NZ Dairy Autumn 2021

10 | nz dairy DAIRY PEOPLE » Oete Goat Farm: Matt Bolton Tapping into growing goat milk market A conversation with the owners of a Levin supermaket led Matt Bolton into milking goats. Today he and his team milk 5500 goats on a converted dairy farm at Patamahoe. Virginia Wright F rom an early age goat farmer Matt Bolton knew that he wanted to be a farmer and he attended Smedley Station and cadet training farm in Hawke’s Bay as a 17-year-old straight out of school. He was passionate about sheep and beef but also pragmatic about what he wanted to achieve. “I had to go dairy farming really because at that point in time it was a better return and I was really keen to buy land as well.” After 16 years share-milking in the Wairarapa he and his former wife Sarah were able to acquire their first of piece of land in Pahiatua. “It was sheep and beef with quite a bit of lease land around us, and we ended up being able to do a conversion with family help.” By the time Matt moved north to set up his goat farm the land-holding had grown thanks to the purchase of surrounding lease-to-buy blocks and they were milking 1000 cows while still doing some sheep and beef around the hill blocks. It was a conversation with some supermarket owners in Levin that piqued Matt’s interest in goats when he realised there was a growing market for New Zealand goat milk both locally and overseas. “It was around the same time as the Melamine scare as well and China made it mandatory for infant formula coming in to be traceable back to the farm gate, so there was an opportunity there,” says Matt. Within the year he was rearing around 2000 kids,sourced from other goat farmers, on his farm back in Pahiatua, making good use of the exist- ing calf sheds, wool sheds and any other available structures. That was eight years ago, and a year later Matt shifted his goats with him up to the 120 hectare dairy farm he’d found in Patamahoe, just south of Pukekohe. “I must have looked at 40 or 50 farms because we needed very easy contours so that we could apply the cut and carry system and build the barns. The goats are 90% indoors,” he explains, “because these are the same goats that have been around for 9000 years, that used to live in a mud hut with people.” He’s talking about the traditional milking breed, Sannan - goats that have been farmed for centuries, mainly in the East, providing fuel, meat and milk for their families and, to put it in context, goat meat is still the most eaten meat in the world. They’re not to be confused with feral goats or the goats we see on the side of the road cleaning up scrub and gorse. They have a very thin hide with none of the lanolin found in sheep’s wool so they require shelter. • to page 12 “I must have looked at 40 or 50 farms because we needed very easy contours so that we could apply the cut and carry system and build the barns. The goats are 90% indoors because these are the same goats that have been around for 9000 years, that used to live in a mud hut with people.” WE’RE PROUD TO SUPPORT MATTBOLTON PUKEKOHE Cnr Kitchener & Manukau Rd, Pukekohe Mark Ellett 027 237 8723 Phillip Gill 0274 987 558 &OETE GOAT FARM PUKEKOHE Cnr Kitch ner & Manukau Rd, Pu ekohe Mark Ellett 027 237 8723 Phillip Gill 0274 987 558 "We pride ourselves at Wallace Heron Limited with providing the solution to your engineering problems.” VISIT OUR STORE & WORKSHOP 143 - 145 Manukau Road, Pukekohe P: 09 238 3281 | E: wallaceheron@xtra.co.nz Proud to be associated with Oete Goat Farm www.thetractorcentre.co.nz THE TRACTOR CENTRE phone (09) 238 7179