Waikato AgriBusiness News May 2023

4 WAIKATO AGRIBUSINESS NEWS, MAY 2023
Dreamview turns ‘food collective’ as two
ventures relocate there
Two enterprising couples who dreamt
big for their chocolate and ice creammaking
endeavours have now taken
their start-ups to a new level – just 10
minutes out of Raglan town to a dairy
farm with a difference.
By Edith Symes
That farm is Dreamview,
owned and operated
by the Hill family who
five years ago started bottling
their own milk, a venture that
became such a success they’ve
stopped supplying Fonterra
altogether.
Recently they celebrated
the arrival of the Hills’ new
purpose-built creamery and
the two fledgling businesses –
Raglan Chocolate and Raglan
Gelato – which now operate
from their own factories on the
farm.
“We wanted to celebrate this
food collective with everyone
who has supported us so far,”
creamery manager Jess Hill
says.
About 100 friends, family,
stockists and tradies turned
up to see the new creamery,
Kathy Hill getting
milk deliveries ready.
the gelato-making factory now
housed in the container which
was the old creamery and the
new poly-panel steel cabins –
not unlike flashy shipping containers
– where chocolate is
made.
Along with free tastings
there was the more serious
business of finding out just
how these local sweet treats are
being created.
Raglan Chocolate’s Mike
Renfree demonstrated how
cacao beans are first made into
very big blocks of chocolate,
which are then melted down in
a tempering machine to become
small blocks.
It’s all about the tempering,
Mike’s partner Simone Downey
explains, “getting the snap and
the shine” just right.
Simone wraps the blocks of
chocolate, dealing with orders
and emails along the way, from
the couple’s home in Raglan,
which is where the business
started off five years ago.
The couple recall being
“blown away” by the interest
when they launched their chocolate
at Raglan’s monthly creative
market.
Mike had a background in
food technology but wanted out
of the corporate world to do his
own thing. And now it’s just so
The Dreamview collab team
much fun, he says. “Chocolate
sucked me in!”
His vision was always to
make chocolate that’s not only
good but also ethical. So, the
beans are sourced from the
Pacific people – specifically
from the Solomon Islands,
Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu.
“It’s an amazing untapped
resource there,” he says.
Lars and Hanna Allouard’s
story is also one of humble
beginnings for their Raglan
Gelato. Starting out in the Raglan
Old School Arts Centre
kitchen at the end of 2021, this
German/French couple then
moved their ice cream-making
operation late last year to the
20-foot container which served
as Dreamview Farm’s first
creamery.
“We always came up here for
our milk anyway,” Lars says.
A former cabinet-maker,
Lars reckons making ice cream
is lots more fun. He decided
to pursue his long-held dream
despite also thinking it was a
crazy idea.
During the Covid lockdown
of 2021 he tackled an intensive
online course through the
Gelato University near Bologna
in Italy. The couple now delight
in “making people happy”, moving
their gleaming gelato cart
around town and to festivals.
For their part the Hill family
– parents Dave and Bronwyn
along with adult children
Jess, Matthew and Kathy – are
delighted at the collaboration of
the three businesses now based
up on the farm.
The Dreamview team has
grown to include 11 staff members,
six refrigerated delivery
trucks, the new creamery and a
pasteurisation facility.
Now with Raglan Chocolate
and Raglan Gelato on site, it’s a
dream come true.
Brandt pitches
big at Fieldays
Brandt is going big for
Fieldays this year with a
massive line-up of products,
seminars, recruitment
drive and a hole-in-one green.
Taking up the size of a rugby
field, Brandt is on one of the
largest Fieldays sites and they
hope to pack a punch with their
selection of industry-leading
brands and extensive range of
John Deere equipment covering
agriculture, golf and turf
and the construction and forestry
range.
A proudly customer-driven
company, Brandt Cambridge
branch manager Chris Hughes
says Fieldays is a way to connect
with customers and provide an
in-depth look into what’s on
offer at the dealership.
“It’s the only time of the
year when primary industries
come together and directly
interact with customers. Normally
we go to customers’
places and they invite us into
their homes; Fieldays is an
opportunity for us to host
them, give them a coffee and
talk about what they're up to.”
At the heart of the Fieldays’
experience, Chris says, is “good
people looking after good
people.”
“What I love about a Fieldays
is we get to catch up with
our customers. It's exciting to
see all these different primary
industries coming together,
customers interacting with our
site, working with our people,
our team and for us to provide
a fantastic service for them.”
The Brandt Fieldays’ experience
is not just about showcasing
their range of products,
it’s also about delivering an
informal, interactive encounter
with all things Brandt.
From seminars, refreshments
and finding out what a
Brandt career might look like
to a range of merchandise and
trying your luck at a hole-inone
green, there’s something
for everyone.
IT’S ABOUT
WORKING
SMARTER,
NOT HARDER
Brandt have bought in a
range of speakers from within
its Canadian and Australian
businesses as well as John
Deere Australia/New Zealand
senior leadership team; both
John Deere agriculture and
John Deere construction.
For the customers, this
provides an opportunity to
hear about how John Deere
is supporting New Zealand
industries with new product
launches and a dive into
technology in the agriculture
and construction spaces.
John Deere is making leaps
and bounds in the autonomous
machine space and this
will be demonstrated with
a one-off presentation by
GUSS, an autonomous
sprayer focussed on delivering
automation and
efficiency into high value
crops.
Field operations manager
Peter Goodwin is
excited about the Fieldays
launch of the John Deere 644G
wheel loader.
A version of the ‘no frills’
machine was launched in the
US/Canadian market a couple
of years ago but this is the first
machine to make its debut in
the Southern Hemisphere.
“It's an 18-ton loader that
has a 40-kilometer an hour
road speed, but it's priced at
a market below where we're
currently offering our John
Deere loaders.”
The perfect machine for
agricultural contractors, quarries,
sand pits, landscapers and
forestry, Peter says, the price
point is very affordable.
While it may be cheaper, it
still comes with the full John
Deere warranty, including JD
link support.
“We haven't taken any of
the smartness out of it and it
means we save a lot of downtime
and return trips. It’s
about working smarter, not
harder,” he says.
The technology allows the
machine to communicate to
the workshop to ensure the
correct parts are delivered to
operators around the country,
some working in remote
locations.
Cabs on the mid-sized
wheel loaders have been
designed to provide different
levels of comfort to operators
depending on the application.
Controls are ergonomically
placed to provide both easy
access to settings and features,
while maintaining comfort.
Peter says the wheel loader’s
controls are designed with
operators of all skillsets, making
it easier to put the loader
into action. Automatic shifting
of the transmission occurs on
the fly to enhance ease of operation.
In-cab adjustable boom
height kickout, return to carry,
and return-to-dig can be easily
activated from the SSM.
“With the John Deere
644G, customers are getting
the versatility and ruggedness
in a machine without any
compromises.”
The machines can be customised
with a variety of
base-level packages including
options related to locking differentials,
ride control, seats,
radio and rear chassis work
lights.
Customers can also choose
among pin-on bucket options
or Hi-Vis/ISO or JRB style
couplers, which are compatible
with Deere K -Series, L-series
and performance tiering buckets
and attachments. Owners
can add high-lift linkage to
gain an additional 14 inches of
hinge-pin height over standard
linkage.
Optional third and fourth
function hydraulics allow
the use of a broad range of
attachments.
A working prototype will
be on display at Fieldays
and Brandt is taking orders
in June/July for delivery in
November/December 2023.
Check the Brandt
Fieldays site at M51.