The Howie family, Morwick Dairy, Acklington, Northumberland, has opened its fully-automated milk vending facility to provide customers with fresh raw milk from its award-winning dairy herd of Ayrshires, Holsteins and Jerseys.

The vending machine dispenses fresh milk in one-litre or two-litre units available in either glass bottles or plastic containers. The machine automatically disinfects itself after each individual container has been filled in preparation for the next customer.

Morwick Dairy previously sold fresh milk through the farm’s Morwick Ice Cream parlour and the decision to install an automatic vending machine in an adjoining facility provides customers with greater flexibility according to Michael Howie.

He said: “Customers can now purchase milk from 10am until 7pm, seven days per week. We get thousands of visitors every year to the ice-cream parlour and this is an additional direct point of sale product for our customers. The facility has ease of access and we have two available car parks on-site. Containers can be purchased on-site and glass-bottles can normally be reused for at least 20 occasions.”

Mr Howie, who is president of the UK Ayrshire Society and his wife, Angie, are due to attend the 2020 World Ayrshire Cattle Breeders Conference in Australia later this month and in May will be welcoming delegates to Northumberland as part of the UK Ayrshire Society Annual 2020 Conference Tour and AGM.