![Sarah Kelly runs what might be one of the closest dairy farms to Melbourne's central business district at Skye with her father Gerry. Picture supplied by Dairy Australia Sarah Kelly runs what might be one of the closest dairy farms to Melbourne's central business district at Skye with her father Gerry. Picture supplied by Dairy Australia](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/7f5GEYimwWveccZe67yRBS/60016848-b5e3-4c10-a769-2e12d17f9490.jpg/r0_589_5760_3840_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Skye, Vic, dairy farmer Sarah Kelly helps operate what may be the closest dairy farm to Melbourne's central business district.
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Hemmed in by residential and industrial land, Ms Kelly said she was the sixth generation of dairy farmers in the family.
She runs the property with her father Gerry.
To celebrate World Milk Day on Saturday, June 1, she said she would be "milking a whole lot of cows with pride".
"I am very passionate about the dairy industry and I really love my job," Ms Kelly said.
She said her grandparents first purchased the property after running a dairy farm in Cheltenham, who were also market gardeners.
"I love working with animals, I love the family aspect, working alongside my dad - we are able to have the whole family involved - and the flexibility, as well," she said.
"I am able to milk the cows, take my kids to school, get back and start work again."
She has three girls, Milly, 14, Pearl, 12, and Daisy, 5, and said she was hopeful they would follow in the family's footsteps.
"I love what I do," she said.
"I am doing a job that has meaning.
"A lot of people need milk as it's healthy and nutritious."
World Milk Day was established by the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations to recognise the importance of milk for good health and to celebrate the dairy industry's contribution to jobs, communities and the economy.
Ms Kelly said everyday, dairy farming became more sustainable, "more so than the alternative products".
"Dairy milk is straight from the cow, it's a natural product," she said.
"World Milk Day is a good reminder for all Australian dairy farmers to recognise the importance the industry has on feeding the nation, and the importance of milk and its health benefits."
She said the family was currently increasing its herd from 250 to 280 head.
As a 2024 World Milk Day farmer ambassador, she said it was important to celebrate the occasion.
"I'm so proud to be working in an industry that makes a difference," she said.
"We work very hard to produce high-quality milk."
She admitted dairy farmers were "a bit nervous", with the new season's milk prices yet to be released.
"We are, but we are prepared," she said.
"We've done some tough times, so we are preparing, as prices won't stay the way they are now."
She said that included reigning in input costs where they could.
Ms Kelly said increasing the herd would also allow the farm, which supplied Australian Dairy Farmers Corporation, to produce more milk.
"We need more than 800 cents a kilogram of milk solids, but it's not my choice," she said.
She said it was vital agriculture was retained in the areas close to the city.
"Another sustainability problem is bringing all this food back into the CDB," she said.
"We want our produce local and fresh, but it's just coming from further and further away."