Focus on longevity gives dairy the edge

Fair Cape Dairies won the ARC National Master Dairyman of the Year Award for the fourth time in 2022. Johannes Loubser spoke to Glenneis Kriel about the drivers of the dairy's success.

- Glenneis Kriel

Longevity. Production. Fertility. These are the cornerstones of production at Fair Cape’s dairy farms, Welgegund and Three Sisters, near Durbanville in the Western Cape. The most important of these is longevity, according to Johannes Loubser, director of farming operations.

Loubser knows what he is talking about. He won the ARC National Master Dairyman of the Year Award in 2015, 2018, 2020 and 2022, as well as the Western Cape’s Master Dairy Farmer of the Year in 2012. At the time of writing, the dairy had about 2,500 cows in milk, consisting of approximately 2120 Holsteins, 210 Ayrshires for their branded programme at Woolworths, and 170 Jerseys to boost milk solids.

Fair Cape also has 2,500 ha of land under a rotation of wheat, canola and oats, as well as 350ha of lucerne under irrigation.

PRODUCTION 

A lot has changed since Loubser’s father, Eduard, started the dairy operation in 1955 with a herd of 64 Friesland cows.

Loubser and his four brothers launched the Fair Cape brand shortly after deregulation in 1995. “Milk prices were low, so we realised we had to find a way to add value to the milk. The farm initially supplied the old

Since then, Fair Cape has extended its sales to all the major retailers, and its product offering has grown to include UHT milk, flavoured milk, yoghurt, juice, dairy desserts and butter. “It has taken a lot of sweat, blood and risks, but we have managed, over time, to establish ourselves as a

Production has grown from a few thousand Ayrshires were introduced to the farm a little day. The cows are milked three times a day.