A Kaipaki dairy farm hosted 70 Vietnamese distributors last week as part of an exclusive insight into New Zealand’s dairy industry.
The 200ha farm owned by the Bardoul family is home to 600 Holstein-Friesian dairy cows and the processing base for Kaipaki Dairies.
Hamilton-based nutritional products company Carefore Global – which started up last October manufacturing premium adult nutrition products – exports colostrum and milk-powder products to Vietnam.
Dairy farmer Paul Gibson with a week-old calf. Photo: Mary Anne Gill.
They use contract manufacturers in Auckland and the Waikato and brought the distributors to New Zealand to give them a first-hand experience.
The visitors got the genuine product in Kaipaki including heavy rain and calving.
The Bardouls have been farming on Kaipaki Road since the mid-1980s and have their 600-plus milking cows, in two herds, produce about 400,000kg/milksolids a year.
Calving is in spring and autumn so when the Vietnamese arrived, their first stop was a visit to see calves from newborn to two weeks old.
The Bardouls’ relationship with Kaipaki Dairies’ John Heskett, Claire Williams and Riley Chick started three years ago as a supplier and stepped up a gear when they became quarter shareholders last year.
They opened a new processing factory on the Kaipaki farm soon after with milk coming directly from the cow shed via a 100m underground stainless line.
Carefore Global’s chief scientist and founder Grant Washington-Smith and consultant Alan Cresswell accompanied the delegation to the farm where farm manager Paul Gibson gave them a quick tour.
It included a walk into a nearby paddock to see some of the biggest cows in the Waikato, courtesy of an American genetics programme, animal welfare and a feeding regime which does not rely on pasture alone.
Carefore’s product Colos IgGold – a powdered dairy drink with immunoglobulins from colostrum – was developed for flavour and best health and suits the health-conscious Vietnamese consumer.
“This visit was an opportunity to showcase the meticulous journey of Colos IgGold, from the lush pastures of New Zealand to the high-tech manufacturing facilities in Hamilton and Auckland,” said Washington-Smith.
Part of the Vietnamese delegation brought to New Zealand by Carefore Global checks out newborn calves at the Bardoul farm in Kaipaki. Photo: Mary Anne Gill.
