Fancy some farm-fresh milk...from a vending machine?

Fancy selling fresh milk straight from a farm – through a vending machine? That’s exactly what one farm has done over the past couple of weeks in the UK.

Vine Farm Dairy, situated in Great Dalby, Leicestershire, has recently installed “The Milk Shed” on the farm – which houses a new milk vending machine for customers to use in a self-service manner.

Opening for business on Thursday, September 13, the farm enterprise offers pasteurised, non-homogenised, whole milk to customers.

Highlighting environmental sustainability, patrons of the product are encouraged to bring their own containers to take the milk away in, while the farm also offers reusable glass bottles for sale on-site.

The farm uses the whole, non-homogenised element as a selling point, stressing the difference from “supermarket milk”, and encouraging consumers to “enjoy the cream line which rises to the top, or shake the bottle to mix it back in”.

Image source: Vine Farm Dairy Facebook page

Selling the milk for £1 per litre, the housed vending machine is available to use between 7:00am and 7:00pm on a daily basis.

The machine apparently takes notes and coins, while the farm is apparently open to looking into card payments in the future, should demand allow.

While it’s early days for the farm’s innovation yet, signs are promising; exactly a week on from opening, last Thursday evening (September 20) the vending machine ran out due to “the unprecedented amount of milk” sold.

Onlookers will doubtless be interested to see how this farm innovation progresses – will others follow suit to this farming feat?