For Ebuta Goat Dairy’s Brian and Jean Venten what originally went from being a a novelty hobby idea of putting a few goats on-property to earn a little bit of cash on the side, has evolved into a fully fledged paddock to plate business, which recently introduced gelato to its product range.
Mr Venten said he’s always had a desire to work with goats.
Whenever I went to the agricultural shows I always found my way to the goat exhibit, and when I became semi-retired I said to Jean why don’t we get some goats,” he said.
The Venten’s 50 acre farm located at Toonpan about 30 kilometres out from Townsville on the road to Charters Towers is located beneath the picturesque foothills of Mt Elliot.
The operation is one of just three fully accredited – with Queensland regulatory body Safe Food Production Qld (SFPQ) – raw goat milk dairys in Queensland, and the only one located in the North.
It was a long process for the business to become fully accredited as a ‘dairy producer’ with SFPQ which began in 2013.
“Around that time we started building all the infrastructure, doing a lot of research and started buying goats we basically got everything in place.
“It was a massive job, and it took us from then until April 2015 before we got our approval.”
He said during that time they experimented with a lot of different product ideas, and when they got their approval they started selling milk and soaps.
“Once we got our licence we started to move product, we’d already primed the pump with outlets in Townsville.”
As well as the outlets in Townsville, they do a weekly milk run with the distribution network encompassing the Tableland, Mareeba, Kuranda, Cairns, Cardwell and Tully.
“We only have a small herd of about 60 goats and from those we’re probably milking about 24.
“We’re probably running at about 60 per cent capacity in terms of milk volume.
“We’re running niche, we’re small, we’ll never be a big scale operation.”
He said he sourced goats from all over Queensland, and made a conscious decision to seek out registered, purebred certified Saanen milking goats.
“I’m trying to spread the genetics to establish a herd which we can grow with.
“If you’re working with a good bloodline, you do tend to produce good animals.
“But I did change my buck this year and I’ve noticed the newer ones progeny is even better then before.”
Late last year with the business stabilised with the raw milk product and a laboratory set up to monitor and control all their systems, the Venten’s started thinking about how they could capitalise on the increased milk production they expected in mid-2016.
It was with the objective in mind which led them to producing a gelato product using their milk as the base product.
“We figured that the pathway forward for us since we are niche and small was for us to value add, we thought if we could accomplish that it will increase our profit margin quite considerably.”
They started doing the research in October/November of 2015, and by the time they wrote the food management plans and sourced the equipment it was by June this year that they got their licence for it, with the product line being launched at the Townsville Show.
“We are now in the process of finalising all our labelling and it will be available in 400 gram and single serve 80 gram tubs.
“We’re getting strong demand from the outlets we currently deliver our milk to who think it will go over very well with tourists.
He said the vision is to create a line of single serve tubs that won’t just include the basics like chocolate and vanilla, but to also showcase North Queensland’s fruit flavours.
“We’ve already crafted a product using achacha which we’ll get from Helen and Bruce Hill who live nearby.
“They approached us and asked if we could create an artisan gelato product using their achacha, which we’ve done and they are now trialing it in a number of different venues by themselves.
“Next year when their cropping season comes, we’ll source the pulp from them and put it under our own label.”
He said there are plenty of possible flavour options available in the north, and thinks it’ll be a hit with tourists.
“When you hear people talking about it, and talking to their friends about it, you know that you’ve put a product out there that is creating interest.
He said in the early days of the business compliance and the regulatory process provided a challenge that they thrived from.
“We found that compliance is often a driver for innovation.
“You think to yourself, this is what I’ve got to do, how can I do it in the most economical way that satisfies the requirements of an act but achieves an outcome that is beneficial for us, and more importantly enables you to produce a niche product that the public can afford?
“Balancing all of those component parts is a real driver for creative thinking.”
Mr Venten said future product possibilities for the business include a kefir drinking yogurt, which they’re currently researching, but said the most common question they get asked is, do you make cheeses?
“Everybody wants a goat cheese, so that’s another opportunity we’re looking at.
“But we are limited by how much stock we have and how much we can market and sell, so their will always be some delimiters in regards to expanding our base product and where we move that to.
He said at the end of the day what makes running the business personally rewarding is meeting a need that satisfies public demand.
“Its what gives you a tickle in the heart, its when people send us a message on Facebook or ring up to tell us how much they appreciated the product that gives us those feelgood moments.”