Great Dalby farmers start selling milk from vending machine close to their cows

The family-run Vine Farm has set up a vending machine for visitors to draw off their own supply from the 350-strong dairy herd.

Customers can either bring their own container or buy a reusable glass bottle or plastic container and they will pay £1 a litre for their milk.

The machine is filled up with fresh milk every day and is available from 7am until 7pm.

Richard and James Mann run the farm with their partners Beth and Charlotte.

James said: “We decided to set up the milk vending machine business to give the public the opportunity to enjoy fresh milk direct from the farm.

“Our milk is pasteurised through a gentle heating process but is non-homogenised.

“This means you will still get an old fashioned cream line on the top and you can easily mix it back in or scoop it off if you prefer.”

The family have farmed there for more than a century and their current herd is a mix of Montbeliardé, Holstein and Jersey breeds.

The dairy side was set up in the 1950s by Nean and Peter Chandler, who hand-milked two cows in the yard at the original Vine Farm house.

The Top End farm has had long-term family ties with Long Clawson Dairy and it now supplies more than 8.000 litres of milk a day to the business.

The Chandlers’ daughter, Ruth, and her husband Phil, ran the farm before their sons took it over.

There is plenty of demand already for the vending machine milk, which was launched this week.

James added: “We’ve seen lots of villagers walking through the village with their re-usable bottles after visiting the machine.

“Children have been saying our milk makes the best milkshake they’ve ever had, and we’ve had lots of nice compliments from people who have tasted it.

“The vending machine has really helped re-connect villagers with the farm.”