Z/s “Veckūkuri” invests one and a half million euros in development

Farm of Jērcēni parish, Strenči municipality Old people plans to build a modernized barn for dairy cows, thus expanding the production of niche products from milk produced on the farm, admitted farm owner Ilvija Jakovina.

According to an entry on the website of the Procurement Monitoring Bureau, the project costs will be 1,406,031 euros, using co-financing from the European Union Agricultural Fund under the Rural Support Service measure Support for Investments in Agricultural Farms. The farm will be built by the Estonian company Mapri OŪ, and the project is scheduled to be completed by the end of December 2016.

As the farm owner pointed out, despite the current difficult situation in the industry, the dairy farm is being expanded, seeing sales opportunities in the niche product market.

"We currently have 70 cows, but the new farm will have room for another 120 cows. Although the situation in the industry is difficult, and purchase prices are below cost, we do not intend to liquidate or reorient production. The farm will be very modern, with the latest technology, compliant with all environmental requirements, so we will be able to process milk completely without residues," said Jakovina.

She also noted that the milk produced is fully utilized by producing niche products under the Mans piens brand on the farm.

"We specialize in the production of more than ten types of yogurt and salad dressings. There is also a great demand for fresh cheese balls, and we have just started producing sweet cheese balls. The products have a short shelf life, because we do not use preservatives, so we are not thinking about exporting and will continue to cooperate with store chains. The expansion of the farm will allow us to increase the production of these products accordingly, ensuring a full production cycle and independence from milk buyers or processors," said the owner of the farm.

According to information from Firmas.lv, Veckūkuri's turnover in 2014 was 454,457 euros compared to 429,292 euros a year ago, but profit was 20,813 euros compared to 19,915 euros in 2013.

Veckūkuri employs six people, and Jakovina is the sole owner of the farm.

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Information prepared by:
National Information Agency LETA