James Farm, Germany

James Farm is a successful, modern farm focused on sustainable food production. Their motto is: local, delicious and innovative. They have 100 cows, 100 pigs, and 750 hens on the farm. The main idea is a circular economy. For example, whey from cheese production is used as animal feed. The manure is used as fertilizer or in the biogas plant to operate the dairy. All products are made from scratch, so you have full control over the quality of the raw materials. Because animal welfare and transparency are becoming more and more important for customers, not only the stables are designed to be open to view, but also the farm shop, the customer can see directly into the dairy and the cheesemaking room.

Milk processing is one of the most important activities on the farm, all the milk from the cows is processed. This is how different types of high-quality hay milk products such as milk, yoghurt, fresh, soft, and semi-hard cheese, as well as cream and butter, are produced. The fresh milk is transported directly from the milking parlour to the dairy, where it flows into the cheese kettle only by gravity. Since the Pasteurizer P 500 EL Professional has an elevating device, filling the cheese mass into the Cheese table SOM is very easy and quick. Making cream is also efficient and effortless: the milk is warmed up in the kettle, lifted, and then flows into the separator SP. A pump transports the skimmed milk into a storage container. The butter churn PJ takes over the next step and produces butter.

Before the farm was completed, they used the Plevnik Turnkey Dairy SMMO (container solution) to experiment and draw customers’ attention. Dairy products and eggs quickly became a hot selling item in the region and the range of products were constantly being developed. The pasteurizer with cooling unit PH 100 All in one was used for many different products and is still available after the move to the new production building. Cheesemaker Ms. Malina Michalscheck tells:

“I really enjoy working with Plevnik equipment. The pasteurizer P 500EL with an elevating device, in particular, has proven to be versatile and practical. I make raw milk cheese as well as pasteurized cheese and yogurt in it and I was able to create and save a program for each product. This saves a lot of time and ensures that the process is always the same – but I can deviate from it at any time if, for example, the cheese requires longer stirring. The elevating device enables easy filling into the cheese table or directly into the molds, easy cleaning under the kettle, and was the ideal solution for our relatively low ceiling height. For smaller product quantities and the pasteurization of drinking milk, I use the PH 100, as it cools the milk to 4 ° C without any problems. The compact device proved its worth especially when I was still working in the container dairy; I was able to produce everything from soft cheese and yoghurt to semi-hard cheese that I had planned. It is easy to clean and it is on castors he is never in the way. I can set all the parameters that are important for cheese production, the design is well thought out and practical. The container dairy was a valuable test field to produce on a smaller scale and to test how the products are received by the customer. Initially, the dairy container stood directly in the parking lot of our partner hotel “Altes Stahlwerk” in Neumünster and the hotel guests could watch the products being manufactured. After six months, unfortunately, all hotels had to close due to Corona and so the decision was made to bring the container to Hörup, to the construction site of the James Farm. A pop-up store was opened at the new location – a small farm shop for the construction of James Farm. This was very well received, probably also because of the increased interest of people in regional food in the face of a global pandemic. We quickly gained loyal regular customers and word got around that delicious dairy products were made in the inconspicuous container. Since our own cowshed was not yet ready, we bought milk from a neighboring farmer. I was able to process around 500 liters of milk per week. The work could be done well for one person and I also found the size of the container to be suitable for the type and quantity of the products. The equipment of the container is well adapted to milk processing. In total, I worked in the container for almost 2 years and it worked very well.

The production building with the dairy and slaughterhouse was finished at the end of July 2021. Thanks to the simple operation, no long training was necessary and I can concentrate fully on the cheese without being distracted by technical problems. The briefing from a Plevnik employee also helped.

With the larger dairy, there were also new opportunities to produce even more products. The separator is now in use several times a week and the butter machine turns the sour cream quickly and easily into delicious butter. I was particularly impressed that the machine works efficiently even with small fill quantities.

Overall, I am very satisfied with all Plevnik devices. They are easy to use, well thought out and I assume that they will stay with me for many years.”  James Farm is expanding production with Pasteurizer P 300 EL Professional and making it more energy efficient with an Ice bank SHL.

VIDEOS ABOUT FARM:

Milk processing with Plevnik equipment on video from 00:58 – 01:23 https://www.zdf.de/nachrichten/heute-in-deutschland/bauernhof-wie-vor-100-jahren-100.html

Milk processing with Plevnik equipment on video from 02:50 – 04:13 https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=649165876232666