Clandeboye Estate was brought into the spotlight this week as it played host to the 2023 annual general meeting (AGM) of the UK Jersey Cattle Society.
The Co. Down property is home to a herd of 30 elite Jersey cows, and has built up quite a reputation in the diary products area.
The meeting saw its farm manager Mark Logan endorsed as chair for an additional two-year period. This recommendation was fully endorsed at a subsequent meeting of Jersey Society board members.
Clandeboye Estate yoghurt
Courtesy of his involvement with the management team at Clandeboye, Logan has played a central role in the development of the estate’s now highly recognised and equally commended yoghurt business.
“All of the milk produced on the estate now goes for yoghurt production. Sales are strong throughout the island of Ireland and our market outlets continue to expand,” Logan said.
“As a consequence, we may soon reach a position, which sees us buying-in additional milk to meet out yoghurt production needs.”
The farm manager said there is no scope to further increase the size of the current Clandeboye dairy herd.
“All the farmable land on the estate is already fully accounted for,” he said.
“The acreage not used for milk production is dedicated to crops, which are used to duel the anaerobic digester, or AD plant, at Clandeboye.
“By taking this approach we have been able to generate all the heat and electricity used throughout the estate. And this includes the yoghurt manufacturing facility,” he added.
“All the whey produced as a by-product of the yoghurt manufacturing process is fed back into the digester, the feedstock for which also includes our own cattle slurry and the high energy silages grown specifically for AD purposes at Clandeboye.
“A ‘circular economy’ approach has been taken to the development of the yoghurt production business.”
As part of the AGM itinerary, the event was opened up to include a presentation on the yoghurt making facility and a farm visit for both Jersey Society delegates and members of the farming public.
A significant number of people from across the island of Ireland availed of the opportunity.
Clandeboye Yoghurt commercial manager, Patrick Black, confirmed that the product now has a sales’ footprint across the UK and Ireland.
“We are currently processing between 8,000L and 9,000L of milk on a daily basis,” he said.
“This includes all the milk produced on the estate plus additional product sourced from local farmers.
“This arrangement ensures that we are processing milk produced in the Co. Down area.”
The yoghurt operation currently employs 24 people. The venture was launched at Balmoral Show back in 2008, initially working from premises in the town of Newtownards.
Growth
Just over 12 months ago, the entire operation was brought to a state-of-the-art processing site at Clandeboye.
“The last 12 months have seen the scale of the operation quadruple in size. In line with this, employment levels have also increased, from 16 up the current figure,” Black said.
“All of our staff come from the surrounding area. So it really is a case of adding to the local economy.”
The current turnover of Clandeboye Yoghurt is in the region of £2.5 million per annum.
According to Black, the new processing facility has a maximum processing capacity of 16,000L of milk/day.
“This can be achieved within the current infrastructure on the back of further investment in the likes of new packing technologies,” he said.
The yoghurt operation has been designed with the objective of securing an almost zero carbon footprint for its processing arm. Making this possible is the impact of the AD operation on the estate.
“We secure all the electricity we need from the plant,” Black confirmed.
“In addition, the waste heat from the AD plant is used to heat our water and to pasteurise the incoming milk.
“Meanwhile, all our whey and effluents are fed back into the digestor. So we are talking about a circular economy in the purest sense of the term.”
Dairy sector
Logan believes that Jersey cows have a key role to play within the UK and Irish dairy sectors.
“Jersey cows have been long recognised for their ability to produce milk from grass in a very sustainable manner. They also perform well within confined feeding scenarios,” Logan said.
“The ability of the breed to produce milk with high levels of fat and protein is universally accepted.
“Looking to the future, our core breeding aim is to maintain this level of quality while also increasing milk volumes. And this target is more than achievable,” he added.