THE Butterfield family has big expansion ideas for the Cummins Mill, after recently taking ownership of the facility.
The Darke Peak farmers – Bill, Annie and Ashley Butterfield – plan on spending about $400,000 upgrading the 1930s-built facility to increase the production of their Butterfields Farm Direct stockfeed business and expand their range.
The family business has grown rapidly in four years, supplying balanced nutrition pellets for horses, poultry and sheep and cattle.
It has also tapped into niche markets for alpacas, rabbits and rodent feeds, and expanded into livestock feedlot concentrates and mineral licks.
But Bill estimates demand is outstripping supply by about four times, with the mill’s capacity just 30 tonnes a day.
The Butterfields Farm Direct venture began with a conversation between Bill and Morphettville-based horse trainer Gordon Richards, who was concerned about spiralling feed costs.
From there Bill approached previous mill owner Peter Kearsley to make high-quality horse pellets using their grain.
“We put together a high quality pellet at an affordable price and it has not changed to this day four years later,” Bill said. “In farming there are so many variables with the market and we saw it is a chance to take control of our future and guarantee a base price for our grain.”
The thoroughbreds have never looked better on and off the track.
“Nutrition is number one,” Mr Butterfield said.
“A horse has to have the genetics and the training, but if the nutrition is not right, you are already compromising your chances of winning.
“It is no different for poultry, sheep or cattle – it has to be balanced the same as humans for them to perform at their peak.”
In the first 12 months, the Butterfields put 1000t through the mill and gradually expanded volumes until a shock announcement by Mr Kearsley that he was closing the mill.
“We needed the mill for the sustainability of the farm so we leased the premises last September and bought most of the infrastructure inside,” Bill said.
About one third of the grain grown on their 3640-hectare property is used in Butterfields Farm Direct products, which are sold in SA, NT and NSW. Most of this is barley and oats.
“Potentially we could use the whole lot and more,” Bill said. “We haven’t really even pushed it yet.”
The majority of the products are sold in 25-kilogram bags, but they also do truckload orders.
A growth area the Butterfields have identified is smaller size supermarket packs for those with backyard chickens or other pets.
Mr Butterfield sees their point of difference is their livestock knowledge, as they also running a self-replacing Merino flock of 2000 ewes with their cropping program.
They also pride themselves on personalised service.
"We are not just selling the product,” Bill said.
“We also give advice on marketing livestock and the whole system. Growing grain and feeding stock is what I have done my whole life.”