A prison dairy farm near Milton in South Otago has won two milk supply awards.
The farm, which produces milk from 330 cows on 125 hectares of secure land surrounding Otago Prison, has won a merit certificate in milk quality and a certificate of achievement for low somatic cell count (an indicator of herd health) from the dairy giant Fonterra.
The Corrections Department's South Island farms manager, Allan Gorton, says the milk supply awards are hard enough to win for a conventionally run farm, let alone one staffed by prisoners.
Last season 75 prisoners worked on the farm and between them achieved 280 NZQA unit standards in skills like tractor and chainsaw use, chemical and animal handling.
