The Groat family has been running a dairy farm for over 60 years at their home in Banchory-Devenick, Aberdeenshire. The Devenick Dairy is situated in Bishopston Farm, just south of Aberdeen in Deeside. Owner Richard Groat has been working on the farm since he left school.

“My dad started with just six cows, and by the time I took over the farm it went up to 100,” Richard says. “Then it went up to 180 cows at one time and now it’s back down to around 100.”

The family owns 160 acres and in addition it rents a further 160 acres for its herd, made up of a mix of British Friesians and Jerseys. Richard and his family have been working to ensure that for the first time the herd will be ready for all calving to take place at the start of spring next year.

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Richard takes great pride in the fact that throughout the changes the farm has gone through in recent years, including the move into producing its own cheeses and with the recent creation of The Tin Coo cafe, the family still maintains a traditional farm. The cows are kept outside on grass for six to seven months each year, to ensure their quality free-range milk.

Previously the farm was selling all milk onto large commercial companies, but in 2006 the family decided to keep the milk instead and use it to create its own unique products.

At the farm, there is a strong focus on family and Richard is certainly not alone in his job. He works alongside his two sons, Kenny and Ian, as well as his sister, niece and nephew, who help to promote the farm at various markets and events.

Richard’s main role on the farm is that of head cheesemaker, while Kenny takes care of the more commercial and retail side of the business and Ian focuses on the farming. With their business currently going through some changes, Richard says his role is also evolving more towards the sales side of the business.

“The whole business has been family driven. It’s never just one person. It’s always been that way,” he says.

“There’s always new stuff to think about. I’ve been milking for 22 years, I’ve been cheese-making for 10 years and now I’m moving more to sales.”

Between the farm, shop and the latest addition of the new cafe, The Tin Coo, there are around 20 people working at the dairy farm, including a butcher and three chefs. The busy farm also attends various markets and trade shows throughout the year. In addition, it provides a wholesale business and supplies cheeses and other products to over 200 suppliers across Scotland.

Richard explains that they have just recently hired a new manager to help run the cafe.

“I think the new manager will bring up this side of the business,” he says. “When I first started six months ago it was an achievement to make a cup of coffee and a panini. Now we have all sorts on our menu.”

Following on from the recent success of some of their events, such as the first cheese and wine tasting evening earlier in the month, Richard says that he would like to explore the possibility of the cafe remaining open later to provide evening meals.

Understanding the food

With the creation of The Tin Coo cafe on the farm, Richard is hoping not only to provide a setting for customers to enjoy their products, but he also hopes that the design of the cafe and shop will help provide an education to visitors.

Building the cafe was another family venture and Richard took a lot of inspiration for the design following on from a visit to New Zealand. They began work last September and the cafe was completed in April this year.

Parts of the shop and cafe have been recycled from other buildings and the butchery and children’s soft play areas were previously farm buildings used to store barley and sheep.

“The whole farm has been turned upside down. There’s hardly anything the same,” Richard says.

The more unusual aspect of the shop and cafe is the Milking Live window, which allows customers to watch the cows getting milked in the parlour. The butchery also features a viewing window for visitors to watch the butcher at work, preparing the rose veal, beef and pork available in the shop.

“The idea here was to show the public where their food comes from. They can come here and get up close to the source,” says Richard.

Looking to the future

Over the Christmas period, the Devenick Dairy will fulfil around 700 Christmas orders with various hampers and products.

The farm also buys in turkeys to sell and they aim to sell around 100 of them before Christmas.

However, the dairy farm has had to work even harder following the oil crisis in Aberdeen.

“Last year we clawed it back,” says Richard.

“All the work we’ve done. It’s a huge risk to take in the middle of a recession.

Richard hopes to see more of the Devenick Dairy products across Scotland, not just in the northeast, particularly in Edinburgh and across the central belt.

“We’re quite lucky in the northeast. We have a big food industry with Mackies, Deans, The Mart and Taste of Grampian.

“We’re lucky to be in this food hub.”

Richard also ensures that his cheeses and products are part of the community food hub by getting creative and giving them names in the local dialect, Doric.

Looking ahead to next year, Richard hopes to build upon some of the successes that this year has brought the dairy and he aims to continue to grow and develop the cafe and shop side of the business.

“We did an open day in summer and we got around 400 folk on the day,” he says. “It went down a storm. My target for next year is to double my cheese production. I’ve got around 200 customers and I want to get another 200.”

As the Devenick Dairy continues evolve, Richard explains the changes that have been brought about: “The customer we had in the old shop was very different to now. Our new customer is the future and the kids that come here love to see what’s happening and how it all works.”