Australian Grand Dairy Awards 2023: St David Dairy’s top milk prize

Rose and Glenn Atherton have been recognised as one of Australia’s top producers of fresh milk. Here’s their story.

Most dairy farmers reckon they produce Australia’s best milk.

But Rose and Glenn Atherton have a gong from the Australian Grand Dairy Awards to prove their claim.

The Drouin farmers supply fresh milk to the boutique processor St David Dairy, which was one of only four Victorian products to win at this year’s awards.

Both Mrs and Mr Atherton were raised on dairy farms. Rose grew up in New Zealand while Glenn started in the sector closer to their current home, raised on a Mirboo North farm.

The couple milk 600 cows and started supplying St David Dairy in September 2016.

Dairy farmer Rose Atherton and St David Dairy CEO Mancel Hickey raise a glass to the brand’s win at the Australian Grand Dairy Awards. Picture: Zoe Phillips

“At the time, we were supplying Murray Goulburn and we wanted to change our direction on supplying large corporate companies,” Mrs Atherton said.

“I’d been calling around to other processors but none of them were taking on anymore farms.

“I thought I had exhausted all options, when I noticed a friend had liked St David Dairy on Facebook. It was a company in Melbourne that I hadn’t heard of and I immediately emailed them and received a response straight away.

“They were searching for a local family farm containing the right mix of components and wanted to connect with local producers for the micro dairy business based in Fitzroy.”

Mrs Atherton said the couple preferred supplying a boutique processor like St David rather than a larger-scale processor.

“We’re not just a number, and we feel like we are a part of the whole process from grass to glass,” she said.

“It’s just amazing to see our milk leave the farm and then to see where it ends up with premium retailers, cafes, restaurants and the family homes.”

St David Dairy won the best modified milk category at this year’s Grand Dairy Awards. The company picked up the honour for its reduced fat milk — supplied by the Athertons.

Maggie Beer Holdings sold St David Dairy to Goulburn Valley Creamery last year.

As a result, GVC boss Mancel Hickey also became chief executive of St David Dairy.

“Our team’s expertise is second-to-none and we work very hard every day to make sure that everything that goes out the door of St David Dairy is as good as it can be,” Mr Hickey said.

“It’s this focus on delivering premium products to our customers every day that helps us achieve awards such as these.”