64 | nzdairy DAIRY PEOPLE » The Natural Dairy Awards win proves a Virginia Wright The Natural Dairy’s 28 hectares lie on the southern boundary of Oamaru. The small dairy farm was bought by Glen and Bron Claridge three years ago as they set about doing something that Glen always wanted to do – returning to the glass bottle, gate-delivery dairy system he experienced until the age of 10 on his parents’ dairy farm in Maheno 10 minutes south of where he is now. The Natural Dairy is small by design: the epitomy of quality over quantity as they consciously pursue their ethos of supplying their milk in glass bottles as locally as they can. While they supply small amounts to businesses in Dunedin, Waimate and Twizel, their main business comprises twice weekly residential deliveries, as well as retailing through Oamaru’s two New World supermarkets and a few other selected outlets. Their full milk is pasteurized, not least because raw milk can only sell and deliver directly from the farm, and while glass bottles are their obvious point of difference, for Glen being local is just as important. “I can see the houses of Oamaru just a kilometre and a half away and that’s where I want to sell my milk,” he says. Coincidentally when the Claridges bought the land three years ago the departure of another couple along the road who wanted to sell their recently established business, The Natural Dairy. The Claridges bought their gear and their cows and by November 20th 2020 they were open for business. Glen had converted the existing covered yards and woolshed to meet their needs complete with a small herring-bone milking shed, processing room, chiller, bottling room and shop. “The shop’s pretty much inside the cowshed,” says Glen. “If you buy the milk at the shop here it only goes about 14 metres from the cups through the pasteurizer and into the fridge.” The small family business ticked a lot of boxes for Bron and Glen looking for a better place to bring up their daughter Amelia who has just turned 11, and united in their wish to do things the old way. Not long after they launched the business however Bron’s breast cancer unexpectedly resurfaced. “About six months into it she developed another tumour and it became obvious fairly early on that it wasn’t good. Bron was pretty crook for over a year while we got the business going and she died in April which has made the journey pretty tough going,” says Glen. He intends to keep going with their shared dream but holds no illusions. “It’s an awesome husband-wife business but it’s a bit more of a challenge as a solo-dad, but we’re working through it.” The business is still in its infancy and they mean to grow but not at the expense of their core principles. Currently milking 13 cows once a day, the number of cows might be as high as 20 in winter but the milking regime doesn’t change. They keep the calves ‘feeding off mum’ through to weaning although they too are kept to once a day after the rst month. “That’s amazing too, as soon as the calf’s fed mum’s relaxed, the calf’s relaxed and she wanders off happily back to the paddock. If you’ve come here you’ve won the dairy cow lottery,” says Glen. The Natural Dairy was recently runner-up at the Waitaki Business Awards for the Business of the Year 2022, and won the Award for “Best Agricultural Business”, a deeply bittersweet event for Glen. “It was only a few months after she’d passed away and really that award was about her. I mean I make the milk and I run the farm but people were buying Bron’s milk and her work as an Enviroschool facilitator and waste minimalisation advisor were a big part of her ethos. It was one of the toughest nights of my life but it was pretty cool. It was a customer vote basically and a real vote of con dence.” The Natural Dairy near Oamaru was established by Glen and Bron Claridge three years ago to deliver fresh milk in glass bottles direct to local customers. 03 434 8516 print@brackensprint.co.nz brackensprint.co.nz MAPS, WHITEBOARDS, CATALOGUES FARM SIGNAGE, ADMIN FORMS Print & Signs • Plant & Platform Installation • Dairy Shed Maintenance • Effluent Management • Stainless Steel Welding • Dairy Yards & Repairs • Aluminium Trailers & Crates • Pump Repair & Maintenance gea.com Proud Service Partner of: 36 Weston Road, Oamaru 9401 Tel. 03 434 6304 Mob. 027 233 0550 Email: admin@waitakidairysolutions.co.nz POBox 46 / DXWA 32508 76 Thames Street, Oamaru 9400 Hope & Associates Legal Proudly supporting The Natural Dairy 03 434 9930 / Fax 03 434 9731 sally@hopelegal.co.nz
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