Help our Regenerative, Nature Friendly Dairy Farm

by Nutfield Dairy in Redhill, Surrey, United Kingdom

We did it
On 26th August 2024 we successfully raised £10,275 with 107 supporters in 67 days

Our vision is to convert our milk float into a mobile shop with dispensers to sell our regeneratively farmed milk, yoghurt and produce.

by Nutfield Dairy in Redhill, Surrey, United Kingdom

Hello, thank you for taking an interest in our Crowdfunder.

Who we are and what we do 

My name is Matthew Elphick and together with my partner Betsie we founded Nutfield Dairy in Surrey in 2020. We are small scale dairy farmers milking just 25 traditional Shorthorn cows. We are passionate about nature friendly, regenerative farming and how cows play a really important role in the countryside.

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Farming regeneratively means we manage our land and cows in a way that improves the health and function of our most important asset, the soil. In the effort to combat climate change, our number one priority needs to be restoring soil health. Here at Nutfield Dairy we don’t use any unnatural fertiliser or chemical sprays and we move our cows daily to prevent overgrazing and improve biodiversity. This creates a landscape capable of efficiently capturing CO2 from the atmosphere and storing it in the soil where it feeds microbes, making the soil nutrient dense and providing us with nutrient-rich food. This is also incredibly important for our ecosystem. To benefit all wildlife, we need to start at the bottom and work our way up the food chain.

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Like most farmers, the welfare of our animals is our number one priority. We have managed to adapt our system so the cows and their calves can stay together, rather than being removed soon after birth. This does, of course, mean we get less milk but it takes that stress away from the animals and makes for very happy and healthy cows and calves.

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Why are we Crowdfunding?

It has been a difficult couple of years for us. We’ve spent a vast amount of money setting up Nutfield Dairy, which we’re very proud of, but with large increases in the cost of production we haven’t managed to create a viable business.

Our vision is to convert our old electric milk float into a mobile shop so we can return to selling our milk directly to our customers. The float will house a specially designed milk dispenser which will contain whole and semi skimmed milk, and it also gives us the means to make milkshakes. We would then park in a few locations during the week and customers could come to us to refill their glass milk bottles. This is a much more economically viable method of selling our milk, particularly as we wouldn’t be spending hours washing bottles nor have the expensive running costs of the machinery. Our customers would wash their own bottles before their next refill. We would also like a yoghurt dispenser to work in the same way so our natural yoghurt can also be sold in reusable glass jars.

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By farming the way we do we are improving the environment, meaning we are going above and beyond in terms of our food production. However, now we want to ensure that the way we market our produce is also sustainable. As well as being able to significantly reduce packaging, the milk float will be fully electric and have an inverter and a solar panel on top to charge the battery.

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As you can imagine, all this does not come cheap, and we’re not in a position where we can borrow yet more large sums of money. We have been very fortunate to be getting some help from a local grant, but we still need to pay for this project upfront before receiving any grant money. The money you are kind enough to donate to us will not only help us convert our milk float, but will also mean we can improve our processing equipment to make it more efficient, plus buy a few more cows to keep up with demand.

We would be incredibly grateful for any sized donation you feel you can make, and please check out the rewards we can offer in return for your generosity.

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Rewards

This project offers rewards in return for your donation. Please select a reward below.

£100 or more

1 years reward

Get the milk float starter pack plus 10% off every purchase from the milk float for the first year of trading!

£35 or more

23 of 300 claimed

Milk float starter pack

Get 3 glass milk bottles and 1 glass yoghurt jar to collect on your first visit to the float. Plus 10% off your first order.

£65 or more

11 of 200 claimed

Milk float starter pack plus cheese hamper

Get 3 glass milk bottles and a yoghurt jar on your first visit to the float plus a cheese hamper with both our cheeses, chutney and some crackers delivered to your door. As well as 10% off your first order.

£100 or more

2 of 15 claimed

Name a cow

Name one of our cows. We want a board on the float with pictures of all the cows that supply your milk along with their names. We would also add who named them. Plus receive one of our cheese hampers delivered to your door.

£125 or more

0 of 15 claimed

Sponsor a calf

Sponsor one of our heifer calves that will one day be part of the milking herd. You will be able to name your calf and receive a certificate with her photo as well as receive updates as she grows.

£150 or more

1 years reward plus hamper

Starter pack and 10% off every purchase from the milk float for the first year of trading plus a large Nutfield Dairy hamper delivered to your door.

£150 or more

Farm tour and hamper

Come and visit us for a farm tour. See the cows and learn about our regenerative farming methods. (Up to about 6 people per visit). Also receive one of our Nutfield Dairy Hampers.

£200 or more

5 of 15 claimed

1 year reward and name a cow

Get the starter pack plus 10% off for the first year of trading and name one of our cows! We want a board on the float with pictures of all the cows that supply your milk along with their names. We would also add who named them.

£350 or more

20% off for one year and a milking experience

Get the starter pack with a voucher for 20% off for the first years trading! Plus a milking experience and farm tour for up to 4 people and Nutfield Dairy hamper.

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