Kāpiti Coast roadside raw milk sales boom at Faith Farm Fresh’s red shed

Faith Farm sells unpasteurised milk from an automated outlet south of Ōtaki. Photo / RNZ, Sally Round

By Sally Round of RNZ

Heading along the Kāpiti Coast’s old state highway, you might spy a black and white cow on top of a shiny red shed.

Not a real cow, mind you.

It’s a sign to pull off and pick up some milk, fresh from the cows grazing just over the fence.

The customers come and go from Faith Farm Fresh, filling bottles and loading chilly bins at the fancy automated machines.

Keeping the milk flowing here is all in a day’s work for dairy farmer Stacey Faith, who, with her husband Andrew and farm workers, milks 360 cows at their farm between Ōtaki and Waikanae.

“You know, it’s all about being local and fresh,” one of the Faiths’ regulars said, topping up a glass bottle with milk from the dispenser.

She was used to unpasteurised milk as a child, brought home in a bucket straight from the udder.

Most of the Faith’s milk goes to Fonterra, but 20 of the Friesians form the “raw herd”, producing only A2 milk, and milked separately to supply the roadside shop with unpasteurised milk - also known as raw milk.

“We had no clue when we opened well over five, nearly five and a half years ago now,” Stacey Faith said.

“I mean, we sat down with the bank, and they said, ‘Oh, well, how much would you like to sell a day?’ and we thought 100 litres would be good. And we average now 300 litres a day.”

In New Zealand, milk bought in shops must be pasteurised.

Consumers are also allowed to buy raw milk, but producers must be registered, meet hygiene requirements, test milk for pathogens, keep records of sales and make sure consumers are aware of the risks of consuming raw milk.

Faith said many of her customers have told her raw milk helps their ailments.

Stacey Faith of Faith Farm Fresh. Photo / RNZ, Sally Round

“A lot of our customers come here because they’re diabetic, they have psoriasis, they have skin conditions.

“I’m a dairy farmer. I’m not a doctor.

“This is what our customers tell us, it’s better for their health.”

A customer collects a week's worth of milk from Faith Farm Fresh Photo / RNZ, Sally Round

The demand has surprised them.

On the odd occasion, she said they’ve even had to close their doors, “because we had no milk until we milked the cows. And then it was just catch up that whole week, trying to get them back to milking three, four o’clock that afternoon.”

The big 18-wheeler trucks used to stop before the new highway opened, Faith said.

There is a strict cleaning regime for the raw milk herd. Photo / RNZ, Sally Round

They would take bottles of the milk to Auckland, but that’s stopped now that the little red shed is on a side road.

“We’re allowed 30 hours to sell the milk, but we sell out sometimes before 24 hours.”

With the special hygiene and testing regime required for raw milk, it’s all a lot of extra work for the busy dairy farmers.

One of them must always be available between 6am and 10pm every day of the year, in case there’s a coin jam or one of the pumps stops working.

“So, you get a phone call, ‘I’ve only got half a bottle of milk’, you’ve got to come down and sort it out.’”

The calves' feed is mixed and piped automatically to feeding stalls. Photo / RNZ, Sally Round

The cows must be specially cleaned at milking time too, taking at least twice as long as the main herd, which supplies Fonterra.

The milk from the main herd will be pasteurised - heated to a high temperature to kill bacteria - once it reaches the processing plant.

“As a place that sells raw milk, that’s the only thing we don’t have control of … people coming in and filling a dirty bottle.

“We do everything in our power to make it as clean as we can.”

Calving a niche

Stacey rears some 300-plus calves during the season. Photo / RNZ, Sally Round

The need to keep the milk taps flowing year-round means calving is an extended season for the Faiths.

On top of tending to the shed, testing and working as a swim coach, Faith will rear 300-plus calves this season, with the help of some automated feeding machines.

Apart from the Friesians reared as replacements for the two herds, her meatier Hereford cross calves are sold to be grown on by lifestyle block owners nearby.

While she takes it all in her stride, all the extra work the little red shed involves prompts the question: what’s the point?

“I just love the idea that we’re getting rid of plastic because we’ve got glass bottles … how it used to be back in the day.

“It’s great to see so many people bringing the bottles back to refill.”

She also likes supporting local suppliers and enterprises like the local MenzShed, where the bottle crates are made.

“It’s all got to be good for the planet and sustainability, supporting all the local people.”

- RNZ