The Country
  • The Country home
  • Latest news
  • Audio & podcasts
  • Opinion
  • Dairy farming
  • Sheep & beef farming
  • Rural business
  • Rural technology
  • Rural life
  • Listen on iHeart radio

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • Coast & Country News
  • Opinion
  • Dairy farming
  • Sheep & beef farming
  • Horticulture
  • Animal health
  • Rural business
  • Rural technology
  • Rural life

Media

  • Podcasts
  • Video

Weather

  • Kaitaia
  • Whāngarei
  • Dargaville
  • Auckland
  • Thames
  • Tauranga
  • Hamilton
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Tokoroa
  • Te Kuiti
  • Taumurunui
  • 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

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.
Premium
Home / The Country

'Unfit for purpose': Raided raw milk producer Lindsay Farm calls MPI's bluff

By Sahiban Hyde
Hawkes Bay Today·
10 Feb, 2020 11:00 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.

Crates of raw milk being sent across Hawke's Bay. Photo / Supplied

Crates of raw milk being sent across Hawke's Bay. Photo / Supplied

A raw milk farm raided by the Ministry for Primary Industries has called the bluff of the Government, saying it will refuse to sign up to mandatory regulations.

Lindsay Farm in Waipukurau, one of New Zealand's largest raw milk producers, says MPI's regulation of the raw milk industry is "unfit for purpose" and must change.

But MPI has fired back, saying "rules exist for a reason" and unregistered suppliers are "putting consumer health at risk".

Lindsay Farm was raided in December as part of nationwide raids on unregistered or non-compliant raw milk suppliers.

MPI conducted the raids after a two-year review of the Raw Milk for Sale to Consumers Regulations 2015.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

READ MORE:
• Premium - MPI raid of Lindsay Farm's raw milk supplies sends ripples across Hawke's Bay
• Premium - Raided Hawke's Bay raw milk supplier Lindsay Farm thanks supporters, considers legal options
• Lindsay Farm opening gates to public
• Premium - 'They are scrupulous': Anger as Hawke's Bay raw milk supplier 'raided' by MPI

Lindsay Farm is a family-owned operation run by Paul and Christine Ashton, Christine's father Bryan Donovan, Mike Ashton, their eldest son, and Ange Brooks, their eldest daughter.

It did not sign up to MPI's regulations, but established a farm partnership which allowed former customers to join at no cost, becoming partners in the ownership of their herd of cows.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

They take care of the cows and milk them, and volunteers of the partnership deliver milk to a collection point of their choice, with partners paying for the service.

Paul Ashton said they believed they always acted within the law, and will not register to the regulatory framework they consider unfit for purpose.

"We have a successful and safe operation that works for our customers, who are being denied freedom of choice by the regulations," he said.

"Our food safety procedures are best-practice. We exceed the regulatory guidelines for harvesting, testing, bottling and storing our milk."

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

The regulations also impose an audit scheme on farmers that many see as onerous, expensive and ineffective, Ashton said.

Mike Ashton milking cows at Lindsay Farm, one of NZs largest raw milk suppliers. Photo / Supplied.
Mike Ashton milking cows at Lindsay Farm, one of NZs largest raw milk suppliers. Photo / Supplied.

Ashton said the regulations failed to address logistical, food safety, and environmental concerns associated with distribution.

"As the regulations stand, people have to travel a long way to a farm to collect milk from a vending machine, or producers have to deliver the milk to people's gates or mail boxes," Ashton said.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"This is expensive and time-consuming for everyone. And when milk is delivered, it can be left out in the sun for longer than is desirable. It's also not great for the carbon footprint.

"We want to be able to deliver raw milk every day to clean, safe, certified and chilled collection points, so that people can come and collect their milk," he said.

"Our position is that there is no justification for the action that MPI has taken against Lindsay Farm and other producers. There is a more sensible way of doing things."

At the time of the raid 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.

Ashton wanted MPI to work with raw milk producers to allow collection points for raw milk customers, and adopt the best-practice safety methods that they 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."

Mark Houston, a Takaka farmer who chairs the Raw Milk Producers Association of New Zealand (RMPANZ), representing 35 members including Lindsay Farm, agreed with the need for change.

"When the regulations were about to be introduced in 2016, the Association said that the regulations went too far in banning collection points, which reduces access for consumers, especially in urban areas. We continue to hold this view."

Houston said public consultation on the regulations showed overwhelming support for raw milk producers.

A petition to Parliament at change.org that started last December, "Save our raw milk farms", attracted 5000 signatures by Christmas, and now has more than 18,000.

An MPI spokeswoman said: "By not adhering to the rules for selling raw drinking milk, unregistered suppliers are putting consumer health at risk."

She said rules existed for a reason and consumers wanted to be able to trust their source of raw milk.

"Investigation into the conduct of Lindsay Farms in respect of the supply of raw drinking milk is ongoing. We are unable to comment on further detail."

Save

    Share this article

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

Latest from The Country

The Country

The Country: Is Winston more popular than ever?

The Country

Canada agrees to $157m dairy deal after NZ trade dispute

The Country

Worry and speculation as manager of Molesworth Station resigns


Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from The Country

The Country: Is Winston more popular than ever?
The Country

The Country: Is Winston more popular than ever?

Winston Peters, Bryce McKenzie, Chris Brandolino, and Zoe Carter.

18 Jul 01:54 AM
Canada agrees to $157m dairy deal after NZ trade dispute
The Country

Canada agrees to $157m dairy deal after NZ trade dispute

17 Jul 10:51 PM
Worry and speculation as manager of Molesworth Station resigns
The Country

Worry and speculation as manager of Molesworth Station resigns

17 Jul 09:20 PM


Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

06 Jul 09:47 PM
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