A Dorchester farm is in the running for the ‘Rural Oscars’ for its innovative vending machines selling Dorset ice cream, milkshakes and fresh produce.

Eweleaze Dairy, at Martinstown, has been crowned winner in the south west category for best rural enterprise in the Countryside Alliance Awards 2026, which celebrate businesses that go the extra mile.

Chloe and Thomas Marsh were nominated by members of the public without their knowledge.

After a round of judging and a public vote, they were named regional winners, a result that came as a lovely surprise to the couple, who have a toddler.

Chloe, who has a degree in equine science and has been a British No1 side saddle champion, said: “We are so incredibly proud right now.

“We are so grateful to all of our amazing customers for voting for us and nominating us, it means the world to our little family farm.”

The Marshes sell milk, milkshakes and small-batch gelato made on their farm, alongside locally sourced produce including eggs, honey, cheese and butter from neighbouring suppliers.

The vending machine launched in 2020, during the first Covid lockdown. A second machine stocking local produce was added later, and Dorset ice cream followed two years after.

Because the Marshes milk their own cows, they are legally permitted to use raw milk in production, which means the ice cream is pasteurised only once, inside the machine itself, rather than twice as is the case for producers who must buy in already-pasteurised milk.

Chloe believes they are one of only a few producers in the country making ice cream this way, and credits the single pasteurisation with giving the product a creamier texture and cleaner flavour.

The farm, which has been in Thomas’s family for generations and is run alongside his parents, grows all its own forage crops including wheat, barley and grass silage, and allows the cows to graze outside as much as possible.

The sustainability of those practices was cited as part of the reason for winning the award. The farm also supplies milk to Barber’s Farmhouse Cheesemakers.

The national judging for the Rural Oscars is expected to take place in July, with the overall winner announced at the House of Commons.

As we reported in 2022, the Marsh family, who have been farming in Martinstown since 1963, extend such a high standard of care to their herd at Eweleaze Farm they even provide them with an Astroturf strip for comfort as they amble from field to barn for their milking. They also get a daily foot bath.

This extra care, and the unusual way they cool and pasteurise their milk, makes their products extra creamy.

From 1960s heritage to Dorset ice cream and milkshakes

John and Patricia Marsh first settled on a farm just outside Martinstown in 1963, then moved to the 500-acre Eweleaze Farm in 1966. They were joined in the running of the farm by their son Noel and his wife Amanda in 1989, then later, their grandson Thomas and his wife Chloe.

The farm was an early adopter of the organic movement in 2006 and the family has been ahead of the curve in many ways over the years, with the latest innovation being the vending shed you’ll find at the entrance to the farm.

Chloe likes to introduce new flavours all the time – milkshake flavours have included Biscoff, Creme Egg and rhubarb and custard, as well as chocolate and strawberry Dorset ice cream.

People come from miles around to buy the milk. Nothing is wasted here – even the heat generated by the cooling of the milk is harnessed and used to heat water, thanks to an EU grant enabling them to build a new eco-friendly dairy back in 2018.