Collection: Inglenook Dairy

GENERATIONS OF DAIRY FARMING THAT EVOLVED INTO PRODUCERS

Inglenook Dairy was established in December 2011 as a result of the family farm struggling to make a make ends meet.

Instead of watching their families hard work getting sold to processing plants for bottom dollar, the family decided to take the bold step of manufacturing milk themselves. This gave them the opportunity to offer the market the top quality product that was lacking and sustainability for their farm.

Not really knowing what the process for manufacturing a consumable product was proved a challenge itself without adding to it the complexity of designing and building a plant that could facilitate the industry requirements.

Many hours of research lead to Troy designing the factory and managing the whole project with the help of Rachael and other family members.

The project took a long two years to construction as Troy was working a second job to raise the funds whilst Rachael was also raising three small children.

As funds were very tight they had to do most of the work themselves on weekends, with the help of family members, however it proved the invaluable intimate knowledge of the equipment and process required to create quality milk.

Their parents Basil and Sheila Britt (who were integral contributors to the Ballarat dairy industry for decades) were also an incredible source of industry and emotional support to them through this whole journey, Our dad has always said “you can do anything if you are willing to get your hands dirty and work hard” Racheal recalls.

An ethos that still rings true today whilst they work in their business.

INGLENOOK DAIRY HISTORY

With the plant up and running and with no experience in marketing or business development they turned to the media to try engage locals in their story.

With support from Ten News, The Project, Landline, The Age, The Epicure, Herald Sun, Stock and Land, The Courier, Ballarat Lifestyle magazine and Southern Rural News, Inglenook Dairy is now distributing their products all across Victoria.

Inglenook Dairy now has a respected name in the dairy industry and has earned a reputation for the quality of their product, winning many industry awards such as, Paddock to Plate Best Business, Champion Milk in Royal Melbourne Fine Food Award, “Best in Class” RASV, Gold in DIAA and selected in top three milks in Australia in the 2016 Australian Grand Dairy Awards.

Having now established a name for themselves, the focus of their business has shifted to growing it in order to provide sustainability for more dairy farmers in the community that continue to struggle with the climatic changes and the price their milk is purchased for.