Debbie Allard and Sue Harnett have joined forces to establish a farmhouse cheese making enterprise on a small farm factory at Mooball near the village of Burringbar on the NSW Far North Coast. Both women have learned to work together as an effective team and juggle farming and family responsibilities. ‘Tweed Valley Whey Farmhouse Cheeses’ opened in April 2008 after many months of planning and completing three cheesemaking courses. The fledgling business processes about 500 litres of milk a week into about 10 different types of soft cheeses and yoghurts which Sue and Debbie sell through farmers’ markets and local shops. They have two children each, and husbands who have had to learn to be cheese widowers!

What gave you the motivation/inspiration to follow your dream?

Debbie: Sue and I had been friends for years and were involved in community activities such as restoring the local hall. We’d both seen an ABC Landline program on cheese making about four years ago and thought perhaps that was something we could do one day when the kids were a bit older. When a friend approached Sue about buying their milk to make cheese, both she and I decided it was time to give it a go. We did the course and then made cheese for about six months before we set up the factory. We use recipe books and have done other courses. Sue is the milk expert, being co-owner of a dairy farm for over 14 years, and her science background has been very useful.

Sue: We made a pact after doing the cheese course that we would make cheese every week no matter what. We needed to perfect the product and ensure we could make it to a consistent quality. We didn’t have any failures. We hosted lots of cheese ‘parties’ to get opinions and had lots of great feedback before taking the next step.

At what point did you realise that your dream was actually possible and what was it that made you think you could really do it?

Debbie: I gained a lot of experience in value adding when we had lots of excess passionfruit on our banana farm. I spent about four years selling the pulp to restaurants and that got us through some lean times. Just prior to starting the cheese making, I’d been working for a word-of-mouth marketing company, moving up the ranks to become national manager. I gained a lot of knowledge while I was there and went into the cheesemaking enterprise knowing that we wouldn’t have to do much marketing as the cheese would sell itself. This has proved correct. We produce a product that you can’t buy in the supermarket so there is virtually no competition.
We sell at local markets and my Dad has become our ‘celebrity chef’, demonstrating the products and helping with tastings.

Sue: The plan from the beginning was to make money. Debbie gave up work about three months before the factory was built and was able to do a lot of the research especially for the Safe Food requirements. We didn’t just start by making cheese for fun. We had a business plan and were focused.

When you were a child, what did you want to ‘be’ when you grew up?

Debbie: A fairy! I really didn’t know what I wanted to ‘be’. I fell into banking, spent time in the city, worked in the recording industry, travelled overseas and had a job at the local tourist centre in Murwillumbah. My marketing experiences have also been a real bonus.

Sue: I always loved plants and the country. I did my Higher School Certificate in Sydney, worked in secretarial jobs for a few years, and travelled around Australia doing temporary work before spending a year in Lismore studying applied science. I had my own nursery for a couple of years but gave that away when the dairy farm became too demanding.

How did your childhood influence you in later life?

Debbie: Dad was in the Navy and we travelled every two years overseas or within Australia. I learned to adapt to new situations. Dad retired to a farm in Burringbar when he was 40 and I was 16. I went to Murwillumbah High School and vowed I’d never marry a farmer. I met my farmer husband Jim on a blind date and here I am.

Sue: I am number 10 of 11 children and grew up in the city with a big extended family but always loved the country. I was 13 when my Mum died so I lived with older siblings while at high school. We would visit relatives on farms and in the Blue Mountains, so I am really happy to have ended up on a farm.

Who are your role models?

Debbie: Women like Madonna who push the boundaries.

Sue: I’m not sure there is any one person in particular but I have the greatest admiration for farmers who really battle against the odds and persevere when the going gets tough.

What does success mean to you?

Debbie: I’ve always wanted to have my own business rather than work for others. It is important to me that people are spreading the word about our cheese. We’ve had some articles in the local press which have generated a lot of interest. The more cheese we can make, the more money we make. It is great fun, but there comes a point where we have to stop because we are simply exhausted. The people of Burringbar are very excited and we really hope others can jump on the bandwagon with us and make our village a tourist destination.

Sue: Having a happy family, the ability to earn a decent living off the land, being proud of what you are doing and making a good product. With dairying we didn’t get any feedback about how good that last glass of milk was, but with the cheese we get immediate comments and it is very fulfilling.

What has been one of the biggest barriers you have had to face, what happened, and how did you overcome it?

Debbie: Our husbands and families not letting go of us! It has been quite difficult to ‘wean’ the family off me being there full time. It is a gradual process even though I had worked away from home quite a lot with my marketing job. My girls are 12 and 14 and run the house for me. They cook dinner and do the washing. They are fantastic. From day one we have made the factory a space only for the ‘cheese makers’. It has become our little escape haven. We have the best chocolate and gin and tonics there for when we work late.

Sue: Juggling a husband, the kids, a dairy farm and the cheese factory. We both have kids at school so we have to work around that as much as we can. I get up early and drop the milk at the factory. My two boys are 10 and 6. Debbie’s girls are a bit older and after they have caught the school bus she comes and takes over while I get my kids off to school. In the afternoons we always try to combine cheese drop-offs to shops with kid pickups. A huge hurdle happened on the day we got our Safe Food approval for the factory. We discovered we had an outbreak of cattle tick fever and lost our year’s replacement stock of heifers. Watching the cattle die was simply horrendous. It has been a big hill to climb back up as it has involved a lot of extra work.

Where do you see yourself in 10 years time? What is your vision for the future?

Debbie: Ultimately we hope to have a direct outlet from the farmhouse, run home-based cheesemaking training programs and employ local staff. We also don’t have the coolroom capacity for hard cheeses. These developments are very expensive. At this early stage we are still having fun and want to run everything ourselves. We don’t want to travel to sell our products. We want people to come to our village. Farmhouse cheeses are a niche market. We are using the milk and producing the cheese all on the farm.

Sue: I hope that I am older and wiser, that we are employing staff in the cheese factory, and that my husband Rob can have a break from dairying - he has worked seven days a week most of his working life.

What would you like to say to other women who may be just starting out on a Daring to Dream journey?

Debbie: Don’t do it by yourself! Get someone to come on board with you. We each have different strengths and qualities and neither of us could have done this without the help of the other. And we both have a good sense of humour which is so important. Do a lot of research. You don’t have to buy new equipment either. We bought lots of our factory gear second hand from e-bay and saved lots of money. Get over the fear factor and learn to be strong in dealing with tradespeople. Make sure you have a comprehensive plan on paper and don’t be afraid to ask lots of people to help you. We have been lucky to have a fantastic mentor, Graham Redhead from the Department of Primary Industries in Queensland, who has helped us with advice and information all along the way. We also listen to our customer comments and have made changes to accommodate these. It is so important to surround yourself with positive people and to show young people that hard work can lead to success. The age of forty comes quickly so there is no time for regrets.

Sue: We’d read in a business book that you should do as much planning as you can before you start a business, because once you start you won’t have the time. This is very true. If you can persevere and put in the pre-planning effort, the benefits will come. It is also important to do something you really want to do that gives a positive ‘vibe’.