The cow-calf bond and sustainability are at at the heart of everything we do, so if you’re looking for milk from happy, healthy cows, you’ve come to the right place, as our microdairy has the highest welfare standards!
The Rare Dairy is a unique cow-with-calf microdairy selling organic, raw, non-homogenised milk from rare breed Shetland cows
Our cows and calves always get to stay together, forming a deep bond for life
Buying our milk not only supports your own health and a kinder way of farming but also the survival of a rare breed
The Rare Dairy was established in 2020 by zoologist, farm vet, traditional herbalist & farmers’ daughter Becky, at her home farm, where she was born in 1975
The Rare Dairy is a wildlife friendly farm, certified organic by the Soil Association
Sustainability
We are committed to become zero waste and zero single use plastic by 2030…and we are almost there now!
All of our packaging is re-usable glassware or home compostable and we use only non-toxic paints and cleaning products in our dairy
The cow manure from winter housing is composted and returned to our organic fields and gardens
Washing water from the dairy is captured and recycled, rain water is harvested and bamboo towels from drying teats in the milking parlour will be recycled into our own paper
We are trialling a new haylage wrap next year, using truly landfill biodegradable wrap that leaves zero micro plastics behind
Our cows are native rare breed Shetland cattle. By the 1950s there were fewer than 40 pure bred animals remaining. We wished to help the survival of a rare breed and chose the Shetland mainly due to it’s small size and large feet, which help when grazing our heavy clay soil meadows. The Shetland is also able to thrive on pasture and hay without the need for bought in feed, which can be very damaging to the environment. They also have enough milk to share with their calves and our customers!
