'The farm would have gone' - How vending machines helped save this Yorkshire farming business

Now, James is doing the same – albeit slightly differently. But, it is the same principle, and a move many farms are taking to have more control and more profits.

James, after starting a career with machinery manufacturer AGCO, returned home to Kidfield Farm in Hoylandswaine with his wife Alex a few years ago.

It was being run by his parents following his grandfather’s retirement. The reasons for coming back were two fold.

One, he was fed up with a job sitting in front of a computer and secondly, the farm business was in trouble.

“The milk price kept dropping. We were doing more and getting less and thought ‘we need to do something different’.”

Having seen farm vending machines elsewhere he set one up at Kidfield Farm in 2022. James didn’t expect the support he would get from the local community and how popular it would be.

Next month, Milk from the Hills will put a vending machine in its ninth location, with machines already in places such as Canon Hall Farm Shop in Barnley, Fodder on the Great Yorkshire Showground, Farmer Copleys at Wakefield and, of course, Barnsley Market.

It has not only completely changed the direction of the farm business, it has saved it.

Mr Hill said: “The farm would have gone, no question about it.

"We rent the farm and invested heavily eight years ago in robotic milkers, that and paying the rents, moving sheds, everything else in farming – it nearly killed us.

“The only way I could see was to do everything ourselves and not employ anyone. It was a massive pressure.

"My dad is a bloody good farmer, a three times world ploughing champion but it wasn’t enough. We were heavily financed, at the wrong time, and it caught us.”

Milk From The Hills now sells milk, milkshakes, protein milk and yoghurt from vending machines. It has trailers which cater at events and functions and an online merchandise shop.

The business now also employs 29 people from the local area.

“We can’t keep up with demand”, says Mr Hill, who admits he is always trying out new ideas and pushing for more outlets and ways to get products into the public domain.

He said: “I had seen other people doing milk vending machines, and with multiple locations, and in the back of my mind, I knew I would push it as much as I could.

"Once we got going and I realised there is a market and people were supporting us, the biggest thing holding me back is we can’t get enough milk every day.

“I try to look at what other people have not done. There are a lot of milk vending machines so ‘how different can we make it?

“It has been hard work, it is non-stop. I come in at 10.30pm and get up at 5.30am. It has been a hell of a run but you see you are getting somewhere and people are supporting you.”