Faulkner: Take Rural Infrastructure Out of Politics
Federated Farmers' new vice president Sandra Faulkner says the issue of adverse events emergency management and infrastructure needs to be taken out of the three-year political cycle.
They have just been named as Fonterra's top organic performer for milksolids and that coincides with them developing a new exciting product from their milk - namely gelato to complement their organic milk sales.
The Moxhams say they are delighted and greatly encouraged to receive the award and say it's also a testament to their staff on their two farms in Koputaroa, a small rural community about 8km north of Levin.
The larger of the two farms runs 500 cows on 240 hectares, and the smaller 70ha one runs 120 Friesian cows that produce 45,000kgMS. This is the farm that won the award.
The Moxham family have been dairy farming in the area for more than 50 years, but it wasn't until 2010 that Ange and Wayne became officially certified as organic farmers.
Wayne says his father used to farm conventionally, putting on superphosphate and nitrogen.
"But dad saw the farm start to decline under this regime and wondered if there was a better way, and suddenly switched to just applying lime and things started to come right. A few years on, a friend suggested that they were close to becoming organic and that's what we did, and at the same time Fonterra was paying a premium for organic milk," he says.
After nine years of producing organic milk, the couple made a bold move and built a creamery.
Finally in September 2023, after months of trials and testing, the first glass bottles of organic milk from Udderly Organic began appearing in outlets throughout the lower half of the North Island.
Wayne says sales built up quickly as word got around they were selling organic milk.
Today they deliver milk daily to more than 100 outlets, ranging from Palmerston North and Whanganui in the north to the Wairarapa and down to Wellington.
"We employ staff to do this, but from time-to-time Wayne quite likes to hop in the van and do a delivery because he likes getting out and meeting the customers," says Ange.
And it's that special relationship with customers that has led to a new and exciting product being produced by Udderly Organic - gelato.
What they do to make it more attractive to the people who stock their milk is at the end of the week they take back any that is unsold and don't charge them for it. That equates to about 5% of the total milk sold.
"But that product is still perfectly good, so we freeze it and are now using it to make our gelato," he says.
