Amid the crisis in Western Australia’s struggling dairy industry, one producer has bucked the trend of businesses exiting the sector, releasing its own branded milk product on the state’s supermarket shelves.
Despite doubts over its future viability just more than 12 months ago, the 81-year-old family owned Bannister Downs dairy business is now selling its uniquely packaged milk at fresh food specialist retailer Herdsman Fresh.
And there are plans to grow the number of outlets in Perth, according to owner Sue Daubney, who runs the farm with her husband, Mat.
“We currently produce about 2,000 litres a week, but plant capacity is much more,” Mrs Daubney told WA Business News.
The limited milking capacity of the farm’s dairy herd opens the possibility for the purchase of additional milk supplies from farmers in the region surrounding the farm, located just outside the scenic South West town of Northcliffe.
With the help of a $162,000 Regional Partnerships grant, the Daubneys constructed a factory next to their dairy, relocating a processing plant sourced from Queensland. The first milk was processed on-farm earlier this year and has been available in the South West since the end of August.
The family also signed an exclusive rights agreement for WA with Swedish packaging company Ecoclean for the use of its Leanpack Air Pouch. The machine used to make the pouches is the only one in the Southern Hemisphere, according to Mrs Daubney.
The Ecoclean pouch is made from 65 per cent calcium carbonate (chalk) and features an inflatable handle for easy pouring. It is also environmentally friendly, since it involves no oil and little water in production, she said.
“We’re pretty passionate about caring for the environment,” Mrs Daubney said.
Established in 1924, the Daubney family dairy farm moved into the beef industry in 1971, but returned to dairy farming in 1994.
Mrs Daubney said national deregulation of the industry five years ago – which has reduced the number of farmers by more than a third, according to some estimates – nearly forced them out, but a love for dairy meant they couldn’t walk away.
Bannister Downs will also look to capitalise on the South West tourism industry, and has plans to open its operations to the public in January next year, with factory-door product tastings and sales.
