Pecora Dairy, Australia's first Raw Milk cheese making company was awarded the RAS Presidents Medal by her excellency Margaret Beazley in a formal ceremony at Sydney showgrounds which was attended by numerous dignitaries and NSWs best producers from across all agricultural industries.

Co-founders Mike and Cressida Cains were chosen from a highly contested field of businesses to take the top award which honours producers, not for the excellence of their product but also for their social licence to operate.



Pecora Dairy, sheep dairy and cheesery was co founded in 2011 by Mike and Cressida Cains and has grown in strength during it's 13 years of operation. It has become one of Australia's most loved and respected National cheese brands. Pecora Dairy has been consistently recognised for it's excellence and for pushing the boundaries of innovation and technology.

In 2018, Pecora Dairy was awarded the first licence to make raw milk cheese in Australia. Mike and Cressida are committed to ethical animal management. Their flourishing and docile flock of East Frisian milking ewe's which graze on Robertson's rich volcanic soils produce the milk from which the Cains make their benchmark ewe's milk cheeses. In 2020 Pecora Dairy took a significant step towards becoming carbon neutral by installing 100 solar panels and 80 kWh of batteries.

The farming enterprise is now part of a ground breaking peer to peer trading system. Where electricity is traded between like minded farms with better prices for both buyer and seller.

The business was expanded in 2021 with the opening of Pecora Cheese and Wine, a stunning regional venue showcasing the best of Australian cheese, produce, wines and beers. The Cains are extremely excited to be recognised for their work yet again.

Mike says "it's always been our dream to win the RAS Presidents Medal. To be acknowledged for an award which assesses a business triple bottom and social licence to operate is truly an honour." Cressida says "the Presidents Medal rewards farmers for how they farm not just what they farm. It's a recognition of everything we do to on the road to making benchmark cheese in a sustainable way."

Pecora Dairy is located in Robertson, NSW and has been producing ewe's milk cheese since 2011. You can touch base with them and sample the cheeses at the Kiama Farmers market on Wednesdays on Kiama Surf Beach.