Why Our Milk
Fresh. Natural. Local. Sustainable.
Our passion is providing the local Oamaru community with fresh whole milk, direct from the cow to the consumer.
We believe in a sustainable model, with calves left on cows, reusable glass bottles and any unsold milk is given back to our calves.
Whilst we are not a certified organic farm, we are committed to operating in a natural and sustainable manner and we do follow organic farming practices and philosophies, we don't use chemical fertilisers and our pastures are spray free.
Pasteurised or Homogenised?
Pasteurisation
Our milk is pasteurised, which allows us to make our product available for sale at selected local Oamaru retailers.
We use a low temperature pasteurisation procedure which involves heating the milk to 67c for 5 minutes and then cooling before bottling.
Pasteurisation kills any harmful microbes in the milk without affecting the taste or nutritional value.
Homogenisation
We choose not to homogenise our milk. Homogenization is the process of spinning the milk at very high speeds, which breaks up the components of the cream into small enough particles that it remains suspended evenly in the milk. We like to keep our milk as natural as possible, and our milk is full cream. This means that the cream will rise to the top of the bottle. You can choose to shake it in or pour it off on your Weetbix or porridge in the morning!
Raw Milk
We are not registered to sell raw milk.
Keep Our Milk at Its Very Best
Once a day milking.. better for cows, people and better milk
Pasteurised milk has a used by date of 10 days. After every milking our milk goes directly to the pasteuriser and into the bottle. Our pastuerised milk will be a maximum of 2 days old when delivered to your house.
Follow these simple steps to ensure our milk is kept at its very best.
- Use a chilly bag/bin to transport your milk home from the farm shop or supermarket.
- Keep your milk refrigerated at all times.
- Keep your milk out of direct sunlight.
Sustainability and Happy Cows
We strongly believe that it is possible to have ‘Happy Cows’ and a sustainable business, and this is why we leave our calves with the cow.
Our cows are milked once a day...better for cows, people and better milk. After every milking the milk goes directly to the pasteuriser and into the bottle. Any unsold milk is discarded and used for calves.
We milk up to 15 cows on our farm here in Oamaru, but have a herd of 25 to allow us to have continuous supply throughout the year. Our herd is made up of a mix of Ayrshires, Friesians and Jersey cows plus Piggles, a black, curly-haired lowline Angus bull.
Do you milk year round?
We milk all year round. Our operation is unique in that we spread the cow's calving dates throughout the year, meaning we have consistent production and quality throughout the year.
What do you feed your cows?
Our cows are fed on a full grass (or grass baleage/silage) based diet.
Do you use antibiotics on your cows?
If we have a cow that has an infection which we cannot clear up by natural means, yes we will use antibiotics as we believe it is in the cows best interest.
The cow is then marked and separated from the herd. Her milk is discarded until there is no traces of antibiotics in the milk.
What type/breeds of cow do you have?
We have a mix of Ayrshires, Friesians and Jersey cows plus Piggles, a black, curly-haired lowline Angus bull.
How many cows are in your herd?
We milk up to 15 cows but have a herd of 25 to allow us to have continuous supply throughout the year.