The growth in milk vending opportunities for Irish dairy farmers reflects the growing consumer interest in sourcing food and drinks that have been produced on their doorsteps.
According to Nesty marketing manager, Kieran Holloway, there are currently 10 applications to install milk vending machines under review by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM).
He told Agriland: “We hope to have our first machine installed on a farm in the Wexford area over the coming weeks.
“Installing a machine in a local supermarket outlet is another option for farmers wishing to sell direct to the consumer.
“In this case, official permission will be required from both the Department of Agriculture and the Health Service Executive [HSE].”
Milk types in milk vending machines
Holloway confirmed that vending machines, in theory, can offer full fat, semi-skimmed and skim milk.
“It all depends on the content of the storage tank behind the machine. But, in reality, farm vending machines will primarily offer pasteurised, full-fat milk. This reflects the limited scope on farms to go beyond this offering,” he explained.
Driving this trend is the growing willingness on the part of consumers to pay a premium price for milk and other food products that they know have been produced in their own localities.
“Supporting local farmers is a trend that started to gather momentum across Europe and the UK a number of years ago,” Holloway added.
“Ireland is now playing catch up. Not every Irish consumer will want to pay a premium price for the milk they drink.
“But enough are willing to demonstrate this level of commitment, in order to make vending a sustainable proposition for a growing number of dairy farmers in this country.”
Direct sales by dairy farmers
Significantly, the Nesty representative doesn’t think that the likes of Glanbia and Dairygold will baulk too much at the prospect of direct farm sales eroding their own well-established liquid milk businesses.
Holloway continued: “In the first instance, we are talking of very small volumes of milk per farm, possibly in the region of 200L per day.
“In addition, the big dairy co-ops could take the view that milk vending represents an exercise in corporate social responsibility, given that it’s their farmer-suppliers who are reaching out to local communities across the country in such a proactive manner.
“Milk vending fully complements the ongoing drive associated with automated sales. The customer coming on to the farm, simply interacts with the machine, paying with his or her cash card.
“But it won’t suit every dairy farm. Location is everything. If the business cannot secure a large enough public footfall, then the numbers won’t add up,” he concluded.