An initiative to help small dairy farmers has reaped rewards for a Robertson woman.
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Cressida Cains, from Pecora Dairy, has been recognised in the NSW Rural Women's Award for an online program designed to help small dairy farmers grow their business.
She took out the award for NSW and the ACT, receiving a $10,000 bursary to help launch her website Dairy Cocoon.
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Ms Cains said she was "honoured and thrilled" with the announcement of her success made by NSW Agricultural Minister Adam Marshall on April 28.
She said the award was project-based and she hoped her website would make a valuable difference to small dairy farmers that had struggled in recent years.
Ms Cains and her husband established their Robertson dairy farm 11 years ago. They specialise in sheep milk products such as cheeses.
"When we started it was difficult to find information, so it was a real learning curve for us," she said.
But the couple did learn and in 2019 Percora Dairy won the 'From the Dairy' award in the nationally prestigious Delicious Produce Awards.
Ms Cains said she had, for a long time, been concerned about the number of small dairy farms that had closed or sold to big businesses that in turned 'squeezed out' the small operators.
She said she decided to create something that would hopefully help the small operators to change what they did and "look at other avenues" to survive.
Dairy Cocoon is intended to support dairy farmers looking to create their own branded products such as milk, cheese and gelato.
The website will provide information on business plans that could be required by lending authorities, educational information and support from mentors in the community.
Ms Cains said the bursary would "turbocharge" her project.
"I want to shine a light on the dairy industry as I believe it has a bright future. I want to help lift the profile of the industry," she said.
"I believe there is a real opportunity for small dairy farmers to produce branded items and I hope the website will make a difference in helping them do that."
Ms Cains hopes to launch the Dairy Cocoon website within six months.
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