The plant will begin high-heat milk powder processing in late August.
Open Country will add a few more supply farms in the second season, 2019-20, to reach plant capacity, he said while attending the company’s exhibit at the National Fieldays.
The number two milk processor after Fonterra would have a total of about 1000 supplying farms across its four processing sites this season.
Open Country has forecast a price range of $6.60-6.90/kg milksolids for the new season.
The Horotiu powders would be sold into food ingredients used around the world, Margrain said.
He did not expect New Zealand milk supply would grow very much in future, because the dairy industry was increasingly constrained by environmental and animal feeding restrictions.
Margrain said Open Country’s driving force would be generating more value from the existing milk supply.
Open Country would make a comprehensive submission to the Ministry of Primary Industries’ wide-ranging review of the Dairy Industries Restructuring Act, although it was too early to say what issues would be paramount.
Horotiu ready to roll
Open Country Dairy has signed sufficient milk supply farms for the first season of processing at its new Horotiu processing plant in Waikato, company chairman Laurie Margrain says.
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