'Dubbo's milk company': Why you can taste the difference in your coffee

The family-run organisation, which milks 800 head of Holstein cattle in Rawsonville, NSW, has been named most successful Holstein breeder and exhibitor at the Sydney Royal Easter Show 2024.

For owner and partner, Erika Chesworth, this was a particularly joyful experience because she, her husband Steve Chesworth - dairy farmer, owner and partner - and their family bred the cattle themselves.

"People can take a team of cows but not have bred them," Mrs Chesworth told the Daily Liberal.

"To be able to breed a team, that's a testament really to the skill of the breeder, isn't it?"

"And then being able to pick that team out at home because sometimes people don't always pick the right cow to take to a show."

Little Big Dairy is a dual-generation family business that delivers single-source milk directly from their dairy and on-farm factory, so they can track the product from start to finish, milking through to processing and into the bottle.

They deliver more than 100,000 litres of fresh bottled milk to customers across NSW and the ACT each week, and though it's a big operation, Mrs Chesworth said her husband knew every cow by name.

At the recent show, the company won a number of awards for their heifers, including firsts and seconds in a variety of categories.

They provide their cows with good nutrition and a comprehensive veterinarian program, and part of a healthy diet includes access to secure underground water that they rely on for irrigation to grow winter pastures such as oats, clovers and rye grass, and summer forages and fodder crops like corn.

Investing in the cows allows the business to give back to the community, which they do through their breakfast clubs, donating milk to local schools so kids don't go hungry at breakfast time.

Six local schools are signed-up to receive the milk- Buninyong Public School, Dubbo College Delroy Campus, Dubbo North Public School, Dubbo South Public School, Dubbo West Public School, Wongarbon Public School and Orana Heights School.

"It's the ability to share what we have," said Mrs Chesworth.

"My adult children will tell you that I was [strict] about breakfast, it's a very important meal of the day for all of us.

" ... There are children that don't have mothers that are passionate about breakfast, but teachers are passionate for their students to get into the classroom with a full belly and to do the best that they can.

"So it's a real partnership for best outcomes for education and health, and I love that."

Little Big Dairy is stocked around Australia, and is coveted around Dubbo where locals consider it a taste of home.

Mrs Chesworth said people search for cafes that stock their milk because the coffee tastes better.

"All the people tell us, when they're travelling they seek out where they can get a coffee on the road that uses Little Big Dairy because the coffee is better," she said.

"What we're finding when people are being more aware of what they're spending, they might not be buying as many coffees, but when they do, they're making sure it's a good one."

The business has a new product, freshly churned salted butter, which Mrs Chesworh said is fabulous in mashed potatoes.