The cream of the crop (From Western Telegraph)

The cream of the crop

A Pembrokeshire dairy producer with a background in marketing says milk buyers are letting farmers down by overlooking 'value-added' opportunities.

Mike McNamara, who produces up to a tonne of Jersey clotted cream a month at Drim Farm, Llawhaden, accused the British dairy industry of blinkered vision.

"The directors of these businesses are not looking in the right directions. I don't see any with vision," said Mr McNamara. "We have got to get creative, we must look at branding. The majority of value-added dairy products in this country are imported."

He spotted a gap in the market when he launched his clotted cream business. He had borrowed heavily to buy his 85-hectare dairy holding and needed to generate a good return on the capital he had tied up in the business.

"To survive in a changing industry I had to earn more money from what I was doing or to get much bigger. I never had any aspirations to milk a thousand cows. I wanted to get into added value products, something that gave me a return on my investment."

With no experience in farming he used the skills he had acquired in the retail sector to target his market.

As a board member and former chairman of the producers' co-operative, Quality Milk Producers, he studied the earning power of different sectors.

"I started off selling Jersey cream but realised I couldn't compete with the big boys. They were skimming milk and could produce cream at a fraction of what it was costing me. I looked at how I could jump a step further."

He saw there was a profit to be made from clotted cream. His average milk butterfat level of 5.4& exceeded the minimum fat requirement of clotted cream and there was little competition.

During the peak summer season he produces up to a tonne a month, selling to shops and restaurants across Wales. In 1997 he was a winner of the NFU/Unigate Food Marketing Initiative.

Mr McNamara farms in partnership with his eldest son, Jonathan. They milk 150 Jerseys but plan to increase the herd size to 180 this autumn. The original herd was Friesian but they switched to Jerseys for financial and practical reasons.

"We could get an extra 5p a litre for Jersey milk," Mr McNamara said. "With a million litres of quota there was potentially an extra £50,000 to be gained. The returns from the calves would be less but we weren't earning £50,000 from selling calves. The Jerseys also cause less damage to the soil structure of what can be a fairly wet farm."

A consistent high butterfat level is maintained through a high fibre diet and buffer feeding during the summer. The higher the fat level the more cream the McNamaras can produce.

At the outset, his product was unknown in the market place and he had to prove himself to potential customers. "I believed in something, but I was an unknown quantity. I had to get out there and demonstrate that I could consistently supply a high quality product. Customers demand continuity of supply, which is why we calve all the year round," he said.

RECIPE Freshly baked scones are a perfect partner for Drim Farm clotted cream. Try the following simple recipe and the aroma of Britain's favourite bun wafting from the oven could have you reaching for the jam and cream before they even make it to the cooling rack.

Ingredients 225 g (8oz) self- raising flour 1/4 teaspoon salt 25g (1oz) caster sugar 50g (2oz) butter or margarine 5-6 tablespoons milk

Method Sift the flour and salt into a bowl, rub in the margarine and add the sugar. If you fancy a fruity variation add 50g (2oz) sultanas with the sugar. Mix to a soft, but not sticky, dough with the milk. Turn onto a floured board, knead very lightly, and roll out just over 1cm (1/2 inch) thick. Cut into 5cm (2-inch) rounds, and place on a lightly greased baking tray. Bake in a hot oven, 220oC, 425oF, gas mark seven, for 12-14 minutes, until lightly golden and firm to the touch.

Cool, if patience allows, before splitting in two and adding lashings of jam and cream. Alternatively, clotted cream is delicious teamed with Pembroke-shire-grown strawberries. Cut each berry in two, put into a bowl, add a sprinkling of sugar, a dollop of clotted cream, put your feet up and enjoy Wimbledon fortnight!

Pictured: Mike McNamara says the dairy industry needs to focus on adding value. PICTURE: Debbie James.