Notts dairy farm with milk vending machine now selling ‘honesty box’ ice cream

Video: Hugh Casswell checks out the new products on offer and tries the vending machine

A Notts dairy farm which installed its very own milk vending machine is now expanding its service to include ice cream and various meats.

Following the installation of a way for people to get their milk directly from the source, New Holbeck Farm near Southwell now sells a third of all of its milk through the machine which has been running for 10 months.

The farm has now branched out into selling ice cream, stewing steaks, mince and burgers.

There is a future in going about it this way

Dairy farmer Tom Sharman said: “With the ice cream, we get another local supplier who takes our milk and makes the ice cream for us; we also moved into selling the basic meats which are made by a local butcher but using our cattle.”

“I think there is a future in going about it this way but I don’t think you can ever fully cut out the middle man.

“In the last 18 months, a lot of farmers have struggled to break even with most dairy farmers making a loss.”