Waikato dryer sold

New Image Group, which also makes health and nutritional products for the global market, plans to use the Food Innovation Waikato dryer at Waikato Innovation Park for its colostrum production.

The dryer, which also has a packing line, was developed in 2012 with funding assistance from the Government. It offered opportunities for specialty milk producers to scale up a new spray-dried product to commercial production.

However, the plant was mothballed and was being prepared for liquidation when New Image bought it in December last year. The first milk was accepted for processing by the new owners on December 18.

New Image has an existing dryer of similar size at its NIG-Nutritionals site at Paerata. The Hamilton dryer provides processing security for both operations.

Food Innovations Waikato chief executive Trevor Lock told Dairy News that the decision has been made to keep the facility in the Food Innovation network, as an open access dryer.

"This maintains the original vision for the facility, which was a scale-up facility for NZ businesses developing international markets," he says.

He says New Image will shift all its colostrum production to Food Innovation Waikato.

"This was a single focus of New Image when considering purchase of the asset. The Waikato dryer will secure supply of NZ grass-fed colostrum from the dairy cows, within 36 hours of birth of the calf."

New Image is one of two NZ companies holding valid a Risk Management Programme (RMP) for the collection and processing of colostrum from dairy cows.

Lock says this year New Image is significantly increasing its colostrum production.

"We are looking to source from farms as far away as Taranaki and Hawke's Bay, to supplement the supply we are acquiring in the Waikato, Taupo and Reporoa catchments.

"The product can only be harvested after the needs of the calf are met, about 10% of its body weight in the first 24 hours. Because we only harvest the first 36 hours of colostrum, there is still a further 48 hours of transition milk which can be used as a supplement for replacement calf rearing.

"We provide vats on farm and in return we want farmers to sign up for a five-year supply arrangement.

"We are serious about growing this business and providing an extra income stream for our farmer partners."

Lock says New Image is offering farmers about $42/cow, for the first 36 hours of colostrum. He says that a 600-cow herd can return approximately $25,000 to a farmer's account.

"We know this is a huge amount of work for farmers at a difficult time of year, which is why we have set our pricing at a fair and reasonable rate for farmers. Payments are based on the IgG level in the colostrum. There are five bands, based on strength, with the top band returning $3.35 per litre and the bottom band returning $1.35 per litre. This reflects the difficulty of processing the low strength product.

"On average a farmer can, when compared to milk, earn approximately $12.20/kgMS for colostrum. Depending on the strength of the colostrum, this payment could be as high as $16.35/kgMS."

Helping Businesses Grow

New Image says it will support NZ businesses to grow their business for export through their just-acquired Food Innovation Waikato dryer.

Trevor Lock says the dryer can process sheep, goat, cow, deer and plant-based milks.

"We can also, if required process other non-dairy ingredients that can be spray dried. Not only do we just make milk powders, we have the capability to produce high value infant and nutritional formulae, for all life stages."

He says Food Innovation Waikato will undergo an upgrade in the next eight months to provide further processing flexibility.

"We have managed to hold on to an incredibly talented team of operators, who not only know the plant, but are passionate about the products we get to make.

"The team have a very strong focus on supporting innovative products and can support products and development with a strong, focussed, scientific team."