Southland milk business expands offering

Beth Henderson, of Henderson Dairy Farm Fresh Milk, has been busy delivering raw milk and a new product, pasteurised milk, to customers during lockdown. Photo / Sandy Eggleston

Henderson Dairy has added another string to its farm-fresh products bow - pasteurised milk.

The business is owned by Beth and Geoff Henderson, who have been dairy farming at Pukerau for more than 25 years.

Mrs Henderson said the couple had converted a container to food-grade quality and installed a pasteurising and chiller plant in it.

"Having gone pasteurised just as the lockdown started, we're delivering that to customers as well as raw" Henderson said.

The couple started selling raw milk in 2015.

In order to supply raw milk to customers it had to be delivered to the door but the pasteurised product could be sold in shops.

So far three Gore businesses - the town's Night 'n Day, Esplins Dairy and Broughton St Discounter - stocked the milk.

There were strict hygiene rules as to how often raw milk should be tested to make sure it was safe to drink, but even so some people were cautious about trying it, she said.

However, the new product was becoming popular.

"We've got quite a few more customers coming in".

The same A2 grade-tested cows provided milk for both products.

Some research had found milk high in the A2 form of casein protein caused fewer allergic reactions in people than milk which also contained the A1 form.

While A2 milk was "the in thing at the moment" the couple were not charging more for it.

There were between 20 and 25 cows in the herd.

"We've got a few newly calving cows for over the winter to give us extra milk and to give the girls that are in calf a rest".

She had been very busy during lockdown as the demand for fresh products had increased.

"Our business has built up because people haven't wanted to leave their homes — they wanted their milk dropped off and others are now realising they want to support the locals".