He’s the Millennial dairy farmer who is shaking up South Yorkshire’s milk supply with a growing number of farm-fresh milkshake vending machines.

At the press of a button, you could be enjoying cold, creamy milk that only hours earlier had been robotically milked from a Holstein Friesian cow in Barnsley.

But while this legen-dairy idea goes a long way towards being more climate smart, it’s also changed the fortunes of James Hill’s family farm in Hoylandswaine.

The Hill family have been tenants at Kidfield Farm, on the Cannon Hall Estate, for almost 80 years.

James’ grandad Roy moved on site in 1947 with his uncle Fredrick, taking on the tenancy from the Spencer Stanhope family after the war.

They had three cows to start with, soon doubling to six, and all were milked by hand. Milk was sold on the end of the farm lane or taken the seven-and-half-mile journey to Barnsley Market on horse and cart.

Roy’s only son John joined the business in the late 1970s and would eventually take over running it with his wife, Val. Her family were also dairy farmers, based at Midhope near Langsett.

John and Val’s only child, James, had other plans. He’d seen how tying and intense the demands of dairy farming could be, having to get up before dawn to milk the cows. Some of his earliest memories are of helping his dad in the milking parlour before school.

After leaving Penistone Grammar School, James went off to Harper Adams University in Shropshire in search of pastures new. On graduating with a degree in agriculture and marketing, he gained an internship in Georgia, America at the global farm machinery manufacturer, AGCO.

He then moved to AGCO’s UK branch at Stoneleigh Abbey Park, the national agricultural centre, in management roles.

Back in Barnsley, life on the farm was changing.

“The old milking parlour meant he could only milk eight cows at a time. It wasn’t safe for him or the cows and was no longer sustainable. I asked Dad where he saw his future going and he said if he could come out in his slippers and see the cows then he’d be happy,” James says.

Excuse the pun, but there was no time to cry over spilt milk. James chose to step in to help the farm grow. After six years with AGCO, he moved back home in March 2018.

This meant John could concentrate on their arable crops at Silkstone at Hoylandswaine. John is more at home on a tractor, having been a three-times world champion ploughman, competing since he was 14.

The wheat, barley, maize, grass and beans they grow makes up 85 percent of the cows’ diet; the rest goes to market.

Coming back to the farm, James and his parents looked to modernise things so that they could all enjoy farming and family life.

They invested in two robotic milking machines and built a new shed to house them. The robots work round-the-clock, easing the labour-intensive task of milking 130 cows.

Seeing it in action is udderly mind-blowing. Naga Munchetty, Denise Welch and Tess Daly (James went through a stage of naming the cows after TV presenters) queue up to be milked, a bit like waiting for a bus.

The cows choose when and how often they’re milked, with the Hills believing that happy, relaxed cows produce the tastiest milk. And they get fed while being milked, so they know there’s a treat in it for them, too.

“Our average yields have risen since we’ve had the robots. Some cows get milked up to six times a day and our highest yielders produce up to 18,000 litres over the ten-month lactation period,” James says.

Welfare was a major consideration for James. There are sensors in the milking cups that detect when there’s no milk left in each teat, automatically detaching so it’s not uncomfortable for the cow. The machine then self-cleans and disinfects the cow.

The milking machines also give James and his team an insight into the health of their herd. Using biometric data for each cow, the machines can detect bacteria in the milk, check the temperature of the milk, and monitor their behaviour, such as if she’s been eating or moving less than normal. James gets an alert to his phone for any discrepancies so that he can deal with issues promptly without being tied to the farm 24/7.

The cows also have top-of-the-range beds to sleep on. Their new shed is kitted out with specially designed cubicles and ‘mattresses’. This new system has replaced the former loose straw bedding which left the herd prone to mastitis.

“Cows are creatures of habit so you often find them in the same bed each day, which makes it a lot easier when you’re trying to locate a certain one from over a hundred cows.”

Next on the agenda is investing in another milking machine as well as robots to clean around them and to feed the cows.

What would Grandad Roy think if he could see the farm now?

“When we put the first vending machine in, it was on the old sheep dip and I did wonder what Grandad would have made of it. But he was always forward thinking and wasn’t averse to trying new things.”

Milk from the Hills’ vending machines are a relatively new addition to Kidfield Farm, but they’ve proved to be the cream of the crop. They installed the first one in October 2022 and a couple of months later it went viral on social media, with up to 40 cars in the car park at one time.

They’ve now got six more sites where their vending machines are based: Barnsley Market, Blacker Hall Farm, Cannon Hall Farm, Farmer Copleys, Penistone Fruit and Veg, and Snap Fitness gym in Stocksbridge.

The machines dispense plain milk, milkshakes, and protein milk into reusable glass bottles. They have four regular milkshake flavours – banana, chocolate, strawberry and vanilla, and two additional flavours that change every Monday.

“People go wild on a Monday waiting to see what that week’s flavours are going to be. My favourite is white chocolate bueno and it’s one of our most popular flavours. We had the busiest weekend of all time when that was on recently. But I can’t say I get the urge to drink our milkshakes that often as I’m surrounded by the smell of them from 5.30am every day.

“We started with just a rack of flavoured syrups and now I’m having to build a mezzanine level in the barn they’re stored in as we’ve got that many.”

Litres of raw milk are gently pasteurised in small batches each day; the slower heating process and quick cooling helps it retain its creaminess. It’s also non-homogenised so the cream rises to the top.

A third of their milk goes into the vending machines, which are replenished every other day or daily at weekends. The other two-thirds are sold to Longley Farm in Holmfirth to make their cream, yoghurts, butter and cottage cheese.

At the farm, there are also vending machines for ice cream and frozen yoghurt, along with local produce like cheese, eggs, butter, snacks, sweets and homemade bakes. There’s even a line of merchandise with cow-themed pants, socks and hats that can be dispensed – James has definitely milked his marketing degree there.

Of course, Milk from the Hills is not a one-man-band. James is supported by a growing team including herdsman Andrew, two dairy operatives, a team of part-time staff, and his wife Alex.

The pair, who met down in Warwickshire, got married on the farm during the pandemic and have a daughter, Phoebe, who will be two in the autumn.

Alex is the epitome of a modern farmer’s wife. She left behind a career in teaching to get stuck into farm life and now has a heap of roles from payroll, HR and admin, to being chief bottle designer and the creative brain behind their social media accounts.

In the future, she’d love to be able to bring her teaching experience to the farm and open a classroom where kids can learn about life as a dairy farmer – aided by Margot their fibreglass cow that people can practice their milking skills on.

But in the meantime, her next project is doing up a 1960s ice cream trailer that will be going in their new picnic and playground area. They’ve recently collaborated with Cannon Hall Farm to create a new ice cream range using their milk.

Their ice creams and milkshakes will be going on tour this summer via their big, refrigerated trailer. James will be setting up shop in Barnsley’s Glass Works Square during the summer months and you can catch him at Penistone Show in September.

They’re also planning an open day later in the year for visitors to look around the farm and see how their milk goes from cow to cup in a handful of hours.

“They’re still busy days on the farm and I’ve had a lot to learn but things have become so much more economical over the last six years. It means I can have a family life too and not miss out on seeing Phoebe grow up or being able to take a holiday.

“Phoebe loves to put her wellies on and trek around the farm so it’s nice that she’s growing up in that environment. Mum and Dad still live in the cottage next door, too, so Dad has got his wish of being able to come out in his slippers to see the cows.”