General News
12 August, 2021
North celebrates Mungalli expansion
MILLAA MILLAA turned on the magic last weekend for one of her most successful export's big day. Mungalli Creek Bio-Dynamic Dairy were celebrating the opening of their new capacity-doubling factory with a combined open day for their loyal shareholders.
BY SALLY TURLEY
MILLAA MILLAA turned on the magic last weekend for one of her most successful export's big day. Mungalli Creek Bio-Dynamic Dairy were celebrating the opening of their new capacity-doubling factory with a combined open day for their loyal shareholders.
Around 250 of the 460 Mungalli investors from around North Queensland, flocked to the opening of the $4.5 million production facility which was funded to the tune of $1.2 million dollars by the State Government and supported by over three quarters of a million dollars of crowd funding.
Guests were all treated to a welcome ice cream on arrival, factory tours and information sessions throughout the afternoon followed by cheese platters and beverages, live music and dinner around the camp fire.
The love and support for the Watson family was evident as guests soaked up the sunshine and the sustainable culture on offer at Mungalli.
The tour of the new facility revealed a cheese-making room populated by two new vats of 4000 and 6000 litre capacities, a new press and a new maturation room, upgrading it to a much better system than the old one, which Rob Watson said was "hard work."
The new extrusion blow molding machine which enables them to make their own bottles on-site, offered huge savings for the company, reducing freight costs on the 50,000 full size bottles required daily from Brisbane by nearly 30c/bottle.
In addition, the complex has a labeling room, a bottling room and industrial washer, a yoghurt, ricotta, quark and cream manufacturing room, cold rooms and a loading dock as well as a system to capture solar and store it as refrigeration to power the air conditioners, milk vats and cold rooms.
Mr Watson said increased demand for product had driven their 180 cow dairy herd up to 650-700 head across their four farms and they sourced extra milk from five other local farmers, whose combined herd numbered 5-600 cows, achieving a 500% increase in production since 2000.
He said they were opening a new ice cream store in Cairns this month which would sell coffee in the mornings. Shareholders enjoyed sampling the new flavours developed for the market, including Coffee and Wattleseed, Vanilla with Raspberry and Fennel, Chocolate with Davison plum and Blueberry and Basil and Vanilla.
The Watson family's step up from Organic to Biodynamic seemed the natural progression in their dream to regenerate the earth.
By focusing on maintaining a healthy and vital relationship between the soil, the animals, the environment and the people, their farm has become one big, natural living organism producing happy cows and delicious sustainable food.
