A FAMILY-run farm in Thornton-in-Craven will sell its milk and dairy products, including milkshakes, direct to the public via vending machines.

Rectory Farm is managed by Edward Berry, who took over the management at 23 years of age when his father passed away in 2017.

Mr Berry's mother, Samantha, along with an active network of farming friends, have supported Edward in maintaining and growing the dairy herd at Rectory Farm.

Adoption of a robotic 'on demand' milking system, manufactured by Lely, was decided on before the death of Mr Berry's father.

Since 2017, Edward has deepened his farming knowledge, expanded the milking herd, and taken the total number of robotic milking systems on the farm to three.

His brother, Oliver Berry, also lives in Yorkshire and, while not a farmer, plays a vital role by offering guidance to Mr Berry.

Mr Berry's cows are able to graze freely on the fields surrounding the farm, with access to the open air for more than 155 days each year.

The majority of Rectory Farm's milk is sold to Lancashire Farm Dairies, another family-run business that produces yoghurt and other dairy products.

The Lancashire Farm Dairies tanker collects an average haul of 3000 litres of raw unpasteurised milk daily.

Mr Berry and his partner, Charlotte Wood, live on the farm together with their one-year-old daughter.

Ms Wood was trained and worked as a nursery nurse before she had her baby, but as a new mother she wanted to support Edward and be on the farm.

The couple felt drawn towards a new enterprise, based at the farm, seeing it as an opportunity to generate additional income and enable Ms Wood to stay working on the farm.

The concept of a direct-to-public milk and milkshake vending business was born - a novelty in the Skipton and Barnoldswick area, according to Mr Berry and Ms Wood.

With the support of Charles Wait, the couple invested in a small pasteurising and processing unit.

Their goal was to create a safe and delicious product which reflected the amazing cows and landscape.

Somerset-based Daisy Vending lent its advice and support through the business development process and supplied vending equipment for the new venture.

Rectory Farm will commence by vending pasteurised whole milk and milkshakes.

The farm's processing equipment would support the production of other dairy products in the future.