About US

Holy Cow is a small, family owned and run dairy farm on Reynoldstown, Port Chalmers, owned by Merrall and Alex MacNeille.

Holy Cow milks Jersey cows, known for their gentle nature and high fat-content milk. Every cow in our milking herd has her own name and her own stall where she is fed and milked. The cows make their way into the barn to their stalls independently each day, and listen to classical music while they are being milked.

Our farming is an organic practice, but we are no longer organically certified, as we have been unable to secure a large enough supply of organic supplementary feed during the winter.

Our milk is pasteurised and MPI approved. We pasteurise at 63 degrees for 30 minutes, which is the minimum requirement. By heating our milk at a lower temperature, but for a longer period, we are able to maintain a great taste.

Our milk is NOT homogenised. This means the milk separates, with the cream rising to the top of the milk. Gentle shaking will mix the milk and cream back together. Freshness is important for milk FLAVOUR. Our milk is bottled within two days of production, with a best by of 9 days. Supermarket milk can be as much as a week old before reaching the store shelves.

Holy Cow is committed to being as sustainable as possible. We use glass milk bottles, and wash and reuse all of our packaging. When you first buy from us, you’ll need to invest in a deposit on your bottles and jars. We’ll refund this to you on the return of clean and complete packaging (but most people bring them back for refills).