• FEB / MAR 2023
CRATHORNE FARMS 43
SHAKING THINGS UP ON THE FARM AND IN THE HUT
Chris Berry talks with Joe Dugdale of Crathorne Farms
SHOTS and shakes have become two of the more regularly used words at a North Yorkshire farm since the summer of 2022 when Joe Dugdale and his family opened The Milk Hut which includes a branded bottle vending machine and a milk vending machine that vends their own cows ’ pasteurised milk and milk shakes , hence the reference to shots of the flavours added to the milk .
The Milk Hut has been and continues to be a success and Joe tells of the benefit it has already brought about to the farm ’ s position in the community .
“ It has been really nice to engage with consumers and get really lovely customer feedback . The older generation say it ’ s nice to taste the milk how they remember it , but it ’ s not just those by any means . We have built up a nice core of local customers who now use us very regularly for their domestic milk .
“ Children and adults are loving the different flavoured milkshakes that we keep coming up with and particularly like the strawberry flavoured shakes , including strawberries and cream , and anything with chocolate .
“ We are also planning on supplying wholesale . We already supply a local café a mile away , The Stables Bistro , Kirklevington that is focused on local produce .
Joe came back to the family farm twelve years ago , that he farms in partnership with his parents David and Susie and his wife Sasha , following a career that included a graduate scheme with cosmetic giants L ’ Oreal and launching a food delivery company Ethical Foods in 2007 that emphasised local produce in local areas .
Joe says he was drawn back to farming through the work he was doing in other sectors .
“ I came closer and closer to farming through my career choices . There was never any familial pressure to farm , I just realised what an interesting industry it is and how lucky I was to have that opportunity . I ’ ve only been farming for 12 years .
Continues on page 44