The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Couple look to yoghurt to offset haulage costs
Aberdeenshire: Mackie family has been milking cows at Middleton of Rora farm since 1966
Middleton of Rora is home to more than 200 dairy cows and a couple on a mission to create a range of local, healthy yoghurts.
Bruce and Jane Mackie are one of more than 40 farming families affected by dairy giant Muller’s decision to close its Aberdeen milk processing plant last year.
The couple are on a non-aligned contract with Muller and since the north-east plant’s closure they have been forced to pay 1.75p a litre to have their milk hauled south for processing.
Adopting a positive can-do attitude, they have turned Jane’s yoghurt making dream into reality and it is hoped income from the new rora dairy venture will help offset the additional haulage costs introduced by Muller.
Mrs Mackie said: “Before all this happened (factory closure) I was saying I wanted to make yoghurt, and about this time two years ago I went on a course to learn how.”
She admits the closure of the Aberdeen plant is still a concern but she believes the future is bright and she is excited about the new yoghurt business.
The Mackie family has been milking cows at the 565-acre Middleton of Rora farm since 1966.
“The backbone of the herd is pedigree Holstein Friesians but mixed through it there’s a little bit of Norwegian Red and Jersey genetics,” said Mr Mackie.
In the past two years cow numbers have increased from 150 to around 220 and the couple has invested around £1.3 million in a new dairy shed complete with four robotic milking machines.
Mr Mackie said: “I wanted to create a shed which we could show to anybody and they would be pleased to know that this was where their milk was being produced.
“We want to present dairying to the consumer.
“Sometimes the way that agriculture is portrayed does not always reflect the good stockmanship that happens on farm.”
He said the creation of a new range of yoghurts gave the family a platform to display the provenance of its milk and showcase the high quality environment where the cows live and get milked.
The new yoghurt factory, which cost more than £200,000, was built with support from the Scottish Government’s food processing and marketing cooperation grant scheme.
Mrs Mackie said the plant can be used to process 500 litres of milk from the farm every day, however it is only being used once a week as the business venture is still in its infancy. the best of