More than 100 baristas show a keen interest in Gippsland's dairy industry

Gippsland Jersey co-founder and director Sallie Jones, Warragul, said the Monday, May 6 event was the first time they had hosted the event at Jindivick, since its inception three years ago.

"We were totally blessed with the bluebird day, and our visitors didn't have to be squishing around in mud so it made for a more enjoyable day for the city folk," she said.

"It had the intricacies you can only really get from being up close and personal."

She said the question-and-answer session had plenty of inquiries, about industry branding, ownership, and profits.

"They asked about the labour, how many people it takes to run a farm, obviously they were looking around going 'there's a lot of work to be done here'," Ms Jones said.

"They were interested in the running of the farm, the process of going from farm to putting milk in a bottle.

"They asked about the difference in Jersey milk, and Karen McLennan, the GippsDairy chief, spoke about the wider dairy industry and the economic impact dairying contributes to Gippsland.

"It's the biggest industry that we've got."

She said other guest speakers included farmers Joe Meggetto, This Is A Conversation Starter (TIACS), and Mark Wilms, who spoke about their mental health experiences.

The day also included a friendly competition, pairing up farmers with baristas, a dairy and farm tour, and a gumboot throw.

"We went down into the dairy and each of the five farmers teamed up with two baristas, we had a woman who is going to compete in the world champion barista competition," Ms Jones said.

"She came by herself and Steve [Ronalds, co-founder] went and introduced himself, he asked how she fits into the coffee world and she replied 'just won the Aussie championship and representing Australia next month at Copenhagen.'."

Poowong dairy farmer Luke Wallace won the competition with two regional baristas, Travis Pearson, South Brew Cafe, and a roaster who travelled from Wagga, NSW.

The day also included coffees from Zest, and scones with cream.

Ms Jones said the Baw Baw Shire Council's tourism team was also in attendance, and three Melbourne restaurants, Reine & La Rue, Stokehouse St Kilda and Rockpool Bar & Grill.

"The dairy farmers loved it, it was really nice for our farmers to spend a few hours with the people who are the end users of their product," she said.

"People tasting their milk and going 'it's amazing', it fills up their cups from the monotonous life of being a dairy farmer."

She said it felt great to celebrate the dairy industry and its farmers, particularly during rising popularity of alternative milk.

"To have 100 baristas come to the farm and show an interest, was a really big win for the dairy industry," she said.