Fonterra to chase South Gippsland milk

FONTERRA Australia aims to increase its milk supply in South Gippsland after announcing a $7 million upgrade of its milk factory at Darnum.
The factory is one of seven sites to benefit from expansion under Fonterra Australia’s recently announced $165 million capacity investment.
Fonterra Australia has increased its milk supply after farmers left Murray Goulburn in the wake of milk prices falling and uncertainty over the company’s future.
Fonterra Australia’s national milk pool is up from 1.6 billion litres to two billion litres this year, with milk volume in South Gippsland increasing from existing and new suppliers growing last season.
General strong seasonal conditions and milk growth have also been contributing to the expansion of Darnum.
The company told The Star it was planning to further increase its milk pool in South Gippsland and Gippsland with existing farmers who wish to grow, as well as new suppliers.
The Darnum site is earmarked for $7 million of projects which will increase its daily milk processing capacity from around 2.2 million litres to more than 2.6 million litres.
The facility produces nutritional powders used in infant formula and whole, skim and fat-filled milk powders for the domestic and export markets.
Andrew Nooy, Darnum site manager for Fonterra Australia, said the projects would contribute to greater plant efficiencies which in turn would improve yields.
“Every dollar you spend removing bottlenecks and improving your production systems delivers better yields from the milk going through the plant. The aim is not to waste a single drop and we are always looking for ways to improve efficiencies and yields,” he said.
“As well as investing in more capacity, Fonterra Australia is encouraging more farmers to join us as suppliers.
“Our Australian milk pool has grown by 400 million litres this season, and with this new investment we plan to grow our milk further which we expect will come through growth from our existing farmers who wish to grow, coupled with milk from new suppliers joining Fonterra.”
In addition to the capital expansion, the company has employed an additional 15 drivers after investing more than $8 million in 14 truck and trailer units across its milk collection regions in Victoria and Tasmania.
The Darnum plant is a joint venture between Fonterra and Chinese company Beingmate, with Beingmate owning a 51 per cent stake in Darnum, and Fonterra a 49 per cent stake and control of production at the plant.
The Darnum site produces nutritional powders and whole, skim and fat-filled milk powders for the domestic and international export markets.
The factory supports more than 120 jobs directly and 573 indirectly in the wider economy.

Competing for milk: Andrew Nooy, Darnum site manager for Fonterra Australia, said the company would be seeking more milk from South Gippsland.

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Posted by Tayla Kershaw on Jan 30 2018. Filed under Rural News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry