Kenilworth Dairies milk offers hope to farmers

Udderly delicious ... from left, dairy farmer Stan Johnston who will supply milk for the factory, Colin Cunningham, one of the original cheese makers of the factory from 1964 and John Cochrane.

In a move that will strengthen the local dairy industry Kenilworth Dairies has started bottling milk for the first time.

The news is a shot in the arm for Queensland dairy farmers who have seen their numbers drop from 1500 to less than 300 since deregulation in July 2000.

The initiative will add to Kenilworth Dairies’  wide range of Queensland-made products.

Formerly Kenilworth Country Foods, the historic cheese factory was purchased in 2017 from Kraft by sixth generation dairy farmers, the Cochrane family.  

The factory has been manufacturing cheese for over 60 years.

In addition to being supplied by three of his family’s farms John Cochrane said Kenilworth Dairies would source milk from two ex-dairy farmers at Kenilworth and Skyring Creek and enable them to re-enter the industry. They plan to begin milking again within three months.

Independent processors such as Maleny Dairies, Cooloola Milk and now Kenilworth Dairies are helping the struggling local industry by strengthening the local market and providing sustainable milk prices.