In the misted hills of Queensland’s Atherton Tablelands, Mungalli Creek Dairy has been quietly going against the grain for three decades. In an era when dairy farms across Australia have dwindled from abundance to rarity, this family-run operation has done something radical: it has grown. Since the deregulation of the dairy industry in 2000, the number of farms in the region has fallen from 185 to just 30. The policy shift, which removed price guarantees for farmers, opened the floodgates to consolidation and competition. Milk became cheaper on supermarket shelves but costlier for the people producing it.

Guided by instinct more than convention, brothers Rob and Dan Watson chose a path of their own. Long before deregulation reshaped the market, they had begun reimagining what dairying could look like—moving toward biodynamics and working with the natural rhythms of the land rather than against them. For Rob, it began with the soil. Having farmed without pesticides or synthetic fertilisers since the beginning, his discovery of biodynamic principles deepened his connection to the life beneath his feet.

As the industry around them contracted, Mungalli turned challenge into opportunity. They began crafting their own products—first cheese, then yoghurt, then milk—each one a reflection of their land’s vitality. “Milk is a superfood,” says Michelle from the Mungalli team. “We keep it as close to its natural state as possible, so it nourishes the body the way nature intended.” By avoiding over-processing and homogenisation, they preserve the integrity of their milk, allowing its nutrients to be absorbed more easily—a living food that mirrors living soil.

Over time, this way of farming has done more than nurture the landscape. Mungalli has created local jobs, supported nearby farming families, and offered a model for how regional food systems can thrive. Their success brings vitality back into rural life—proof that good food and good farming need not come at each other’s expense.

This Farm Yarn was made possible by Alsahwa Estate