From Aussie paddocks to you!
On the farm with the Tates

What started as the Pauls brand in 1933 has grown over time to include a range of products across various brands and dairy categories. 90 years later, milk continues to be sourced from dairy farms across Australia.

Today, more than 485 farms and 475 farming families spread across New South Wales, Queensland, regional Victoria and Western Australia, supply milk for our range. These farming communities are the pillars of the dairy industry.

“Our family have been farming now for over five generations,” says Phil Tate, a third-generation dairy farmer and one of the suppliers whose milk is used to make a range of products such as those offered through Lactalis Foodservice.

Phil’s family farm is located in Albion Park, New South Wales.

“Seventy years ago, my grandfather and grandmother came here, bought 119 acres and started off milking six cows by hand,” says Phil.

Today, 550 to 580 cows on the farm produce more than 5.5 million litres of milk annually.

To get the milk out on time, Phil and his brother rise at 3:20am to go to the dairy to check on the cows. Milking starts at 4am, finishing at 7:30am. At 8am, a milk tanker comes to transport the produce to Sydney. The process starts again at 1pm.

The quality of milk produced is, of course, not an unplanned occurrence.

“The secret to really great milk is the time, effort, and passion that goes into it. Anyone can produce milk, but to do it at a high quality is something else,” Phil says.

“People talk about food miles, paddock to plate – it doesn’t get any better than that,” says Phil.

“Deciding what nutritional balanced diet you’re going to feed the animals, the planning that goes into it is incredible,” Phil says. “We’re always planning for the future and implementing changes because better cow comfort is what we’re looking for all the time.”

The region, which is heavily dependent on dairy cows and beef cattle, has been experiencing challenges in recent years, from droughts to increased feed price.

“My wife works full time, and the kids help out on weekends and school holidays,” says Phil. “I think they get a real sense of a good work ethic, a sense of where their food
comes from, working together as a team.”

“Being a farmer is about controlling your own destiny, being in the outdoors, and actually producing something that’s good for the community,” he says.