- Location
- South Molton
Different skill set.
Increasing the cows numbers. Go from being a cow manager to being a person manager
milk vending machine
- Thread starter farmer notsurewhattodo
- Start date
Increasing the cows numbers. Go from being a cow manager to being a person manager
Whitewalker
Member
Whitewalker
Member
First thing mr vending machine told me was “ I can’t believe how friendly and supportive everyone has been “ which I very telling to me we have an impression of the general public as being hated or look down on when actually we need to re engage with our customers.
Holsteinfriesian90
Member
- Location
- Cornwall
How do you manage with Tb?
- Location
- Wormingford, Essex
Yes we definately do need to re engage with customers, not just on an industry level but individually too.
I wouldn't class myself as a people person but I (have to) do the odd stint in our farm shop. I've had to learn to bite my tongue, just this weekend one person asked if we do bacon without preservatives in it (er, yes, it's called pork), another complained that our milk is making her fat and then bought six doughnuts!
However, it's very rewarding talking to some, you get to hear lots of misconceptions about farming before having to explain that most of it is completely wrong. People just don't understand agriculture, and in fairness why would they? I wouldn't understand many of their jobs either. But bringing people onto the farm to buy milk, talk to the producer, a chance for them to see milking being done or just cows being cows can go along way to redress that.
It makes me wonder if the consumers have got disconnected from agriculture or if really agriculture has disconnected itself from the consumer.
Whitewalker
Member
Do you find it hard balancing supply and demand without a milk buyer ?
ollie989898
Member
I've talked to multiple members of the public since I was old enough to drive a tractor. It becomes addictive. Get enough folk interested and you could probably do a farm tour of sorts and charge them for the privilege. I can talk to anyone and when you have an obvious passion for the industry it gets easier and easier and easier because you already know the bulk of the details as you work with these numbers, facts and figures every day.
- Location
- Wormingford, Essex
Its an art I've yet to master. The reality is that you can't predict exactly who will turn up when. We've two Dairies that take milk to deliver and we've worked it so they come on different days, and then try and fit in everyone else. Sometimes we can't produce enough, other times we've too much. We separate cream when have a surplus, and make butter when we've a surplus of cream.
Never having had a milk contract/buyer, I've never known different.
Whitewalker
Member
Generally though you can work it not too bad by the sounds of it.
I often wonder would it be more beneficial like you to just produce the premium priced milk and slash costs dramatically and increase income dramatically and leave time to focus on other things.
it’s obviously a pipe dream but I’m always open to out the box thinking. I once joked about calving a cow a month and selling as much as possible direct. Does make for interesting thinking. @Tim G
I often wonder would it be more beneficial like you to just produce the premium priced milk and slash costs dramatically and increase income dramatically and leave time to focus on other things.
it’s obviously a pipe dream but I’m always open to out the box thinking. I once joked about calving a cow a month and selling as much as possible direct. Does make for interesting thinking. @Tim G
ollie989898
Member
I had a family farm client who lived right on a major arterial road with a posh town not 10 miles distance and 3 upmarket villages in spitting distance-, the entrance to their yard was literally opening on to this road too. The farm was always relatively tidy and the farmers wife had flowers, veg and the chickens pottering about etc, I pleaded with them time and time again to setup a milk vending machine but to no avail.
JD-Kid
Member
- Location
- Akaroa.. New Zealand
place I drive past on way back from work at lake has one
aylesburycreamery.co.nz
just selling raw milk have a big board with all the common Q and A things. about how farm run bit on the cows they are milking etc
have 2 machines one for new bottles and the milk machine cost $2.50 per lt and 2.50 for a new bottle
they also do a milk run not sure if they fill your bottles or do a swap a bottle deal
not open 24/7 tho and they did have a break in a while ago with some one taking the money out of the bottle machine
a bit of a movement on raw milk sales at moment
also selling eggs. and local cheeses in there small shop
Raw milk Christchurch - Aylesbury Creamery
Aylesbury Creamery produce high quality raw milk, based in Christchurch. Come visit one of our vending machines today!
aylesburycreamery.co.nz
have 2 machines one for new bottles and the milk machine cost $2.50 per lt and 2.50 for a new bottle
they also do a milk run not sure if they fill your bottles or do a swap a bottle deal
not open 24/7 tho and they did have a break in a while ago with some one taking the money out of the bottle machine
a bit of a movement on raw milk sales at moment
also selling eggs. and local cheeses in there small shop
- Location
- Derbys/Bucks.
Rather than a vending machine, we put bottled milk (pasteurised) in a fridge. We average about 40 pints/day, but as TimG has said, volumes are quite unpredictable.
Works well. Minimum capital tied up.
Works well. Minimum capital tied up.
kiwi pom
Member
- Location
- canterbury NZ
place I drive past on way back from work at lake has one
just selling raw milk have a big board with all the common Q and A things. about how farm run bit on the cows they are milking etcRaw milk Christchurch - Aylesbury Creamery
Aylesbury Creamery produce high quality raw milk, based in Christchurch. Come visit one of our vending machines today!
have 2 machines one for new bottles and the milk machine cost $2.50 per lt and 2.50 for a new bottle
they also do a milk run not sure if they fill your bottles or do a swap a bottle deal
not open 24/7 tho and they did have a break in a while ago with some one taking the money out of the bottle machine
a bit of a movement on raw milk sales at moment
also selling eggs. and local cheeses in there small shop
Not in too bad of a spot there I suppose. Get the Darfield-Ch Ch commuters.
Not giving it away are they.
There's another one on the other side of CH CH somewhere and one in Timaru.
Can't think of anymore but not on the tankers these days.
Someone said Fonterra don't allow it, clearly not true.
JD-Kid
Member
- Location
- Akaroa.. New Zealand
yea. they get a fair few from all over the place looking at the sign in thing yer have to fill out. guess if any tests come back bad they can contact people that brought off themNot in too bad of a spot there I suppose. Get the Darfield-Ch Ch commuters.
Not giving it away are they.
There's another one on the other side of CH CH somewhere and one in Timaru.
Can't think of anymore but not on the tankers these days.
Someone said Fonterra don't allow it, clearly not true.
- Location
- Northumberland
How strange when someone asks a question then never comes back to TFF for a week.
Bit rude IMO to the folk who have taken the trouble to post helpful answers & suggestions
Bit rude IMO to the folk who have taken the trouble to post helpful answers & suggestions
Whitewalker
Member
I’ve learnt to try not to think like that . He could be dead , Covid , problems with kids , farm issues. Friends customer went cold after spending thousands on products past few years, eventually came back and his son was having mental health issues which wasn’t even on the radar. Never know peoples circumstances.
- Location
- Northumberland
Aye, You are right.
- Location
- Wormingford, Essex
Much like selling milk really, customers blow hot and cold all the time. I worried about it alot when we started, now I realise for every one that stops buying another will come along. One who was buying milk every week suddenly stopped coming and after a bit I contacted him to see if we'd done something wrong. Turned out his fairly new wife got up and walked out one day and he'd had a breakdown and tried to kill himself. As you say, you never know people's circumstances.
- Location
- Derbys/Bucks.
But then, look on the positive side;
You contacting your customer and taking an 'interest' in him may have meant a huge amount to him. It may have helped him more than you could imagine.
Whitewalker
Member
What great posts . To what extent do you connect with your customers? Would you go as far as friends with some?