As the sun beats down on 383 acres of arable farmland, the latest addition to the Solley’s team, red retreiver puppy Amber, runs around mischievously as owners Keith and Katie Morrison call out in vain for her return.

It is hard to believe this tranquil part of the Kent countryside, with its sleepy farm shop and playful dog, is responsible for producing at least 48,000 litres of ice cream every month.

“That amount nearly doubles during the school holidays,” said Keith, a director at Solley’s Ice Cream and son-in-law of Stephen Solley, the firm’s managing director and the founder of the business.

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“It’s relaxed now, but if you come at 7am it is chaotic as all the drivers arrive. They leave with their deliveries at about 8.30am and then it is calm.”

Solley’s Kentish Ice Cream, based in the village of Ripple, near Deal, has become a success story against the backdrop of a supermarket price war that has decimated dairy- farming across the UK.

It was founded by Stephen and his brother David in 1985 as a response to supermarket tactics of loss-leading on essentials like bread and milk, squeezing the margins of their farm of 130 Channel Island cows.

“Then the word ‘cholesterol’ was invented and milk from our cows became unpopular because of its high fat content,” said Keith, who runs the firm day to day with his wife Katie, Stephen’s daughter.

“With dwindling sales, Stephen thought ‘What can I do with this product?’. He came up with dairy ice cream and built it up from nothing.”

These days the farm is a working factory, with nine staff making and packing the ice cream. The business turns over more than £600,000 annually, with sales up 32% last year.

But there are no cows left, the last being sold off in 1999. Instead the ice cream factory gets its milk from a farm a mile down the road, earning the business Red Tractor status.

“It’s one of the hardest decisions I have made in business,” said Stephen, who was born on the farm in 1947.

“We needed more milk and cream than we had cows and we didn’t have sufficient available land to extend the herd.

“I do miss being a dairy farmer sometimes, but I realised we had to move on.”

Ice cream is now the core family business and exploring new ways to make money has become an ethos. The Solleys own a small caravan park and also run the Kearnsey Abbey tea rooms near Dover.

They opened a farm shop next to the ice cream factory in March, all of which helped tip the overall company turnover above the £1 million mark last year, alongside the sale of its crops.

“We just evolved,” said Stephen. “Running milk rounds was our first diversification before the Second World War.

“Someone suggested we sell ice cream and I’ve never forgiven him since. But if we hadn’t gone down that route I don’t know where we would be today.”

Katie Morrison is the fourth generation of her family to make a living on Solley’s Farm.

Her great-grandfather Frederick Stephen Solley took over before the Second World War and ran five smaller dairies before that with a herd of about 30 cows.

Her grandfather John Derek Solley then ran the farm before passing it on to Stephen, Katie’s father and the current managing director.

Her husband Keith joined the ice cream business about five and a half years ago, with the intention of injecting his experience as director of tourism at Eastbourne Borough Council.

The pair, who live in “the house on the corner” of the 383-acre farm, have two teenage sons but have no plans to urge them to become the fifth generation of workers.

“I said to both sons don’t come into the family business until you’re 35,” said Keith.

“They need to lead their lives and come back when they have got enough experience and ideas to build on the business.”

Katie added: “My father never applied any pressure for me to join. Coming into a family business you have got to want to be there. There are enough pressures as it is.”

Despite its relaxing setting, Solley’s Ice Cream is a hive of activity away from the eyes of customers.

The company has set itself apart by delivering seven days a week and committing to meeting any delivery request on the same day if the order is made by 7am.

Director Keith Morrison said: “It’s quite a service. We have got to do that because the big boys can blow us out of the water on price but not on service.”

The firm has invested £140,000 on new machinery and packing equipment. Its products had a rebrand this year and the business has launched a new website.

The dairy sources 85% of its base products from Kent and uses British sugar. All milk and cream is farm-assured and comes from the Channel Island herd on a neighbouring farm, keeping food miles to a minimum.

Keith and Katie have a formal meeting with managing director Stephen Solley and his wife Jane every Friday.

“It’s very formal and we go through the changes in each department,” said Keith.

“Although we have been brought in to change things, it has all been done by consensus.

“We’re in early, but we’re very lucky to live on the farm. It’s a way of life.”

Removing the seasonal nature of running an ice cream business is the next challenge for Solley’s.

Two of the company’s largest customers are the National Trust and English Heritage, which stock ice cream in shops at Kent properties.

Australian airline Qantas is a former customer and winning another air contract is a top target for the firm. It is also putting efforts into supplying theatres.

“Making ice cream is intensely seasonal and one of the challenges we face is taking the seasonality out of the business,” said Keith Morrison.

“We have to make sure we grow in the summer as much as we can so we can put money in the bank.

“We need to find markets which are there in all weathers.

“Large retailers are one market. We are also looking at theatres and airlines.”