Temperate climate and fertile soils make Taranaki one of the world's premier dairying areas. Cows graze all year round on the fresh, green pastures of Taranaki.
Two-thirds of Taranaki's farms are dedicated to dairy production and its cows produce about 20% of New Zealand's milk. Taranaki-made milk is processed locally into a wide range of products for export and for domestic markets.
Dairy farming is developing positively in Taranaki with excellent grass growth, coupled with high productivity. Good rates of return on investment are being achieved in the sector with significant growth potential.
Farms vary in size - many are 100 to 200 hectares in size, with 120-250 cows (although this may vary from farm to farm). The dominant dairy breeds are friesian and jersey cows.
Taranaki farmers are keen business people, who are increasingly using the latest technology, including websites such as Fencepost.com to create 'rural networks', and keep in touch with the latest farming news, including market developments, weather, productivity and price information.
Producing Dairy Products For The National and International Markets
Dairy products produced in Taranaki lead the world in terms of their innovative developments, quality, packaging and presentation. The broad product range includes:
- Cheese: Cheddar, Egmont, Granular, Mozzarella and other speciality soft cheeses;
- Cream Products: Anhydrous milk fat (AMF);
- Bulk butter;
- Powder: Butter milk, Icecream (soft serve) Milk protein concentrate, Skim milk, Whole milk (including instant and fortified powders);
- Protein Products: Alamin, Casein (Whey Protein Concentrate), Cheese WPC;
- Lactic Casein, Lactose, Stock Foods.
Key facts and figures
At the heart of Taranaki's dairy processing industry is Kiwi Co-operative Dairies Ltd - a $3 billion entity and one of the largest dairy products manufacturing site in the world. Due to industry mergers, Kiwi Cooperative Dairies has joined the Fonterra Cooperative Group to become New Zealand's largest company and the fourth largest dairy company in the world. It's mission is to endure as a leading multinational dairy company and a New Zealand national champion.
At its Taranaki branch, a fleet of more than 145 tankers collect milk daily from 6000 farms in the North Island in a round-the-clock operation. It also has a significant supply in the South Island.
In an innovative arrangement between Trans Rail and Kiwi Dairies, milk is also collected by milk tankers from Hawkes Bay farms, off-loaded into milk silos, then pumped into trains (up to 650,000 litre capacity) and railed to the Kiwi Dairy site in Taranaki. Four trains arrive within a 24 hour period.
Kiwi Dairies processes almost 4 billion litres of milk annually into 300,000 tonnes of dairy products.
The South Taranaki site's five "state of the art" milk powder plants process 5 million litres of milk per day into a diverse range of high quality milk powders, which can be tailored to the requirements of the specific markets.
Kiwi Dairies is one of the world's largest producers of mozzarella cheese, which is primarily used in the pizza trade. Whey - traditionally a waste product - has been transformed by the company's technology into valuable specialist ingredients and used by food companies around the world.
The company employs 2,100 staff and it's production stores cover 6 hectares. It's specialist ingredients and food service products are available in countries around the world.
Food Solutions, a subsidiary of Kiwi Co-operative Dairies markets a full range of specialist and customised dairy ingredients to a wide range of food manufacturers.
Mainland Products Ltd and Pastoral Foods Ltd also have a strong presence in Taranaki and manufacture speciality and packaged cheeses.
Advanced Technological Developments
Technological advances have also seen Taranaki lead the way with the development of new products, such as the transformation of whey into valuable specialist products for the international food markets. Another significant company located in Taranaki is Lactose New Zealand. This company is the third largest manufacturer of Lactose in the world and is undergoing considerable expansion locally.
The combined strength of Taranaki's large and niche dairy related industries are testimony to the region's reputation as a premier dairy industry location
Infrastructure for the Dairy industry
As a well developed dairy region, Taranaki has evolved sophisticated infrastructure to support the specific needs of this industry.
Taranaki's modern farming community have access to a wide range of advice and support services with specialist knowledge in farming practices, milk production and processing.
Transportation systems are already in place to ensure the efficient collection and transport of milk (from farm to factory) for processing into a range of products.
Taranaki's dairy processing facilities have access to a particularly strong, technologically advanced engineering base. These support industries offer specialist skills in the manufacturing of customised equipment for the industry, which is necessary for the growth and maintenance of the region's dairy-related plant and equipment.
Port Taranaki is an important export base for Taranaki's dairy industry, providing shipping opportunities and the associated transit storage facilities for both powder and refrigerated products. |
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