Woodlands Dairy going strong — and clean — after 30 years

In 2012, Woodlands Dairy, the third-largest UHT milk producer in SA, launched a sustainability initiative under its First Choice brand.

To date, this initiative has helped the company reduce its carbon footprint per litre of milk sold in supermarkets by 63%.

While this has been made possible by rigorously pursuing clean energy, which now accounts for 73% of the power used at its plant in Humansdorp, a core component of these sustainability goals has been empowering farming partners to meet the targets set by the Dairy Standards Agency.

One of the key initiatives is the Trace and Save programme, which protects biodiversity by providing farmers with expertise to promote regenerative agriculture.

On Friday, Rufus Dreyer, owner of Grass Ridge Farm in Oyster Bay, said through the initiative they had managed to reduce the amount of nitrogen for soil from about 700kg a year in 2004 to just 250kg now.

Excessive nitrogen can leach into the soil and water, contaminating drinking water sources with nitrate.

“By reducing the nitrogen in the soil, we give organic microorganisms a better chance to produce the same nutrients the grass needs,” he said.

“Though we initially saw a drop in output, it rebounded to the necessary levels thanks to improved organic life.”

Farmers like those at Grass Ridge can also sell their carbon points through the Trace and Save initiative, generating additional income.

Grass Ridge was one of the farming partners visited during a media tour hosted by Woodlands last week to celebrate the company’s 30th anniversary.

To ensure minimal environmental impact from its plant, Woodlands commissioned two biomass boilers since 2016, which have reduced its dependence on heavy fuel oil (HFO) for steam production.

The boilers provide a steady supply of steam, mitigating the risk of operational disruptions.

The company’s sustainability manager, André Adendorff, said the biomass fuel, made of wet sawdust and chipped timber waste, was also sourced from a local timber company.

“From 2024, we started capturing the fugitive gases and returned them to the supply and use them for our cooling units, which is contributing to the reduction of our carbon footprint,” he said. 

In 2017, the dairy also commissioned a water recovery plant capable of treating up to two million litres a day, which reduces reliance on municipal water.

“The biogas produced as a byproduct of the water recovery plant will also be captured to generate steam, which will now supply 10% of our overall requirements.”

Company chief executive Helen McDougall emphasised that part of their corporate responsibility goals was to operate in the best possible way.

“Thirteen years ago, we launched our sustainability project, and at that stage it was based around people, planet and profit.

“It evolved to include the principles of environment and social governance.

“We need to be conscious of what we do as much as possible.

“If that means reducing water and energy use as much as possible to try to reduce our carbon footprint, then that’s what we must do.”

The Herald