Maleny Dairies

About the Dairy

Maleny Dairies started in the year 2000. We think back to how we started and we need to thank and honour some important people that helped to get us to where we are now.

Maleny Dairies is a premium milk company, we are local and family owned in Maleny on the Sunshine Coast hinterland, Queensland, Australia. Great Grandfather Hopper purchased the land in 1948 and we initially began as a cream only farm. In 2000 the milk industry was deregulated forcing thousands of farmers around Australia to close down their farms. We too faced an uncertain future but decided that we would fight back by building our own processing and bottling plant. As we expanded, we began purchasing milk from other local farmers on the Sunshine Coast hinterland. The flexibility and control afforded us by managing our own plant has facilitated the opportunity for us to pay our farmers at a much higher rate per litre of milk, enabling each farmer to keep their herds healthy and their farms viable.

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BEGINNINGS

Harold and Dorothy Hopper – Dad and Mum. Suggested and helped us to take the risk and have a go.

Keith and Sonya Hopper – Brother and Sister in-law. Not only were they our first supplier from their Maleny dairy farm, but their commitment went way past business. During construction Keith would milk in the mornings spend most of the day helping to build Maleny Dairies and then he milked in the afternoons, any spare time he had he did paddock work. He did that for weeks.

Kay and Geoff – Sister and Brother in-law. Kay previously worked for us in another business so when the factory was built Kay worked for us at Maleny Dairies. Kay and I both learnt on the run. She ran the office side of things. Kay spent 12 years working for Maleny Dairies.

To all Our Family we would just like to say a BIG Thank You with all our heart, we do appreciate it.

We are proud and lucky to have good quality staff working for us. They all work under a key group whose job it is to ‘make it happen’.

Keith and Sonya were our first farm. Today we have another 8 Farms in the region with whom we are proud to process their Milk into Maleny Dairies Products.

We have had Guernseys on this farm since first starting in 1948. Why stick with the Guernseys? Simply because their milk is the best. Not only does it taste good, but it is good for you too. God blessed us with a cow called ‘Belladonna’ which became a Guernsey world champion, breaking the records in milk, butterfat & protein. Belladonna peaked at an amazing 70.5 litres of milk in one day. Considering that an average cow gives approx. 15 litres in a day, she truly was an amazing cow. If you get a chance, give the Guernsey milk a go. You will find this milk under the Farmer’s Choice Gold Top label. On the top menu bar is ‘Store Locator’, click and enter your suburb to find a shop near you.