound and well-shaped.

Ewe Udder must show good capacity and shape. Attached over a wide area. High and wide at rear. Blends smoothly into abdomen.

Floor of udder slightly cleft. Soft textured with skin dark pink to tan. Teats of adequate size for ease of milking.

Well attached to udder and distinct from udder and well set apart. Pointing down and slightly forward.

Ram teats should not be attached to the scrotum with well-developed testicles and of similar size.

Fleece thick and springy with good crimp. Does not grow on head, legs or tail as these are covered with hair.

Colour white or off-white hooves, pink nose.

Woolblacks are black with white blaze and legs.

Lambing, generally unaided multiple births, 180-200%.

Tails are left on.

We leave ewes with their mothers and share milk until lambs reach target weaning weight.

CONTACT: DairyMeade NZ, Miles and Janet King, Kingsmeade Cheese, 25 Olivers Road, RD6, Masterton.

Phone (06) 377 5252 or (06) 378 7178

SHOWCASE FARM: Waikino Station

By Maui Milk

Tucked on the fertile western shore of Lake Taupo, Waikino Station is funded by our Chinese joint venture partner and is a converted beef and sheep farm which is now home to 2000 milking ewes and a state-of-the-art internal rotary shed.

HYBRID SYSTEM

WAIKINO’S SUSTAINABILITY

The enterprise has capitalised on the knowledge gained from the Waituhi Kuratau Trust farm and has implemented a hybrid farming system.

Sustainability is important to our values and we are proud that the Nitrogen Discharge Allowance on our farms is calculated at levels typical of traditional drystock operations, but revenue is much higher.

Although the system mainly utilises outdoor grazing, there are two barns with conveyer belt feed systems that can each house 1000 ewes. These barns provide shelter in extreme weather conditions and hygienic indoor lambing facilities.

We use cattle sparingly and make the conscious choice not to farm some areas to potential to protect the environment.

WAIKINO’S FACILITIES

COME & JOIN US AT FIELDAYS 2019

This station’s facilities are built to optimise efficiency and enhance milk production. The dairy shed was purpose built and is a 64 bale internal rotary imported from France which has electronic in-line milk meters, automatic cup removers and Reporoa backing gates.

Maui Milk will be present this year at Fieldays from the 12-15 June 2019. Come and find us on the SheepmilkNZ stand (J22).

Our advanced electronic in-line milk meters enable us to measure the performance of every ewe at every milking so we can optimise performance.

We look forward to meeting farmers who are interested in becoming suppliers to Maui Milk, and can’t wait to tell you all about the opportunities in the industry.

CONTACT: petergatley@outlook.co.nz

TAKANINI FEEDS GOAT PELLETS YOUR GOATS WILL LOVE THEM

• Great feed for milking goats and kids, so join other goat farmers who are seeing results from our feeds • Specially developed for NZ goat herds • Food safe NZ Accredited • Takanini Feeds Goat Pellets are formulated with New Zealand goats in mind • Manufactured under the highest level of quality control • Takanini Feeds can custom make to suit your requirements Takanini Feeds make a range of feeds to suit most animals – Meals and Pellet options available

0800 225 333 | info@takaninifeeds.co.nz | www.takaninifeeds.co.nz 21

Historically Speaking: Goat The domestic goat or simply goat (Capra aegagrus hircus) is a subspecies of C. aegagrus domesticated from the wild goat of Southwest Asia and Eastern Europe.

The goat is a member of the animal family Bovidae and the goat – antelope subfamily Caprinae, meaning it is closely related to the sheep.

There are over 300 distinct breeds of goat.

Goats are one of the oldest domesticated species of animal.

Female goats are referred to as does or nannies, intact males are called bucks or billies and juvenile goats of both sexes are called kids.

Castrated males are called wethers.

While the words hircine and caprine both refer to anything having a goat-like quality, hircine is used most often to emphasise the distinct smell of domestic goats.

ETYMOLOGY The Modern English word goat comes from Old English gāt “she-goat, goat in general”, which in turn derives from Proto-Germanic *gaitaz (cf. Dutch/ Icelandic geit, German Geiß, and Gothic gaits), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European * haidos meaning “young goat” (cf. Latin haedus “kid”), itself perhaps from a root meaning “jump” (assuming that Old Church Slavonic zajęc “hare”, Sanskrit jihīte “he moves” are related).

To refer to the male, Old English used bucca (giving modern buck) until ousted by hegote, hegoote in the late 12th century.

Nanny goat (females) originated in the 18th century and billy goat (for males) in the 19th.

HISTORY Goats are among the earliest animals domesticated by humans.

The most recent genetic analysis confirms the archaeological evidence that the wild bezoar ibex of the Zagros Mountains is the likely original ancestor of probably all domestic goats today.

Neolithic farmers began to herd wild goats primarily for easy access to milk and meat, as well as to their dung, which was used as fuel, and their bones, hair and sinew for clothing, building and tools.

The earliest remnants of domesticated goats dating 10,000 years before present are found in Ganj Dareh in Iran.

Goat remains have been found at archaeological sites in Jericho, Choga Mami, Djeitun, and Çayönü, dating the domestication of goats in Western Asia at between 8000 and 9000 years ago.

They will seldom consume soiled food or contaminated water unless facing starvation.

Studies of DNA evidence suggests 10,000 years BP as the domestication date.

Nightshade is poisonous; wilted fruit tree leaves can also kill goats. Mould in a goat’s feed can make it sick and possibly kill it.

Historically, goat hide has been used for water and wine bottles in both traveling and transporting wine for sale.

BEHAVIOUR

It has also been used to produce parchment.

Goats establish a dominance hierarchy in flocks, sometimes through head butting.

DIGESTION AND LACTATION

Goats are naturally curious.

Goats are ruminants.

They are also agile and well known for their ability to climb and balance in precarious places. This makes them the only ruminant to regularly climb trees.

They have a four-chambered stomach consisting of the rumen, the reticulum, the omasum, and the abomasum.

As with other mammal ruminants, they are even-toed ungulates.

The females have an udder consisting of two teats, in contrast to cattle, which have four teats.

An exception to this is the Boer goat, which sometimes may have up to eight teats.

BEARDS Both male and female goats have beards, and many types of goat (most commonly dairy goats, dairy-cross Boers, and pygmy goats) may have wattles, one dangling from each side of the neck.

REPRODUCTION Goats reach puberty between three and 15 months of age, depending on breed and nutritional status.

Does of any breed or region come into estrus (heat) every 21 days for two to 48 hours.

A doe in heat typically flags (vigorously wags) her tail often, stays near the buck if one is present, becomes more vocal, and may also show a decrease in appetite and milk production for the duration of the heat.

Gestation length is approximately 150 days.

Twins are the usual result, with single and triplet births also common.

Freshening (coming into milk production) occurs at kidding.

DIET Goats are reputed to be willing to eat almost anything, including tin cans and cardboard boxes.

While goats will not actually eat inedible material, they are browsing animals, not grazers like cattle and sheep, and (coupled with their highly curious nature) will chew on and taste just about anything remotely resembling plant matter to decide whether it is good to eat, including cardboard, clothing and paper (such as labels from tin cans).

The unusual smells of leftover food in discarded cans or boxes may further stimulate their curiosity.

Aside from sampling many things, goats are quite particular in what they actually consume, preferring to browse on the tips of woody shrubs and trees, as well as the occasional broad-leaved plant.

22

However, it can fairly be said that their plant diet is extremely varied, and includes some species which are otherwise toxic.

Due to their agility and inquisitiveness, they are notorious for escaping their pens by testing fences and enclosures, either intentionally or simply because they are used to climbing.

If any of the fencing can be overcome, goats will almost inevitably escape.

Due to their intelligence, once a goat has discovered a weakness in the fence, they will exploit it repeatedly, and other goats will observe and quickly learn the same method.

Goats explore anything new or unfamiliar in their surroundings, primarily with their prehensile upper lip and tongue, by nibbling at them, occasionally even eating them.

When handled as a group, goats tend to display less herding behaviour than sheep.

When grazing undisturbed, they tend to spread across the field or range, rather than feed side-by-side as do sheep.

When nursing young, goats will leave their kids separated (“lying out”) rather than clumped, as do sheep.

They will generally turn and face an intruder and bucks are more likely to charge or butt at humans than are rams.

DISEASES While goats are generally considered hardy animals and in many situations receive little medical care, they are subject to a number of diseases.

Among the conditions affecting goats are respiratory diseases including pneumonia, foot rot, internal parasites, pregnancy toxosis and feed toxicity.

Feed toxicity can vary based on breed and location.

Certain foreign fruits and vegetables can be toxic to different breeds of goats.

Goats can become infected with various viral and bacterial diseases, such as foot-and-mouth disease, caprine arthritis encephalitis, caseous lymphadenitis, pinkeye, mastitis, and pseudorabies.

They can transmit a number of zoonotic diseases to people, such as tuberculosis, brucellosis, Q-fever, and rabies.

LIFE EXPECTANCY Life expectancy for goats is between fifteen and eighteen years.

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Meeting Three Dairy Goat Challenges At Once Dairy goat production has three basic objectives.

1. The first objective is quite clear and is always on the mind of producers, and that is to make more milk.

2. Of equal importance is making milk more efficiently.

3. The third objective, of equal importance, is to achieve the first two objectives without any compromise on fertility.

In the mammalian kingdom, a link is often drawn between condition loss in early lactation and poor reproduction.

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Through its influence on rumen pH and bacterial growth, Yea-Sacc® contained in the Alltech Goat Pack® promotes growth of fibre digesting bacteria, which means for the goat, better digestion of feed and hence more energy available from that feed, setting the rumen up for better feed efficiency.

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In the rumen, fermentation of feed produces only four outcomes.

Volatile fatty acids are used by the goat as an energy source, microbial growth in the rumen improves feed digestibility and in turn become a protein source for the goats, gas is produced as waste, and some material is left undigested after passage through the rumen.

The more of the feed that ends up as the first two compared to the last two, the more productive the goat will be.

Technology is now being used by dairy goat operations in New Zealand that allows producers to measure the conversion of feed to milk precursors at a rumen level.

Work has been ongoing at the Alltech In vitro Fermentation Model (IFM) facility in New Zealand for some time to establish what ruminant digestion dynamics look like in milking goats in New Zealand.

The goal is to maximise the production of volatile fatty acids and the microbial population in the rumen.

In summary, milking goat rations should be evaluated through the Alltech IFM system for their ability to produce milk precursors, and Yea-Sacc should be considered, with the objective to minimise weight loss during early lactation and increase the efficiency of milk production.

Contact: Nigel Meads, Alltech (NZ) Limited, nmeads@alltech.com

Invest in your feed and intestinal health ALLTECH GOAT PACK® • Designed to be fed to both milking

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Alltech (NZ) Limited PO Box 69 170 | Glendene | Auckland 0645 | New Zealand newzealand@alltech.com | 0800 822 322 alltech.com/newzealand | 24

AlltechAP

GOAT HEALTH MANAGEMENT

Te Anau Goat Milk Soap Farm Experience Fully guided farm walk in Te Anau with your hosts Smith Family Soapmakers.

• • • •

Milk a goat Touch cows Friendly sheep and goats Meet the friendly border collie guest’s welcome.

While walking around the farm, your guide will talk about trees, birds, animals and the natural history of New Zealand, particularly your destination, Fiordland.

2019 Winners Announced Foodies have a slew of top-quality products – including many which are new – to look out for when they are shopping following THE announcement of the 2019 Outstanding NZ Food Producer Awards medal winners.

Twenty food professionals assessed more than 180 food and drinks during judging at AUT School of Hospitality & Tourism.

GOLD MEDAL WINNERS

Following the judges’ assessment of taste, producers were assessed for their sustainability, brand story and packaging and 129 medal winners have been chosen.

SILVER MEDAL WINNERS

Shoppers are able to identify the winning products as they will carry the gold, silver and bronze medal stickers from the 2019 Outstanding NZ Food Producer Awards – a guarantee of product quality.

(Products from goat or sheep milk listed.)

Dairy, Gold Medal Winners • Meyer Cheese, Smoked Gouda

Dairy, Silver Medal Winners • Performance Protein, Vanilla Flavoured Sheep Milk Drink • The Drunken Nanny, Fresh Lush • The Drunken Nanny, Goat Milk Kefir

You will be given an opportunity to view Lake Te Anau from the top of the hill where you may view the farm, and the Southern Alps in one sweeping view.

Get the inside story about their goat milk soap and lanolin skin stick products at the end of your tour.

CONTACT: Phone 03 249 8578 or mobile 027 489 6141, email organic@goatmilksoap.co.nz. www.goatmilksoap.co.nz/farm-experience

Sheep Dairy Education Massey and Lincoln Universities, through their joint venture AgriOne, are investigating offering a programme of sheep dairy short courses.

First courses would be: • ‘Introduction to Sheep Dairying’: For those new to the industry whom are keen to understand and contribute to its development.

Covers all main areas of the industry from ‘pasture to ‘plate’.

• ‘Planning and developing a sheep dairy operation’: Aimed at new entrant operators keen to take the first steps into setting up and running a commercial sheep milking operation.

It will cover all the key areas involved in setting up, operating and making a commercial return from sheep dairying.

Both courses will include workshops, exercises, site visits and presentations.

Both courses are in development and we welcome expressions of interest.

Email Craig Prichard, c.prichard@massey.ac.nz or Sam Peterson, S.Peterson@ massey.ac.nz

BRONZE MEDAL WINNERS Dairy, Bronze Medal Winners • The Drunken Nanny, Pasteurised Goat Milk • Whitestone Cheese Company, Shenley Station Blue Drink (part of the Earth category), Bronze Medal Winners • Fern Glen Farm, Performance Protein, Coffee Flavoured Sheep Milk Drink • Fern Glen Farm, Performance Protein, Chocolate Flavoured Sheep Milk Drink

STUD GOATS

COMMERCIAL GOATS

TERMINAL SIRES

WEED CONTROL

Meat Goat Industry, Dairy Goat Industry, Fibre Goat Industry. Increased carcase size and meat yield = greater $$ return.

Blackberry, Gorse, Broom, Thistle, Ragwort, Wilding Pine etc.

HEALTH BENEFITS Most widely eaten meat in the world with low fat and low calories.

PASTURE GROOMING Once weeds under control, pasture quality is improved allowing increased total stock units.

Warwick Ferguson | Phone 07 829 3110 | Email ferg2@slingshot.co.nz 25

Historically Speaking: Sheep Domestic sheep (Ovis aries) are quadrupedal, ruminant mammals.

Initially, sheep were kept solely for meat, milk and skins.

Like most ruminants, sheep are members of the order Artiodactyla, the even-toed ungulates.

Archaeological evidence from statuary found at sites in Iran suggests that selection for woolly sheep may have begun around 6000 BC, and the earliest woven wool garments have been dated to two to three thousand years later.

Although the name sheep applies to many species in the genus Ovis, in everyday usage it almost always refers to Ovis aries.

Sheep are most likely descended from the wild mouflon of Europe and Asia.

One of the earliest animals to be domesticated for agricultural purposes, sheep are raised for fleeces, meat (lamb, hogget or mutton) and milk.

Excavations show that in about 6000 BC, during the Neolithic period of prehistory, the Castelnovien people, living around Châteauneuf-les-Martigues near present-day Marseille in the south of France, were among the first in Europe to keep domestic sheep.

Practically from its inception, ancient Greek civilization relied on sheep as primary livestock, and were even said to name individual animals.

The bolus is periodically regurgitated back to the mouth as cud for additional chewing and salivation.

After fermentation in the rumen, feed passes into the reticulum and the omasum; special feeds such as grains may bypass the rumen altogether.

After the first three chambers, food moves into the abomasum for final digestion before processing by the intestines.

The abomasum is the only one of the four chambers analogous to the human stomach, and is sometimes called the “true stomach”.

DOMINANCE HIERARCHY

Ancient Romans kept sheep on a wide scale, and were an important agent in the spread of sheep raising.

Sheep establish a dominance hierarchy through fighting, threats and competitiveness.

Ovine meat is called lamb when from younger animals and mutton when from older ones in Commonwealth countries, and lamb in the United States (including from adults).

Pliny the Elder, in his Natural History (Naturalis Historia), speaks at length about sheep and wool.

Dominant animals are inclined to be more aggressive with other sheep, and usually feed first at troughs.

European colonists spread the practice to the New World from 1493 onwards.

Primarily among rams, horn size is a factor in the flock hierarchy.

COMPARISON WITH GOATS

ETYMOLOGY

Sheep and goats are closely related: both are in the subfamily Caprinae.

Rams with different size horns may be less inclined to fight to establish the dominance order, while rams with similarly sized horns are more so.

An adult female sheep is referred to as a ewe (/ju /), an intact male as a ram or occasionally a tup, a castrated male as a wether, and a younger sheep as a lamb.

Use of the word sheep began in Middle English as a derivation of the Old English word scēap; it is both the singular and plural name for the animal.

A group of sheep is called a flock, herd or mob.

Many other specific terms for the various life stages of sheep exist, generally related to lambing, shearing, and age.

Being a key animal in the history of farming, sheep have a deeply entrenched place in human culture, and find representation in much modern language and symbology.

As livestock, sheep are most often associated with pastoral, Arcadian imagery.

Sheep figure in many mythologies – such as the Golden Fleece – and major religions, especially the Abrahamic traditions.

In both ancient and modern religious ritual, sheep are used as sacrificial animals.

HISTORY The exact line of descent between domestic sheep and their wild ancestors is unclear.

The most common hypothesis states that Ovis aries is descended from the Asiatic (O. orientalis) species of mouflon.

Sheep were among the first animals to be domesticated by humankind (although the domestication of dogs may have taken place more than 20,000 years earlier); the domestication date is estimated to fall between 11,000 and 9,000 B.C in Mesopotamia.

The rearing of sheep for secondary products, and the resulting breed development, began in either southwest Asia or western Europe.

26

Sheep husbandry spread quickly in Europe.

The fermenting organisms include bacteria, fungi, and protozoa. (Other important rumen organisms include some archaea, which produce methane from carbon dioxide.)

However, they are separate species, so hybrids rarely occur, and are always infertile.

A hybrid of a ewe and a buck (a male goat) is called a sheep-goat hybrid (only a single such animal has been confirmed), and is not to be confused with the sheep-goat chimera, though both are known as geep.

Visual differences between sheep and goats include the beard of goats and divided upper lip of sheep.

Merinos have an almost linear hierarchy whereas there is a less rigid structure in Border Leicesters when a competitive feeding situation arises.

In sheep, position in a moving flock is highly correlated with social dominance, but there is no definitive study to show consistent voluntary leadership by an individual sheep.

INTELLIGENCE AND LEARNING ABILITY Sheep are frequently thought of as unintelligent animals.

Sheep tails also hang down, even when short or docked, while the short tails of goats are held upwards.

Their flocking behaviour and quickness to flee and panic can make shepherding a difficult endeavour for the uninitiated.

Also, sheep breeds are often naturally polled (either in both sexes or just in the female), while naturally polled goats are rare (though many are polled artificially).

Despite these perceptions, a University of Illinois monograph on sheep reported their intelligence to be just below that of pigs, and on par with that of cattle.

Males of the two species differ in that buck goats acquire a unique and strong odor during the rut, whereas rams do not.

DIET Sheep are herbivorous mammals.

Both sheep and goats use their lips and tongues to select parts of the plant that are easier to digest or higher in nutrition.

Sheep, however, graze well in monoculture pastures where most goats fare poorly.

Like all ruminants, sheep have a complex digestive system composed of four chambers, allowing them to break down cellulose from stems, leaves, and seed hulls into simpler carbohydrates.

When sheep graze, vegetation is chewed into a mass called a bolus, which is then passed into the rumen, via the reticulum.

The rumen is a 19 – to 38-liter (5 to 10 gallon) organ in which feed is fermented.

Sheep can recognise individual human and ovine faces, and remember them for years.

In addition to long-term facial recognition of individuals, sheep can also differentiate emotional states through facial characteristics.

If worked with patiently, sheep may learn their names and many sheep are trained to be led by halter for showing and other purposes.

Sheep have also responded well to clicker training.

Sheep have been used as pack animals; Tibetan nomads distribute baggage equally throughout a flock as it is herded between living sites.

It has been reported that some sheep have apparently shown problem-solving abilities; a flock in West Yorkshire, England allegedly found a way to get over cattle grids by rolling on their backs, although documentation of this has relied on anecdotal accounts.

Opportunity For Investment Goats didn’t feature in Shaun Thomson’s initial plans for dairy farming but a bright idea from his wife planted the seed that goats could be worth looking at.

And that’s what he did. With a passion for farming and an interest in the pasture to plate to export model, Shaun started researching options that could be achieved without the burden of a large debt.

Milking goats came out on top, so after much discussion he teamed up with a mate to start Goat Island Dairy.

“Me and a mate had talked for six months that milking goats would be a great idea. I got sick of talking and went out and bought our first goats. At that stage, we had no land or no dairy shed to milk them in but buying the goats put us under a lot of pressure to do some problem solving”, elaborates Shaun.

THE BUSINESS TODAY Three years down the track and Goat Island Dairy now milks 130 goats on their farm on the outskirts of the picturesque Otago Coast in a little place called Purakanui, a 25-minute drive north of Dunedin.

The land has a fairly steep contour and the annual rainfall is relatively low, at 800mm.

The farm includes a 16-hectare milking platform plus a 24-hectare run-off that is used to rear young stock and winter milkers.

Once the goats are finished in the shed, their great tasting milk is sent to a pasteuriser on site to be heat-treated, then either bottled into a recyclable glass bottle or used for making one of six varieties of cheese.

The milk and cheese are then sold under the Goat Island Dairy brand to cafés and loyal customers at the local farmers market.

The products will also soon be available in supermarkets. Building a consumer brand is an integral part of Goat Island Dairy’s farm to plate vision with their mission being to create the best milk products possible and doing this in the most sustainable way.

Although not certified organic yet, this is on the agenda for the future.

Goat Island Dairy can feel proud of what it has achieved to date, as it is no mean feat establishing a vertically integrated business and acquiring the wide range of knowledge and skills required to farm a new species, manufacture a range of dairy products and develop and sell a consumer brand.

NEXT STEPS “Any new step creates new challenges that just need to be worked through, but this keeps it exciting and you become very good at problem solving”, explains Shaun.

Once we have established ourselves in the New Zealand market, we will start building a value-added exporting company.

To start working towards this aspiration, Goat Island Dairy is raising capital to fund the acquisition of an established quality dairy farm to milk goats and cows with the possibility of adding sheep at a later date.

Shaun and his team are also interested in investing in a spray drier to process their milk and is looking for other doers who are keen to join forces and get the industry moving in the South Island.

For an investment statement and prospectus please email your information to thomsonholdings@yahoo.co.nz or phone Shaun Thomson on 0274 168 015, www.goatislanddairy.nz Article source: The Sheep and Goat Dairy Project www.sheepandgoatmilk.nz

Renovating the dairy, adding a manufacturing room, getting regulatory sign-off, filling and selling the first bottle of milk, making beautiful cheese and getting products into cafés and now supermarkets, are some of the business’ highlights.

But with any small business, scaling to increase revenue and profit is key to longevity.

DAIRY SHEEP GENETICS New Zealand Dairy Sheep flocks exist in a variety of climatic regions with different management practices requiring a range of Dairy genetics in order to achieve the optimal production of litres of milk and or kilograms of solids or casein.

Farmgene NZ has been sourcing the best Dairy Sheep genetics available in Europe. High production breeds suitable for indoor and hybrid management systems including the Lacaune, EU East Friesian and the Assaf as well as hardy outdoor breeds including the Manech Tete Rousse, Massese and Sarda that excel in extensive 100% outdoor dairy systems are either available now or in 2020.

Following a very successful frozen embryo programme, progeny will be available for sale from December, including 87.5% Lacaune, Long Lactation European East Friesian and Manech x Lacaune.

Embryos from variety of hardy, high production hybrids will be available in 2020 to suit 100% outdoor sheep dairy systems.

Contact Details: ian@farmgene.com

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NZ Champions Of Cheese 2019 T

wo gouda cheeses made by family-owned cheese companies have taken the top honours at the annual New Zealand Champions of Cheese Awards.

Meyer Cheese Goats Milk Gouda was named Countdown Champion of Champions (Commercial); and Mahoe Farmhouse Cheese, Cumin Gouda was awarded Puhoi Valley Champion of Champions (Boutique Cheese Award).

These trophies were among 26 announced at the 2019 NZ Champions of Cheese Awards on Tuesday 21 May at a gala dinner at the Distinction Hamilton Hotel and Conference Centre.

THE 2019 NZ CHAMPIONS OF CHEESE TROPHIES ARE: Supreme Awards: • Countdown Champion of Champions (Commercial); Meyer Cheese, Meyer Cheese Goats Milk Gouda

Organised by the New Zealand Specialist Cheesemakers Association (NZSCA), the NZ Champions of Cheese Awards has been run since 2003. A total of 223 gold, silver and bronze medal winners were announced in March, after judging at the AUT School of Hospitality & Tourism in February.

Judging was again under the guidance of Australian Master Cheese Judge, Russell Smith. Russell reflected on the results saying the awards for Dutch-style cheeses reflect the quality of these cheeses in New Zealand.

“Kiwis are fortunate to have a handful of brilliant cheesemakers here making these types of cheeses. I judge across the world and Dutch-style cheeses made in New Zealand are as good as anywhere in the world.”

MEYER CHEESE GOATS MILK GOUDA Russell Smith said “It doesn’t come any better than this. This is a cheese you never want to finish – it’s just stunning. It’s superbly made and offers beautiful sweet, nutty flavours.”

Made with 100% goats milk at the Meyer Gouda Farm and cheese factory, just out of Hamilton, this sweet, creamy cheese was also named Champion Goat Cheese at the 2019 NZ Champions of Cheese Awards.

Meyer Cheese is a fully-fledged family affair. After being established in Waikato in 1976 by Fieke and Ben Meyer, the next generation are at the helm today.

Son, Miel took over as general manager in 2007 when Ben and Fieke retired. In 2011, eldest son Geert returned from The Netherlands to take on the role of head cheesemaker for the company.

Geert also collected a trophy at the Awards when he was named Milk Test NZ Champion Cheesemaker – the second year in a row he has won the title.

Meyer cheeses are widely available at supermarkets and specialty retailers throughout New Zealand.

• Puhoi Valley Champion of Champions (Boutique Cheese Award); Mahoe Farmhouse Cheese, Cumin Gouda • Milk Test NZ Champion Cheesemaker; Geert Meyer, Meyer Cheese Category Trophies: • Fonterra Champion Original Cheese; Fonterra Brands NZ, Kāpiti Kahurangi Creamy Blue • New Zealand Food Safety Champion New Cheese; Puhoi Valley Cheese, Wainui Creamy White • ECOLAB Champion Blue Cheese; Fonterra Brands NZ, Kāpiti Kahurangi Creamy Blue • CHR Hansen Champion Soft White Rind Cheese; Puhoi Valley Cheese, Te Muri Triple Cream • Kiwi Labels Champion Feta Cheese; Clevedon Buffalo Co, Clevedon Buffalo Feta • Green Valley Dairies Champion Fresh Unripened Cheese; Zany Zeus, Zany Zeus Cream Cheese • Sheep Milk NZ Champion Sheep Cheese; Thorvald, Thorvald Feta • Thermaflo Champion Washed Rind Cheese; Over the Moon Dairy, Galactic Gold • Caspak Champion Packaging Award; Puhoi Valley, Wainui Creamy White

• Eurofins Champion European Style Cheese; Waimata Cheese Company, Waimata Cracked Pepper Haloumi • Delta Wines Champion Flavoured Cheese; Barrys Bay Cheese, Barrys Bay Peppered Havarti • Sacco System Champion Fresh Italian Style Cheese; Viavio Limited, Viavio Burrata • Tetra Pak Champion Cheddar Cheese; Fonterra NZMP, Fonterra Hautapu NZMP Noble Cheddar • Big Chill Distribution Champion Farmhouse Cheese; Clevedon Buffalo Co • Good George Brewing Champion Goat Cheese; Meyer Cheese, Meyer Cheese Goats Milk Gouda • Renco New Zealand Champion Export Cheese; Fonterra NZMP, Fonterra Lichfield NZMP Cheddar • NZSCA Champion Dutch Style Cheese; Mahoe Farmhouse Cheese, Cumin Gouda • Curds & Whey Champion Homecrafted Cheesemaker and Cheese; Jennifer Rodrige, Belle Chevre Flat White Special Awards: • New World Cheese Lovers’ Choice; Kapiti Kahurangi Blue • Innovative Packaging Aspiring Cheesemaker; Daniel Bell, Barrys Bay • Huntley & Palmers Favourite NZ Specialty Cheese Shopping Experience; C’est Cheese, Wairarapa • All Systems Go Auditing Champion Butter, Westland Milk Products, Westgold Salted Butter • Huhtamaki Champion Yoghurt, Zany Zeus, Zany Zeus Greek Yoghurt

New Appointment To Landcorp Board Landcorp Farming Ltd’s (Pamu) shareholding ministers have made a new appointment to the board.

Doug Woolerton joined the board 1 May. Mr Woolerton grew up on a family farm in the Waikato and currently runs a consultancy business.

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He previously served for ten years on the board of a cooperative dairy company, the last two as deputy chairman, and was a Member of Parliament for 12 years.

Pāmu also farewelled directors David Nelson and John Brakenridge, whose terms have expired.

Pāmu is the brand name for Landcorp, a State Owned Enterprise, and one of New Zealand’s most innovative farmers and food businesses. It is also the name given to the quality products created by the company.

Offers Manufacturing Options

O

n the outskirts of Masterton in the Wairaprapa, Kingsmeade makes 14 different varieties of cheese, half of these from ewes’ milk.

Miles and Janet King sell their cheese through their delicatessen and premium stores such as Moore Wilson’s in Wellington.

For decades, New Zealand pioneers like Miles and Janet have challenged conventional farming, creating sustainable methods for the artisan market, with recognition New Zealand appreciate wholesome foods that are closely connected to their origin.

A recent creation for their retail customers was an 18-litre returnable container, an initiative that’s significantly reduced traditional milk bottle waste.

Another local success story is The Drunken Nanny, which produces a range of goat milk products from milk sourced from their farm near Martinborough.

With the product development support of the New Zealand Cheese School in Putaruru and ability to access the manufacturing facilities at Origin Earth, owners Amanda and Lindsey Goodman have been able to establish The Drunken Nanny brand.

Moving from strength to strength, the business won Silver and Bronze at the 2017 New Zealand Champion of Cheese awards.

Aside from their connection to the sheep and goat milk sector, a common ingredient in the growth of these businesses has been their willingness to collaborate with others – not just customers and suppliers but those who might at first be deemed competitors.

Collaboration gives businesses the chance to extend their capabilities by accessing the resources of others, without the same level of investment otherwise needed if going it alone.

Article source: The Sheep and Goat Dairy Project www. sheepandgoatmilk.nz; team@sheepandgoatmilk.nz

Like Kingsmeade, Origin Earth in Hawke’s Bay is another business successfully manufacturing fresh milk, cheese and yogurt for the local artisan market.

They make products for their own brand, as well as others like The Drunken Nanny.

Joanie and Richard Williams of Origin Earth opened their manufacturing facility in 2010.

The plant can process 24,000 litres per shift and is currently running at 50% capacity, providing plenty of scope for growth.

Although most of the product is pasteurized bovine milk, the company also makes pasteurized sheep milk, with 10% of the product manufactured into yogurt and cheese.

Origin Earth continue to innovate to meet consumer needs and minimise their environmental footprint.

Goat Sheds, Sheep Sheds, Any Sheds, Anywhere.

Don’t miss out on the goat and sheep milk boom; get in touch with us and get your ideal shed, your way.

0800 862 010 SHEDS_HP_24.04.19.indd 1

25/04/19 4:44 PM

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Rural Events Guide SHED HYGIENE: KEEP IT CLEAN – TARANAKI TUESDAY 4 JUNE, 10-12.30pm This workshop will cover relevant and practical information while providing the background theory on: basic structure and function of a dairy shed; how to clean and maintain your milking plant effectively and common issues and how to prevent them. This module will include practical demonstrations and can include practical on-farm. This is a must-attend event for all farm employees in the milking shed keen to learn more about mastitis management or refresh your current skills.

Register now at https://www.dwn.co.nz/ events/shed-hygiene-keep-it-clean/ or phone 0800 396 748.

WORMWISE WORKSHOP THURSDAY 20 JUNE, 10am-3pm Naike Community Centre, Highway 22 In this workshop the latest information and research on internal parasite control is presented. It is divided into four sections dealing with worm biology, drenches and drench resistance. rachel.jukes@beeflambnz.com

EWE CONDITION SCORING WORKSHOP WEDNESDAY 5 JUNE, 8-11am Tinui, Wairarapa (exact location TBC) Management scanning to lambing.

Contact: emma.harvey@beeflambnz.com

WEDNESDAY 5 JUNE Start at 858 Motukawa Road, Tarata These field days will be run throughout the year aimed at giving you the tools to take control of your business including maximising on farm production, business planning and management skills, and helping you get the most out of yourself and your staff. Contact: rebecca. brownlie@beeflambnz.com

RURAL WOMEN NEW ZEALAND NATIONAL CONFERENCE 7-9 JUNE The biennial Rural Women New Zealand National Conference provides Members with an opportunity to engage with our organisation’s heritage while exploring beautiful parts of regional New Zealand.

Contact: 04 473 5524, enquiries@ ruralwomen.org.nz

26-27 JUNE Distinction Rotorua Hotel & Conference Centre, Rotorua

NZ SOCIETY OF ANIMAL PRODUCTION (INC) – NZSAP – 2019 CONFERENCE

HarvestTech Rotorua provides a platform to showcase new innovations and operating practices suited to local harvesting operations. It will provide a unique opportunity for all harvesting contractors, forestry companies and key technology and equipment providers to get away from their workplaces, to network together at one place at one time and to learn from some truly innovative operators and suppliers. https:// beeflambnz.com/sites/default/files/ styles/hero/public/news/image/peopledrenching-sheep.jpg?itok=XodRk1_1

2-4 JULY, 9am-5pm Nth Waikato, Sth Waikato, Bay of Plenty, Taranaki, Lower NI, Top of SI / West Coast, Canterbury / Nth Otago

TUESDAY 25 JUNE, 9am-7pm Westpac Stadium, 105 Waterloo Quay, Wellington

SOUTH ISLAND DAIRY EVENT 25-26 JUNE, 8am-5pm ILT Stadium Southland, Invercargill The South Island Dairy Event is a forum for those involved in the South Island dairy industry to evaluate and apply knowledge, skills and technology to their business.

This conference is run by farmers for farmers, which ensures the session content is always relevant on what is topical today, and useful tomorrow.

With a great line up of speakers and over 30 practical workshops to choose from, attendees can customise the conference to fit their interests and needs, as well as meet like-minded farmers.

Contact: https://side.org.nz/

WORMWISE WORKSHOP THURSDAY 27 JUNE, 10am-3pm Central Park Motor Inn, Taumarunui Wormwise is the national worm management strategy. It aims to help farmers and their advisors manage internal parasites in sheep and beef. rachel.jukes@beeflambnz.com

12-15 JUNE Fieldays is the Southern Hemisphere’s largest agricultural event and the ultimate launch platform for cutting edge technology and innovation. Whether you are from in town or out in the country, a Fieldays veteran or visiting for the first time, Fieldays has something for everyone. www.fieldays.co.nz

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CLUTHA VETS SMART SHEEP FARMING SEMINAR WEDNESDAY 26 JUNE, 1pm South Otago Town & Country Club, Yarmouth Street, Balclutha To celebrate 44 years of John Smart’s service to Clutha Vets and the sheep farmers of South Otago, you are invited to an afternoon of information and an evening of socialising!

Contact: Clutha Vets, 03 418 1280

“SIGNIFICANT YOU” – WOMEN’S ONLY EVENT FOR THE TOP OF THE SOUTH MONDAY 29 JULY The Headingly Centre, 46/2 Headingly Lane, Richmond An event for women in the agricommunity to be spoiled, inspired and encouraged to be a significant part of their farming business and community.

Contact: Theresa.Laws@beeflambnz.com

LADIES’ LONG LUNCH THURSDAY 27 JUNE Gore (venue TBC) The Beef + Lamb New Zealand Ladies’ Long Lunch. Contact: Olivia Ross, 027 801 7868, https://beeflambnz.com/sites/ default/files/styles/hero/public/events/ hero/ladies-lunch.jpg?itok=kDk4zbSu

PRIMARY INDUSTRIES NEW ZEALAND

FIELDAYS

The 2019 New Zealand Society of Animal Conference will be held in Palmerston North, Manawatu from 2-4 July 2019.

There will be a farmer day with both a sheep & beef stream and a dairy stream, and a field trip to visit various research sites around Palmerston North on Wednesday 3rd July. Contact: Kathryn McRae, 03 489 9187.

2019 RURAL CONNECTIVITY SYMPOSIUM

A day of discussion around the future of connectivity in rural New Zealand.

Contact: 04 815 8178, office@tuanz.org.nz

TARANAKI FARMING FOR PROFIT FIELD DAY

HARVESTTECH ROTORUA

1-2 JULY Te Papa, Tongarewa Museum of New Zealand, Wellington Primary Industries New Zealand will be a platform and focal point for New Zealand decision-makers and influencers involved in the primary industries value chain from producers through to research and science communities, technologists, marketers, Iwi and government to hear key analysis and expert insight informing the outlook for a sustainable future.

Contact: 09 912 3616, reception@ conferenz.co.nz

HORTICULTURE CONFERENCE 31 JULY - 2 AUGUST Mystery Creek Events Centre, Hamilton

WAHINE WHENUA UNDERSTANDING YOUR FARMING BUSINESS PROGRAMME WEDNESDAY 21 AUGUST Engaging wahine as critical farming partners. This programme is offered at no cost to wahine involved in sheep and beef farming businesses, in governance or on-farm, who want a greater understanding of business drivers and seek the skills and confidence to add value to businesses and help create a positive future. Wellington. Contact: Phone 06 375 8180, email anna@awdt. org.nz, www.awdt.org.nz/wmww

MARKETING TO THE RURAL SECTOR AUSTRALIA 3-4 SEPTEMBER Marketing to the Rural Sector Australia is returning in 2019 and will bring together marketers and key influencers in the value chain to discuss the rapidly changing rural landscape. Contact: 09 912 3616, reception@conferenz.co.nz

YOUNG GROWER OF THE YEAR 2019 1-2 OCTOBER, 9am-5pm Tauranga Young Grower of the Year is an annual competition run by Horticulture NZ to find the best young fruit or vegetable grower in the country. Finalists are made up of the winners of the four regional Young Fruit Grower competitions and the winner of the NZ Young Vegetable Grower.

ADVANCED MASTITIS COURSE 19-22 NOVEMBER Anexa Vets, 25 Moorhouse Street, Morrinsville This course will provide you with the skills, understanding and processes to effectively manage mastitis problems on New Zealand dairy farms. Presenter: David Hawkins, John Penry, Scott McDougall. Contact: Liana Kaye, 07 889 5159, lkaye@anexafvc.co.nz

SNAP CHILLING WITH ICE BANK COOLING TECHNOLOGY

NZI RURAL WOMEN NEW ZEALAND BUSINESS AWARDS FRIDAY 22 NOVEMBER, 6.30pm Join Rural Women New Zealand and Premier Partner NZI in celebrating the innovation, creativity and entrepreneurial excellence of New Zealand’s rural communities at the NZI Rural Women NZ Business Awards. Contact: 04 473 5524, enquiries@ruralwomen.org.nz

RURAL WOMEN NEW ZEALAND ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING SATURDAY 23 NOVEMBER Contact: 04 473 5524, enquiries@ ruralwomen.org.nz

GOLDEN EDGE NELSON A&P SHOW 2019 WORLD DAIRY EXPO 1-5 OCTOBER, 9am to 5pm Alliant Energy Center, Madison, Wisconsin, USA

23-24 NOVEMBER Richmond Park Showgrounds, 358 Lower Queen Street, Richmond www.richmondpark.nz

World Dairy Expo serves as a forum for dairy producers, companies, organisations and other dairy enthusiasts to come together to compete, and to exchange ideas, knowledge, technology and commerce. www.worlddairyexpo.com

RANGIORA SHOW 2019 25-26 OCTOBER Rangiora A&P Showgrounds, Ashley Street, Rangiora www.northernaandp.co.nz

Farm Vats, Dairy Milk Cooling, Snap Chill and Refrigeration Units, Condensers, Restaurant Chillers and Freezer Rooms, Residential Heating and Cooling, Heatpumps and Air Conditioning

For all your Refrigeration, Electrical & Heat Pump requirements

WHANGAREI A&P SHOW

Workshop: 13 Pohutu Street, Whakatane 3120 Ph: 07 308 7787 • Mobile: 027 470 7087 tony@indefrig.co.nz

SATURDAY 7 DECEMBER Photo shows men in black singlets carving from huge logs of wood.

Natural Light

Goat & Sheep Shelters WAIKATO A&P SHOW 1-3 NOVEMBER Claudelands, Hamilton

HILUX NZ RURAL GAMES 14-15 MARCH 2020 The Square, Palmerston North The New Zealand Rural Games is New Zealand’s premier celebration of rural sports. A great family weekend of traditional sports, entertainment and heaps of opportunities to have a go.

Contact: 06 356 8199

THE NEW ZEALAND AGRICULTURAL SHOW 13-15 NOVEMBER Canterbury Agricultural Park, Hillmorton, Christchurch Three-day annual event, running Wednesday to Friday in November.

The Friday of the Show ‘Show Day’ is Canterbury Anniversary Day. Canterbury Anniversary Day falls on the second Friday after the first Tuesday in November. Contact: phone 03 343 3033, email info@theshow.co.nz

CENTRAL DISTRICTS FIELD DAYS 19-21 MARCH 2020 Manfeild, Feilding

Dry • Warm • Efficient Free Ph 0508 733 728 sales@redpath.co.nz www.redpath.co.nz 31

GOAT HOUSING SPECIALISTS

We’ve housed over 55,000 happy customers.

Excellence in Every Build At Aztech we’ve strived to develop goat housing best practice since 2005. Our dairy goat buildings are tough, cost-effective and are proven to boost productivity. Our barns are the most efficient space utliisation, optimising ventilation and maximising bedding. Light, dry healthy homes is what you’ll love in buildings designed to endure New Zealand’s climatic conditions.

So for the best advice, design and build, get in touch with our specialist team.

0800 298 324 aztechbuildings.co.nz