Scotland’s newest dairy has started production in the furthest north west corner of the country.

Despite pitfalls and obstacles over the past four years, an excited Gordon and Scott Mackay finally commenced deliveries from their family run Brogaidh's Dairy in the Western Isles.

The £1 million venture on a croft in South Bragar on Lewis beside the Atlantic Ocean was previously called Moorpark Dairy, but the father and son opted for a last minute name change. Nowadays, its extremely rare to see a working dairy on a farm as producers find it increasingly tough to make a living

Dairy herds across the country are reducing. Those remaining in the industry have a larger head of cattle and sell their milk to huge centralised dairy corporations. Often milk is trucked may hundreds of miles across Scotland from farm to dairy to shops while imports of milk are also increasing.

The Mackays have adopted a traditional model of a family farm and the first milk flowed though on Monday with 350 litres produced for doorstep deliveries to islanders. The farm fresh process from cow to bottle takes just two hours. Interest is keen and the next step is to increase supply and distribute through local shops.

The family run a herd of pedigree Guernsey cows – which were bought from South Wales and are acclimatised to wild weather – as well as a number of Ayrshire cows on the croft. Guernsey cattle were selected for their A2 milk, containing high levels of beta carotene – a good source of Vitamin A, high butterfat content and high protein content. Good quality milk also come from the hardy Ayrshires.

Milk has been shipped in to Lewis from the mainland since the last island farm closed in 2012. But supplies lose their freshness given the timelag for distribution while Brogaidh dairy produces premium milk as fresh as you can get, pointed out Gordon: “Milk doesn’t travel very well – it’s a few days old by the time it arrives on the island, so the quality is very poor. We have the right herd which gives a quality milk so we think we can get a good customer base with the product we have.”

Reaction from locals has been favourable. Price is key and he hopes to negotiate a better deal from the plastic bottles supplier to lower the price per pint. One big advantage is the lack of competition on the island, but finding customers’ homes for the dawn deliveries was an unexpected a nightmare.

“The first deliveries were difficult as a lot of the houses don’t have numbers on them. We found the villages OK, but the house numbers are just spread throughout and don’t match up. One can be number 41 while the neighbour is number 75.”

Eighteen year old Scott said: “After the last four years preparing, it was quite good today to get the first bottled milk out to customers.”

A good few people had asked the Mackays if they were wise doing this, but Gordon observed: "There’s no other dairy here and everyone likes a fresh product.” Production is presently 350 litres a day which is set to double soon.

The enterprise cost £1 million including the livestock. Last year, they lost £300,000 because environmental health approval was denied. Former oil industry engineer Gordon hails from a dairy farm background and has ploughed his own money into the new business after being rejected for a grant. He is absolutely delighted to see the venture get off the ground at long last.