Page 99 - Summer 2017 Journal

China, Japan, Southeast Asia and India.8 Additionally, the report analyzes factors that are driving growth of raw milk vending machines in each region; assesses market trends, growth opportunities and strategies to increase raw milk popularity; and examines market share and competi- tive strategies adopted by producers in the European raw milk market.8
There are three leading raw milk vending machine producers (DF Italia, Brunimat GmbH and ProMeteA SRL), which make up 87 percent of the market. As raw milk continues to grow in popularity, however, vending machine manufacturers are joining the game in India, China and other countries.16 This competition among producers has led to top- notch vending machines with improved ergonomics and new designs with even better sanitation and slots for products such as cheese, but- termilk, yogurt, chocolate milk and ice cream. In Slovenia, I witnessed
farmers using such machines to sell non-dairy products such as wine and olive oil directly to consumers. The sale of vegetables through vend- ing machines may also prove to be a lucrative business opportunity.8
REACTIONS BACK HOME
When I returned to the U.S. after my first
sighting of a raw milk vending machine, I wrote several blog posts about the machines.9 Americans and other readers posted generally positive comments. Interest in the U.S. intensi- fied after I spoke about the vending machines
RAW MILK VENDING MACHINES IN NEW ZEALAND
In New Zealand, according to a raw milk dairy called Village Milk, “enthusiasm for real milk has been growing” by leaps and bounds.13 The company’s website notes that “people love the taste, the health benefits and supporting their local farmer.” Village Milk sells raw milk and helps other farmers who wish to produce “the best, highest quality raw drinking milk possible,” including providing advice on using dispensing machines.
There are more than sixty raw milk producers in New Zealand, and the number continues to grow.31 Until last year, New Zealand’s dairy farmers could sell raw milk under a fifty-year-old law that allowed remote and rural customers to buy milk from their local farmer.32 Unfortunately, new regulations were introduced in March 2016 that could endanger smaller-scale raw milk producers.31 Under the new regulations,33 raw milk producers must file and pay for reports from a dairy assessor, complete various application forms and furnish documentation from a food quality standards agency.31 Dairy farmer Tim Jopson, who supplies three hundred customers with raw milk from a vending machine, estimates that his current administrative costs will more than double to ensure compliance with the regulations.31 According to Jopson, a dairy would need to produce at least six thousand liters annually to cover the cost, and this will be “the death of the cottage industry-style suppliers with less than six cows who rely solely on their raw milk sales income.”31 On the other hand, the new rules will allow for home delivery of fresh milk and remove an existing five-liter limit per customer. The chairman of the Raw Milk Producers Association of New Zealand, Ray Ridings, mostly supports the new regulations but believes that the regulators overstepped their bounds by eliminating collection points that have expanded consumer access.34 Ridings nonetheless states, “It’s important our industry has some regulations because the danger of having cowboys selling raw milk puts everyone at risk—both consumers and responsible producers.”34
A number of New Zealand farmers are using vending machines to sell raw milk. For example:
• Village Milk, owned by Mark Houston in Golden Bay, has on-farm sales of up to three hundred liters of raw milk a day from the farm’s raw milk vending machines. Houston reports that he has never had a “health scare” in four years of operation.32 The dairy’s website offers consumers recipes for mozzarella cheese, kefir, homemade butter, yogurt, milk punch and smoothies.13
• Carl and Jeannette Storey from Whitianga are “living their dream” operating a small “boutique operation” with a planned herd size of thirty Ayrshire cows. They purchased a raw milk vending machine to sell their milk. They also foresee selling soft cheese, yogurt and fresh fruit ice cream.35
• Pete and Margaret Dalziel of certified organic Dolly’s Milk in New Plymouth produce raw milk (“straight from the teat”) from their large herd of Friesian-Jersey crosses. They also distribute vending machines manufactured in the Czech Republic. With a “Dolly’s card,” consumers can purchase milk at a cheaper price.36
• In Christchurch, farmer Mark Williams sells fifty liters a day of Aylesbury Creamery milk from his herd of ten cows. He has been so successful that he plans to double his herd.37
• Jersey Girl Organics at Cleavedale Farms in Matamata sells milk (“straight from our herd to you”) that is pasteur- ized but not homogenized. The Jersey herd grazes on organic pasture. Jersey Girl Organics maintains dispensing machines in two locations and also sells their milk in a variety of retail outlets.38
Raw milk farm tourism has caught on in New Zealand as well. Breakfast at the Organic Dairy Farm BnB, located in Mangawhai in the Northland (featured on Booking.com), includes raw milk, yogurt and butter.39
SUMMER 2017
Wise Traditions
99