Price Change from JUne 1

Dear Customers,

We would like to thank all of you for the continued support of our small local business. As the ONLY surviving raw milk provider in the top of the South Island, we are striving to offer you the most delicious raw goodness as well as the most ethical and environmentally concious choice when buying milk.

From June 1, Riverside Milk's price will change from $2.50/litre to $3/litre to support our farm team in their ongoing effort to provide you with quality raw milk from our awesome little farm. The extra 50 cents will go towards paying ever increasing fees for raw milk monitoring, as set out by the Ministry of Primary Industries, and towards our ongoing conversion to a more sustainable and holistic farming programme.

Riverside Milk comes from the only milk vending provider which follows regenerative farming principles in our region. One of the key aspects of regenerative farming techniques is to increase biodiversity in all aspects of the landscape being farmed. This includes restoring wetlands and mosaic woodland areas. We are building habitat for diverse plants, insects and other animals - all of which we deem essential for the innate regenerative power of nature to unfold and to increase nature's resilience in the face of our emerging climate crisis. Our paddocks are also not irrigated, meaning we do not waste precious resources and our extensive fencing network, along with indigenous, riparian plantings, protects our streams and rivers from any potential leaching of phosphates and nitrates into the waterways.

Unlike conventional dairy farms which have nearly four cows per hectare, Riverside Milk only holds 2 cows per hectare, because this reduces the environmental impact by giving the pastures and soil biology the resilience to rejuvenate and regenerate much more easily. Believing that the main path to good cow (and milk) health is through a natural grass fed diet, our cows are shifted to new pastures daily and only eat fresh nutrient dense grass supplemented with silage/baleage or hay (all grown on our own farm).

We believe that cattle themselves can be the source of increased soil fertility. Through their dung, urine, and soil disturbance (herd effect), cattle can regenerate the soil and plant life to such an extent that additives such as nitrogen fertiliser become unnecessary. We rely on the plants and soil organisms to generate organic matter and release the nutrients necessary for grass growth. We only apply liquid fish fertiliser and compost teas to feed the soil life - no synthetic fertilisers. On our farm, we do not only grow healthy cows and grass but also resilient soil. Soil which is capable of not only sequestering carbon but also of growing food for generations to come.

We hope you continue to see the value of Riverside raw milk and support our work towards a more resilient, sustainable and positive future.

Many Thanks

Daisy on behalf of the Farm Team