The project primarily aims to use Jersey cows, but currently also uses Holsteins. The cows have been obtained from various sources, and the Elim Cow initiative lets community members buy their own animals and rent them to the dairy.
Photos: Glenneis Erasmus
The Elim community has launched a dairy empowerment project which many believe should be used as a model for more empowerment success stories. Glenneis Erasmus talked to roleplayers Dean Kleynhans, Gerhard Venter and Beaulah Pontac to find out what makes this project so special.
Leveraging cow value Elim western cape Various roleplayers donated products and expertise. Elim Cow lets community members buy shares in cows and rent them to the dairy. The project could potentially support a herd of 500 cows.
A fter Elim Dairy, Elim Cows is the project’s second spin-off. Members of the community can rent their own cows or buy shares in cows which are then rented to Elim Dairy.
The directorate of Elim aims to ensure that cows are utilised in the best interests of the community. he main benefits are the economies of scale. “Most of the community members can’t afford to buy their own dairy, but they might be able to buy their own cow,” says Gerhard.
Shares in cows are sold at R500 and a cow is bought when R8 000 worth of shares have been paid off. “This is significantly less risky than buying your own animal, as there are well-trained people tending these cows,” explains Dean. “Plus, shareholders don’t lose their shares if an animal dies, as they represent animals in the herd in general.” nyone in the area can also create a company and then rent out their cows to the Elim Dairy. They’d be able to get all the offspring of their herd back, but would have to pay for feeding.
Dean thinks investors could receive between 15% and 20% returns on their investments. he dairy currently has 80 cows, primarily Jerseys. Outeniqua Experimental Farm supplied 30 cows, the Elim community supplied 10 and farmers and other beneficiaries donated or rented out the rest. One of the farmers made a special arrangement – he rents his Holstein cows to the group on the condition that three out of every four offspring go back to his herd, and the project can have every fourth calf.
Full-time employee Adelia has shown such enthusiasm, responsibility and skill in her work that the community has decided she’ll receive the first of these calves.It would be put into operation and the last phase would focus on mentorship. Creating the infrastructure, however, took longer than anticipated and the project came to a standstill. Western Cape Milk Producers’ Organisation (MPO) chairperson Dean Kleynhans believes this might have been due to a lack of focus.
The church’s Board of Overseers were worried about the situation and on their behalf chairperson Thuys Arendse went to the Western Cape MPO for help. “We realised that we needed strategic partners if we wanted to make a success of the project,” says Beaulah Pontac, a clerk of the board. The MPO joined the project in March 2007, as did the Centre for Producer Development (Cendel) which manages the mentorship programme with funding from Milk SA.
Dean says commercial farmers in the region also wanted to become involved, and joined under the auspices of Overberg District Agricultural Association (Overberg Agri). Other roleplayers soon followed. Overberg Agri made credit available with no guarantees required, and lent a tractor to the community to establish pastures. Meadow Feeds gave the project 3t of free feed and provided a special purchase deal for future purchases. Omnia made a significant contribution of 8t of fertiliser for the pastures and Terrason supplied chemical products. Cape Gate provided fences and poles to fence off the area and also provided fencing training, while Erasmus Petroleum supplied 500â„“ of diesel.
Meanwhile, Parmalat committed to buying milk from the dairy, and made a special payment arrangement so milk would be paid for on a weekly basis instead of every 11 days, as is the practice with other dairy suppliers, to strengthen the project’s cash flow. An advisory committee representing all these roleplayers and the Elim Secretariat was also established to ensure the project’s sustainability. In effect, the project has direct access to information, skills and the expertise of experienced organisations, Dean explains.
Since these interventions, the project has acquired milking machines, tanks, pastures, irrigation, staff, banking facilities and cows. Western Cape agriculture minister Cobus Dowry officially launched the project in September 2007. Dean says the project has always been close to Dowry’s heart and the minister has gone out of his way to see it succeed.
Ready for business
Another strength of this project is its unique business plan. “The project is 100% owned by the community, although for now most of the profits have to be ploughed back into it to ensure its long-term sustainability,” Dean says. Even so, some dividends have been made available to the community and the Board of Overseers decided that they should be used to subsidise community members’ electricity. The business is divided into two independent entities, Elim Dairy and Elim Cows. Elim Dairy is run by seven directors – four community members and three agricultural experts, including Dean.
Of the three experts, André Fourie is an independent economist and consultant from Bredasdorp and is in charge of the group’s business and financial position, Orton King is the CEO of Agri Mega who offers his networking expertise. Dean is both a commercial farmer and represents the skills and expertise of the MPO. The project has three permanent employees and about three temporary employees. Two of the full-time employees, Leandra Mentoor and Adelia Hess, have been sent on courses to enhance their dairy skills.
Production at Elim
The Elim dairy is still in its infancy. There are still few records of cow performance or production. At the time of the interview, the dairy was in the process of buying a computer – up until then all record-keeping was done by hand. At the time, around 75 of the cows were in milk. Cows graze pastures from July to May and receive silage the rest of the year. Production averages around 12,5â„“ per cow per day and cows are milked twice a day. Farm manager Gerhard Venter believes production will continue to rise as the herd is built and feeding and management improve. “We’ve only been operating for nine months and there’s a whole mixture of animals,” he says. “It will take a little time to get the animals settled and to work on the genetics to improve production.”
The people of Elim are happy with the dairy. “It’s like a dream come true. We’re so happy with all the help we got,” says Beaulah. “Hopefully we’ll be able to expand production to include cheese and yoghurt later. This would add value and reduce unemployment in the community even more.”
The only problem the community members have with the dairy is that they can’t buy milk there – it’s all sold to Parmalat! “Milk is so expensive, we wish we could have bought just a little of it for personal use,” Beaulah sighs. “God willing, we’ll be able to expand the herd enough to do so.”
This dream isn’t far-fetched. Gerhard points out there’s enough land and water for about 500 animals – though the milking shed can currently only accommodate around 200. Eager to set an example The project will be sustainable and reap more and more benefits for the community in the long term. “It’s hard to be a dairy farmer these days,” Dean says. “In 1960 South Africa had over 80 000 dairy farmers. Today less than 3 700 are left. The industry isn’t simple – it involves high capital outlay and input costs, low profit margins and lots of skill. You can’t expect someone to succeed if they don’t have all the necessary skills.
Dairy empowerment projects must be approached differently from other projects.” Dean adds that the farmers and many roleplayers in the region are committed to the success of Elim Dairy. He feels it should be used as a model for other projects, at least in the Western Cape. For more information contact Dean Kleynhans on (028) 452 1769. |fw
