Are you having trouble hunting down milk among the emptying supermarket shelves during the coronavirus scare?

Why not go back to nature and get your milk direct from the cows?

A young farming couple have just obtained a licence from the Food Standards Agency to sell their raw, unpasteurised milk direct to the public from their doorstep.

"We're a bit like a milk drive-through," said Holly Dyer, one half of Ben and Holly's Little Dairy in Harrietsham.

The micro-diary has just four cows and currently four calves. Holly, 26, said: "Three of our cows are milking at the moment, they give us about 90 litres of milk in the morning and another 70 litres in the afternoon."

The cows are Holsteins and have been bred by the couple, who previously ran a much larger dairy farm, with 320 cows, at Bower Park Farm in Dartford.

It's fair to say that cattle are the couple's life. Ben, 32, was already a farm manager, when they met. Holly explained: "I was in the young farmers' club and I approached him to ask if he had a calf I could show. Things went from there."

When he's not helping Holly look after their own cows, Ben has a full-time your job as an artificial insemination technician.

The couple still show their cows - coronavirus permitting - and allow visitors to the diary to see the cows close up and learn where the milk comes from.

Holly said: "We've only been open just over a week, but it's been a huge success with a very welcoming audience. The children are loving being able to pet our friendly cows."

Milk is usually pasteurised for a reason: it can grow harmful bacteria, so hygiene is a big part of what the dairy does. Holly said; "We have to keep to very strict regulations and test the bacteria levels in the milk regularly.

"Having such a small herd actually helps this. The cows are healthier because they are under less stress and they are easier to manage.

"We've been drinking our own milk for years."

The milk their Holstein cows produce has approximately the same percentage fat as whole milk from the supermarket. The jury is out on whether it tastes different.

Holly said: "When they first try it, most people say it does taste different, but then after a little while some say they can't tell the difference.

"A lot of older people like it especially, they say it reminds them of how milk used to taste when they were young."

The milk is sold in recyclable glass bottles at £1 for a litre or 50p for a half litre. There's a £1 deposit on the bottle that is returned if you take the bottle back.

You can collect your milk from the diary at Firswood Lodge, Ashford Road, Harrietsham, ME17 1BL, on any day between 8am and 6pm.

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