It took hand-milking goats for six hours a day for Morné and Ingrid Olivier to launch a successful cheese business, but to grow they needed capital. Businessman Chris Everitt brought in the cash, and with a five-point milking machine and a cheesery, the dairy is on its way to becoming certified organic. Wouter Kriel reports.
Morné and Ingrid
Olivier started making goat’s milk cheese five years ago on a rented 4ha section of the farm Odenshoek near Montagu in the Western Cape. On rough mountain terrain, unsuitable for other livestock, they started their business with nine ewes, six kids and a borrowed breeding ram. The cheese was made in the farm kitchen using PVC pipe moulds, and sold to the Montagu craft market on Saturday mornings.
The small business grew to 40 goats, which Morné hand-milked daily for up to six hours a day. Ingrid explains, “We needed capital to invest in infrastructure for the milking shed because the cheesery became too small, but the business struggled to generate it. We couldn’t grow without a municipal health certificate, impossible to obtain for our setup then.”
In 2008, the Oliviers decided to sell the whole business. By then they had 40 ewes, a good ram and a client list of 20 delis in Cape Town. They found a buyer in businessman Chris Everitt, who asked Morné to stay on and run the dairy as manager with a 10% profit share for the Oliviers.
Chris now finances the rental on the property where the goats are kept. His cash injection improved the camps and the goat flock increased from 40 to 93. The dairy and cheesery were overhauled and a five-point milking machine with cooling facilities was installed together with all other necessary equipment.With plans in place to certify the cheese organic, the business was named Wilde and Roare Organics.
The most from goats
Morné is in charge of the goat flock and aims to breed the best milk goats. Each ewe can produce about 1,66â„“/day. Morné says he’d like to increase the flock to 300 goats and continues improving flock quality through selective breeding. Milk production declines as the ewes go on heat, three times a year. The nannies are mated in groups of 20, starting with the group with the lowest yield. If they don’t take, they’re mated along with the group with the second lowest yield, six weeks later. As a result, the ewes lamb between June and September, instead of in September and October. This is important because goats don’t produce milk from two-and-a-half months before giving birth. Weaning takes four to six weeks.
“We had a core group of Alpine ewes and an Alpine ram, well-adjusted to the rugged mountainous environment,” says Morné. “During winter, the goats are out on the mountain and have to learn which plants to eat and which to avoid.” He explains that to breed for larger udders and increased milk yield he use a Saanen ram. rossbreeding produces a strong goat, but Saanen aren’t as well-adapted.
The Saanen’s drawbacks include drooping udders, skin cancer and neglected kids. A large, drooping udder is prone to injury in the veld and kids struggle to drink from it. Morné gradually breeds back with an Alpine ram until he starts losing milk yield, before reintroducing the Saanen ram again. The goats spend the day in the mountains and are brought back to the kraal each night. Morné says he hasn’t experienced any problems with predators.
Cheese production
In the milking shed and cheesery, Ingrid is boss. “We’re producing on average about 4 600â„“/month at peak production,” she says. “It takes 10â„“ to produce 1kg to 1,5kg of cheese, depending on the consistency of the milk, which varies as the goats dry out. The cheeses are sold for R105/kg to R150/kg at the farm gate.“ Directly after milking, milk is at the ideal temperature for introducing the cheese culture. The new dairy’s milk-cooling facilities are used over weekends.
“Our original cheese – the one we’re best-known for – is a semi-hard farmhouse cheese,” she says. “It’s basically a cross between cheddar and Gouda and we’ve perfected the recipe and process.” Goat’s milk is nutritious because it’s naturally homogenised. While high in fat it doesn’t cause cholesterol. High acidity makes pasteurising the milk unnecessary. “Both my sons grew up on goat’s milk and they’re fine,” she says (see box: Nutritional value). Some people don’t like the goatish taste of goat’s milk products, but cleanliness during the milking process counters this. The milk’s taste can be affected by unwanted matter like hair. “We put a high premium on hygiene in our milking shed,” says Ingrid. “The amount of time the rams spend with the ewes also increases the goatish taste, so this is kept to a minimum. “
Wilde and Roare Organics cheese is young and fresh with a fragrant hint of fynbos from the mountains where the goats browse.
Feed management
To have the cheese certified by the Biodynamic and Organic Certification Authority (BDOCA) in Pretoria means Morné is introducing feed regimens. “We maintain 0,5ha lucerne given as a green feed through the summer for variety,” he explains. “All the feed we buy in needs to be evaluated to determine if it qualifies as organic. We’d rather rent more land and grow our own because organic feed is expensive. We already spend over R18 000/month.
We used to supplement with a 16% to 18% protein lick with a urea multi lick during pregnancy, but anything containing urea is not suitable by organic standards.”
Goats bought in from non-organic farms need a year’s transition period before being classified organic. They have to be managed separately to avoid compromising the cheese’s organic status. Camp sizes also need attention, as the BDOCA guidelines stipulate a stocking density of 13,3/ha for goats.
Young billy goats aren’t slaughtered, neither are old goats sold for meat. “We plan to castrate and train young goats as pack wethers for hiking trails,” says Ingrid. “A pack goat can carry 18kg to 20kg on its back and the impact on the environment is minimal.” Contact Ingrid and Morné Olivier on (023) 614 2738
or visit www.wildeandroare.co.za. |fw
