Mackie's - Red Tractor Licensees

A little bit of Mackie’s ‘magic’

Calling all ice cream lovers! Mackie’s of Scotland have been making delicious, real dairy ice cream since 1986, from the goodness of their herd’s Red Tractor assured milk. Did you know their natural and creamy ‘Traditional’ ice cream gets its flavour purely from fresh milk and cream? There’s no added flavour – not even vanilla. It’s the same recipe they have been using since they started making ice cream.

Mackie’s also pasteurise their ice cream mix at a secret higher temperature than is normal for pasteurisation – this helps create the unique, sweet and subtly caramelised taste of their award-winning real dairy ice cream.

Delicious ice cream from cows who milk themselves

Every tub of ice cream is made at the 1,600-acre Westertown family farm in Aberdeenshire. It looks like many other working farms, but there’s nothing that prepares you for the surprise that every dairy cow on the farm milks itself, any time, day or night, to provide more than 12,000 litres of whole milk a day, ready to make indulgent ice cream.

Robotic milkers at the ready

When the cows are ready, they stroll into one of five high-tech robotic milking units. Thanks to a transponder on each cow’s collar, the milking unit receives all the information it needs to recognise the cow, wash its udder, fit the milking equipment (using infrared technology to help), and milk the cow – as well as check the condition of the milk. The machine even gives the cow some ‘special feed’ while she’s there – a high-energy nutritional cake with 18% protein!

Then the machine automatically steam cleans itself before waiting for the next cow.

“The robotic milking machines are great for the farm and for the cows.

“The collars also help us keep an eye on their wellbeing, by monitoring their temperature as well as the time they spend eating, resting, ruminating or being active. And because they decide when it’s time to be milked, they can enjoy their lives following their own natural biorhythms.”

David Smurthwaite, Farm Manager at Mackie’s

Each year, the cows produce more than 4 million litres of milk – enough for Mackie’s to create a whopping 15 million tubs of ice cream, containing the wonderful, natural dairy taste of fresh creamy milk.

So next time you enjoy a tub of Mackie’s ice cream, raise a spoon to those robotic milkers at Westertown farm.