At first glance, there’s little to suggest anything unusual is going on at How Now dairy, a small family-run farm located in Wunghnu, northern Victoria. The 370-acre farm has the same green pastures as its neighbours, a creek that runs through the property, and it has Rosie, Thelma, Judy and other female herd members chewing happily on the grass. Nope, it’s only when you look carefully that you notice that very thing you weren’t able to put your finger on before – calves. Not on the back of a truck and not in a separate pen, but happily walking alongside or suckling on their mamas. This has been a vision years in the making – and it’s one that Cathy Palmer, co-owner of How Now, says she hopes will pave the way forward for the dairy industry in general. “I empathise with the pressures placed on the current dairy farmers, but I’ve long believed we could do things differently and now I know first hand that it’s possible.”

HOW NOW Dairy is what happens when a music industry exec meets a third generation dairy farmer, and together they decide to challenge the globally accepted inhumane dairy industry practices and create an ethical dairy farm based on the simple premise of kindness.

And we dream of many more farms just like ours joining the HOW NOW family.

Cathy Palmer, a passionate animal right activist who had built a career in the music industry, decided to stop complaining about the problem – and become part of the solution.

The result is HOW NOW Dairy, a micro dairy farm located on 100 acres near Shepparton in Victoria. 

The dairy is small, family owned, and fiercely independent. We’re proud of our commitment to a more ethical approach to dairy production.

H – Humane

All our calves remain on our farm. They stay with their mothers, often coming into the dairy with Mum for a look around while she is milked. Our attitude is, we are sharing the milk. There’s plenty to go round.

A – Artisanal

Additive free production and processing with none of the hormones and other additives commonly used.

P – Provenance of products with a closed loop process.

Our process is simple: paddock-product-plate.

P – Production of milk

There are no efficiency interventions common to modern dairy farming – we keep all the yummy goodness in!

Y – Yummy

The result is a pure, naturally delicious milk and cream.