THE new super dairy farm at Mariental, which is developed by Namibia Dairies, already has 1 000 cows which produce 30 000 litres of milk per day, according to the Manager Hubertus Hamm.

Giving an overview of the project last Thursday, Hamm said the rotary milk plant, which was installed recently, was one of the largest in southern Africa.

"Currently we milk all 1 000 cows in two and a half hours and once we are at full capacity with 2 000 cows, the automated milking will be done in about six hours and will produce 60 000 litres daily."

The reason for the N$120 million investment - with a N$40 million loan from the Namibia Development Bank and another form AgriBank - was that raw milk had been produced in Namibia at approximately N$1 to N$1.50 more expensively than needed be due to outdated production technologies.

"That is when the idea of the super farm was born. With modern technology you can reduce the cost of raw milk production significantly and therefore Namibia Dairies can compete and save in excess of 1 000 jobs," Hamm said. Hamm reacted to recent media reports that alleged seven milk producers had quit because of fears about the super farm. "We are not aware of any such farmers, in fact we are welcoming a new farmer from the Gobabis region who is joining us a milk producer. All our farmers who deliver to us, have contracts and no one has closed business. We are in close cooperation with farmers and will need every drop of milk we can get. Farmers are even investing to improve their production capacity."

The super farm is now covering about 50 per cent of the local milk demand.

"The new development will enable the Namibian dairy industry to compete with other milk producers, especially after 2011, when the infant industry protection (IIP) under the Trade and Industry Ministry will run out," said Hamm on Thursday.

The super farm will be called '!Aimab' after a nearby mountain range. The name was chosen after O & L ran a name-giving competition among the Mariental schools.

The manure of the dairy cows will be collected and used as fertilised for fodder production and also for a bio-gas plant. This practice is common in India and the gas produced in this way is used for cooking and lighting lamps in villages.