NZ Dairy Winter 2021

20 | nz dairy With a two-day journey from cowshed to supermarket shelf, Clearwater Farm’s Sam Clearwater believes they sell the freshest organic yoghurt in New Zealand. DAIRY PEOPLE » Clearwater Farm Organics Yoghurt made from Virginia Wright Proud to be the preferred refrigeration contractor to Clearwater Farms Dedicated to Temperature Maintenance • Industrial Refrigeration Specialists • Air Conditioning/HVAC • Preventative Maintenance Programs • Energy and Heat Recovery • W ater Chilling • All commercial Refrigeration Andy Turner - Managing Director 85 Meadows Road, Washdyke, Timaru Mobile: 027 2848 345 Fax: 03 688 7322 Telephone: 03 688 7311 - 24hr phone Email: office@atr.co.nz Address: 14 Norwood Street, Timaru CLEARWATER CONTRACTING STIMULATING SOIL STIMULATING PROFIT EST 20 20 • INCREASE FERT EFFICIENCY • INCREASE PLANT RESPONSE • N-CAP COMPLIANCE • REDUCE COST • ADD BIOLOGICALS AND SEED Sam Clearwater 027 383 2699 contracting@clearwaters.co.nz I t’s been two years since Sam Clearwater took over the management of his parents’ 114 hectare organic dairy farm in South Canterbury’s Peel Forest, but he’s worked on the farm since he came back from overseas in 2017. They have some irrigation but it’s their proximity to the mountains and consequently high rainfall that keeps them summer-safe, and while half the farm’s soil is heavy it’s balanced out by lighter soils on the top of the farm, making it easy to farm even when conditions become challenging. Brian and Jackie Clearwater were sharemilkers so Sam grew up as a farm-boy before heading to Temuka in 2007 to do an engineering apprentice- ship with Duncan Engineering. In 2012 he travelled overseas building dairy sheds all over the world for Milfos, a Hamilton based company that has since been bought by global corporate GEA. “I was doing installations in China, the Middle East, Japan, Vietnam, and a few in Australia. I met fantastic people from different cultures so I led a very privileged lifestyle for a few years,” says Sam. Sam’s engineering experience has lent itself to various projects undertaken to improve the way the farm is run, including building a milking shed fit for the purpose of turning a 40 hectare run-off into a winter milking block back in 2013. “We have a split herd so I milk about 180 cows at Peel Forest, and we milk another 80 down at Clandeboye. We used to do the winter milking here but down there the soils are better, it’s a slightly warmer climate, and we set the farm up to make the staff’s life easier,” explains Sam. What that amounts to is a herring-bone shed with plenty of ground area which means plenty of room to get the cows off the paddocks and into the con- crete yard for a feed of silage when things get wet. The shingly soil also helps keep the mud at bay, so it’s better for udder and general cow health. “Mud means the teats can dry out which can cause mastitis and affect the milk quality which is something we do our best to avoid especially with the organics,” explains Sam. He knows that any business depends on the people behind it as well. “We’ve been really lucky with our staff over the years, finding people who believe in the same things as us. So they’re a key part of what we’re doing.” They milk a typical Kiwi-Cross mix, but they tend towards the Jersey side because of their need for milk with a higher content of fat for the yoghurt they make as part of their Clearwater Farm brand of dairy products. 15 years ago Sam’s parents wanted to diversify and add value to their milk, so together with their business partner, they set up a small factory made out of shipping containers right next to the cowshed on the farm at Peel Forest. With a two-day journey from cowshed to super- market shelf Sam believes they sell the freshest organic yoghurt in New Zealand. He also believes in the health benefits to be had from their yoghurt, which is made from un-homogenised milk, a key point of difference in New Zealand’s yoghurt market. “There’s only us and a couple of other brands in New Zealand that make yoghurt from fresh milk rather than milk powder, which gives it much better flavours and we believe a much healthier product from our processes,” says Sam. “We now also have A2 verified products.” Like his parents, Sam believes that diversity is the key to any business hence his latest venture, which also springs from his belief as an organic farmer in the need to utilise resources in the best possible way. The Clearwaters have converted their own fertilizer regime to liquid, using a specialized machine bought for the purpose. Now Sam’s putting that machine to good use, having started up a liquid fertilizer spreading business. “That machine can convert granular urea into a liquid fertilizer with water,” he explains. “With the nitrogen restrictions that are coming in for conventional dairy farmers using synthetic fertilizer, the advantage of my machine is that we use half as much granular urea as they might normally use, convert it to liquid, and apply it onto their pastures to get the same if not better results in terms of pasture growth. “The reduction in granule urea also means improved animal health and it’s much more envi- ronmentally friendly because there are no granules releasing ammonia into the atmosphere and fewer nitrates leaching into waterways” Sam’s started his operation in South Canterbury and is making good progress. “There are a lot of guys out there having really good results in other regions, but I’m the only one doing it here and I’ve just started. But it’s gaining traction, and it’s a huge plus for the environment if we can get the same results from half the product. What I’d like to see is some independent research by a big brand with some clout to reinforce what we’re doing.”