FAMILYLIVESOFF ICECREAM
FAMILYLIVESOFF ICECREAM
Processing milk to add value
for the past 12 years is
cushioning profits on one
Devon dairy farm and
allowing it to continue
supporting three families
off just 125 cows.
Rebecca Austin reports
STARTING to produce icecream at Higher Murchington Farm from its own Guernsey milk 12 years ago doubled income almost immediately.
Now the farms 125-head milking herd, near Chagford, can still support three families at a time when most dairy producers struggle to find any profit in their businesses.
Adding value to milk by producing over 140,000 litres of ice- cream a year as well as, on average, 90kg of clotted cream a day may mean more hassle for Duncan Vincent, his brother Ian and father Ken. But all feel greater satisfaction and more security than if the milk was sold direct to a supplier as it was prior to Duncan and his wife Robyn returning to the family farm at the end of the 1980s.
"One thing is definite, I dont see how my brother and I could have both come back and worked on the farm unless we had done this. It would have been enough of a struggle with just one of us," says Mr Vincent.
Currently, only 400,000 litres of skimmed milk – a by-product of clotted cream manufacture – are retailed from the farm. This is sold at an average 12p/litre to Taw Valley cheese factory. However, in the near future even this will be bottled on farm and sold direct, ensuring about a 10p/litre increased return.
Before returning to the farm, Duncan was milking a herd near Tenby in Wales. Robyn was then working in an ice cream factory and thats where the idea of setting up a similar business at home evolved. However, before finally deciding to develop the new enterprise, they carried out a feasibility study and travelled the south-west canvassing the potential market. Once they realised it was a realistic opportunity, £50,000 was invested and they set about designing the best recipe.
An extensive tasting survey at Seale Hayne Agricultural College soon confirmed the right basic mix and within a year the Vincents were dealing with a core of 30 customers.
Five years later Ian joined the business and took over management of the icecream and clotted cream manufacture. Now he makes 46 flavoured ice- creams, plus three for diabetics, as well as a range of sorbets which are sold over an area covering Devon, Southampton, south-west Wales and Bristol.
Duncan concentrates on the farm, while father Ken works the trade shows promoting their milk products. There are also two full- time staff and then another three part-time staff are employed through the summer months.
BALANCED DIETFOR GUERNSEYS
PRODUCING milk of the right quality at the right time for ice- cream and clotted cream manufacture are crucial when it comes to management of the farms Guernsey cows.
To ensure peak milk supply meets the peak demands for products, cows calve in late summer as well as January and February, explains Duncan Vincent. The two milk production peaks, therefore, coincide with summer and Christmas ice cream and clotted cream demands.
For optimum performance, Guernseys require a higher density of energy in their diet than todays Holstein Friesians. This is mainly due to a smaller intake, so cows are fed 1.7t/yr of concentrate at the same rate summer and winter with a grass silage and maize silage-based diet.
"We do have to be careful not to feed anything which taints the milk, so feeds such as stubble turnips must be fed immediately after milking and we also have to be careful with brewers grains," says Mr Vincent.
Cows average 6200 litres a year, following a 500 litre a cow/year yield improvement in the last 18 months. Mr Vincent credits US genetics but he is concerned there may be a knock-on effect on fat content.
"At the moment we achieve 5% fat and 3.8% protein milk. The milks higher fat content is a major factor in why we think Guernseys make better icecream, so I am concerned we dont lose that.
"Guernseys produce a different type of milk fat to Holsteins which improves the icecream and the milks colour and texture also help to contribute toward a superior product." *
FARM FACTS
• 125 milking Guernseys.
• 6200 litres at 5% fat and 3.8% protein.
• Produce 140,000 litres/year icecream.
• Average 90kg/day clotted cream.
• 60ha (150 acres) grass.
• 32ha (80 acres) grass keep.
• 10ha (24 acres) maize.