As we approach 100 years of dairy farming in 2024, we give a lot of thought to our legacy at Bannister Downs Dairy.  We feel that it is about being part of a generational wheel of family and community members who live on, work at and who are supported by this very special place we are able to call home.

Bannister Downs Dairy has a long legacy of raising happy and healthy cows because we have always believed happy and healthy cows produce the best milk.  But when we think about how we want Bannister Downs Dairy to be known in the world and why we want consumers to choose our products, we realised that we wanted to set the global standard for every aspect of ethical dairy.

Animal welfare, ethical and sustainable farming practices have been part of daily life here on farm since its inception - we are certainly not new to the concept of ethical dairy.  It is a space which is constantly evolving with ongoing research leading to the development of new knowledge.  The most major commitment that we have made in this space to date is the construction of our world class dairy facility at The Creamery, which was specifically designed to offer Our Girls an enjoyable and non-stressful experience each time they head up to the dairy to be milked.  The dairy yards include massage brushes, and also a race and gate system which allows the ‘less confident’ cows to walk separately and access their feed without being intimidated by the ‘herd leaders’.   Other commitments we’ve made beyond everyday low stress handling techniques employed by our farm team include breeding programmes to reduce stress on heifers whilst calving (by having smaller calves) and to eradicate horns from the future herd by selectively breeding polled animals.  We do not use electric cattle prodders in animal handling and more recently we have purchased coats for our youngest calves to keep them warm during the colder times of years (and they are super cute as they do ‘zoomies’ in the morning sun in their paddocks!!)

We also believe our approach to our environment, and our commitment to eco-friendly packaging form part of our daily efforts to lead the way in ethical dairy practices.

So, why choose Bannister Downs? We’re aspiring every day, to be global leaders in ethical dairy.