On the blog we are taking a deeper look at our national winners, and what it is that makes them so special. Each week two different winners’ profiles will be posted, so keep checking back for more rural business success stories!
The winner of 2018/19’s Best Rural Manufacturing Business Award is Fen Farm Dairy! This worthy-winner impressed the judges with their unique and innovative business, as well as their trailblazing attitude to minimising their environmental impact. They praised their marketing, as well as taking issues up to government level to promote raw milk and create a bigger market for everyone.
The Crickmore family have farmed the land at Fen Farm for three generations, and six years ago they diversified their dairy farm into raw milk sales, cheese and butter making. The business is run by husband-and-wife team Jonny and Dulcie Crickmore, Jonny is the propelling force behind Fen Farm, and has been working on the farm since he was just four years old, while Dulcie handles the marketing and business development side of things.
Fen Farm Dairy make the UK’s only raw brie-style cheese and raw cultured butter. Raw or unpasteurised milk hasn’t been heat-treated and homogenised the way that most shop bought milk has, which means that their milk retains much of its natural flavour and enzymes, and has a rich layer of cream.
Fen Farm are also the UK reps for DF Italia vending machines, which enables customers to buy raw milk directly from the farm, as fresh as possible and with almost no food miles. Since setting up the vending machine business, they have helped 50 other UK dairy farms to diversify into farm-gate milk sales. By doing so, they have helped to empower other struggling rural business, giving them the tools to take back control of the prices of their products.
Their own raw milk vending machine is housed in a cow print shed on the farm, which also holds a raw milk coffee machine in collaboration with Suffolk-based coffee company, Fire Station Coffee Roasters.