Elliott family sets up their own dairy plant in a bid to take on the supermarkets in the milk war Seventh generation dairy farmer Emma Elliott with mum and business partner Erika in the bottling factory. AS THE state's dairy farmers battle to compete against the $1-a-litre milk wars, one family is leading the charge to buck the downward trend. Emma Elliott and her entire family are fighting to protect their industry by taking on the supermarkets and selling direct to consumers. They have set up their own processing and bottling plant The Little Big Dairy at Dubbo in the state's central west in hopes of easing their family's exposure to price discounting wars. Mrs Elliott, a seventh generation dairy farmer at Dubbo, said many farmers had left the industry due to deregulation in 2000 but the recent catalyst was the cheap milk prices. Seventh generation dairy farmer Emma Elliott on the family farm Glen Isla near Dubbo. She said those that were left in the dairy were working harder by increasing herd sizes and milking three times a day instead of two because they wanted a sustainable future on the land. "The milk wars between the supermarkets have hit us hard, which has been a driver for us starting the plant," Mrs Elliott, 24, said. It's value adding to the farm and keeping us being dairy farmers. Dairy runs thick in my blood and that of my families and not just a job it's a lifestyle. The entire family are involved in the process with Mrs Elliott's father Steve Chesworth and brother Duncan, 22, running the farm, milking the cows and growing feed. Her mother Erika works in the factory, rears calves and does the administration while her youngest brother Campbell, 19, delivers the milk. Emma Elliott's father Steve pushes the cows back out to pasture after milking on the family farm. They know every single cow's name in their 800-strong herd, which comes in handy when its time to call them for milking. At the plant they pasteurise, homogenise and bottle a small portion of the milk produced while the rest goes to a local processor. So far in the six weeks since they started the plant, they have been bottling 4000 litres a week, which is 2000 bottles they distribute to customers in Dubbo and Orange at $4.25 a bottle. While some might find that expensive, she said it was a true reflection of the cost to produce it. "We can pinpoint to the very cows of where that milk came from," she said. They are also the only fair trade accredited flavour milk in Australia. NSW Farmers Association dairy chairman Rob McIntosh said there were more and more dairy farmers like Mrs Elliott's family who were looking "outside the square" to make sure they survive the price wars. Mr McIntosh said there were farmers on the South Coast making sorbet and cheese as well as selling their own milk brand to add value to their business. "This family are makers of their own destiny," Mr McIntosh said. It's incredible what they are doing, they are moving with the times and embracing new technology.