I farm: “In partnership with my parents, James and Ruth. We run 250 Holstein Friesian cows on 250 acres of grassland outside Portrush on the north Antrim coast.”

Family: “I am married to Alison and we have a son, Edward, who has just turned one.”

Herd details: “The herd is predominantly autumn-calving with the bulk of cows calving during September and October. Calving usually finishes up in late January to early February. Cows yielded 8,800 litres in the last lactation with 3.25% protein and 4% butterfat. We have made use of zero-grazing systems in the past, but we have started to improve fencing and laneways, so that we can increase the number of days cows can spend at grass.”

Selling milk to the public: “We have just invested in a new vending machine and started to sell milk direct to the public in the past week. This will add value to our produce. Customers can buy milk by the litre in reusable glass bottles, which we also offer, thereby reducing plastic use. The machine also dispenses smaller bottles of flavoured milk for kids. All milk sold through the machine is fresh on the day and pasteurised. We are aiming to start off selling around 50 litres daily.”

Research: “We had thought about ways to diversify for a number of years and gave serious thought to selling milk direct to the public back in December. At the end of January, Alison and I visited a number of farms in Somerset using vending machines to sell milk and got advice on the best way forward. Alison works within the food industry and has been heavily involved in getting the project off the ground.”

Building sales: “It will take time to build up milk sales. But there is a lot of tourism in this area and we are close to caravan parks. It would be great to see the tourists coming to us every day for fresh milk.”

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