NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / New Zealand

Raw milk suppliers Lindsay Farm say sting by MPI has made demand soar

By Sahiban Hyde
Hawkes Bay Today·
6 Jul, 2020 06:00 PM4 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

    Reminder, this is a Premium article and requires a subscription to read.

L-R Paul Ashton, Ange Brooks, Mike Ashton, owners of Lindsay Farm, Waipukurau. Photo / Warren Buckland

L-R Paul Ashton, Ange Brooks, Mike Ashton, owners of Lindsay Farm, Waipukurau. Photo / Warren Buckland

A raid of a popular Hawke's Bay raw milk producer was supposed to "gather evidence of offending". But Lindsay Farm says it has only fuelled a backlash that has it now struggling to keep up with demand. Sahiban Hyde reports.

Lindsay Farm was raided by the Ministry for Primary Industries eight months ago. Then came an ironic twist.

The Government's dramatic intervention in the raw milk market, part of a nationwide sting on unregistered or non-compliant raw milk suppliers, struck a nerve in the Hawke's Bay community.

Letters of support flooded in. More than 29,000 signed a petition to Minister of Agriculture and Food Safety Damien O'Connor to "Save our raw milk farms".

Suddenly Lindsay Farm's product was a commodity worth fighting for.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The family-owned operation in Central Hawke's Bay, run by Paul and Christine Ashton, Christine's father, Bryan Donovan, son Mike Ashton and daughter Ange Brooks, says that's translated to sales.

"We've had a huge increase in demand since the articles [about the raid] were published," Brooks told Hawke's Bay Today.

She said Lindsay Farm had picked up at least 100 new customers.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

It is now pleading with MPI to change its regulations around the delivery of raw milk, so it can cater to the spike that MPI in part caused by its raid.

READ MORE:
• Premium - Raided Hawke's Bay raw milk supplier Lindsay Farm thanks supporters, considers legal options
• Premium - 'Unfit for purpose': Raided raw milk producer Lindsay Farm calls MPI's bluff
• Premium - MPI raid of Lindsay Farm's raw milk supplies sends ripples across Hawke's Bay
• Premium - 'They are scrupulous': Anger as Hawke's Bay raw milk supplier 'raided' by MPI

MPI regulations allow raw milk (which is not pasteurised, standardised or homogenised) to be sold by farmers, but only on-premises or through delivery to a customer's home.

But Brooks says Lindsay Farm wanted to be able to deliver the raw milk to collection points and vending machines in town.

Covid-19 had sped up the need even more, she said.

"Post Covid-19 lockdown people are beginning to see the health benefits of raw milk, and we are struggling to keep up with demand," she said.

"We've had to dry off some cows because of the drought but we are still able to supply the raw milk."

Milking cows on Lindsay Farm. Photo / Warren Buckland
Milking cows on Lindsay Farm. Photo / Warren Buckland

Lindsay Farm has never signed up for MPI's regulated raw milk scheme, but will if changes are made to drop-off and vending-machine rules, Brooks said.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"We met up with Damien O'Connor [Agriculture Minister] before lockdown in February. He was more than happy with us to make proposals as long as they met the food safety guidelines.

"We wanted to be able to use collection points and vending machines in town. The way collection points would work is a customer would pre-purchase and pre-pay for their milk and then collect it.

"The vending machine in town would cater to a wider group of the community. They would pre-load a card and purchase.

"Damien wanted to resolve the issue, but if MPI pursues prosecution we will fight back."

Ange Brooks, co-owner of Lindsay Farm, wants MPI to change regulations to help raw milk producers like them. Photo / Warren Buckland
Ange Brooks, co-owner of Lindsay Farm, wants MPI to change regulations to help raw milk producers like them. Photo / Warren Buckland

Paul Ashton said he wanted MPI to adopt the best-practice safety methods that Lindsay Farm and other raw milk producers use.

"We want MPI to work with raw milk providers like us to help the growth and sustainability of quality, small-scale farming enterprises that can conveniently and safely satisfy the growing consumer demand for raw milk."

Brooks added the current structure around signing up for the raw milk scheme was simply "not working".

She said briefings published by MPI showed it was losing funds because there weren't as many raw milk suppliers who had signed up to the scheme as they originally hoped for.

MPI's Director of Compliance Services, Gary Orr, declined to comment in detail on Lindsay Farm's comments.

"The investigations into some raw drinking milk suppliers are ongoing so we won't be able to comment on them," he said.

"Our position on the requirements for the sale of raw drinking milk to consumers has not changed — these rules are in place to protect public health."

At the time of the raid, done after a two-year review of the Raw Milk for Sale to Consumers Regulations 2015, MPI's manager of food compliance, Melinda Sando, said the purpose of the co-ordinated site visits was to gather evidence of the offending and to allow further investigation of non-compliant sales.

Save

    Share this article

    Reminder, this is a Premium article and requires a subscription to read.

Latest from Business

Premium
Media InsiderUpdated

'Not normal': Bare-bottom Lotto skier tops ad complaints; RNZ ratings woes - ex-news boss called in for review

10 Jul 06:04 PM
Premium
Opinion

Matthew Hooton: The case for abolishing regional councils in NZ

10 Jul 05:00 PM
Premium
Shares

Market close: NZ shares flat as Australian regulator clears path for Fonterra consumer sale

10 Jul 06:22 AM

Audi offers a sporty spin on city driving with the A3 Sportback and S3 Sportback

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Business

Premium
'Not normal': Bare-bottom Lotto skier tops ad complaints; RNZ ratings woes - ex-news boss called in for review

'Not normal': Bare-bottom Lotto skier tops ad complaints; RNZ ratings woes - ex-news boss called in for review

10 Jul 06:04 PM

Tears as Stuff editor leaves; big ad account switches agencies; who will buy iconic mags?

Premium
Matthew Hooton: The case for abolishing regional councils in NZ

Matthew Hooton: The case for abolishing regional councils in NZ

10 Jul 05:00 PM
Premium
Market close: NZ shares flat as Australian regulator clears path for Fonterra consumer sale

Market close: NZ shares flat as Australian regulator clears path for Fonterra consumer sale

10 Jul 06:22 AM
Top 5 takeaways from Samsung's super-slim foldable phone and watch event

Top 5 takeaways from Samsung's super-slim foldable phone and watch event

10 Jul 05:00 AM
Gold demand soars amid global turmoil
sponsored

Gold demand soars amid global turmoil

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP