Dairy farmer John Archer is going into the home-made ice cream business thanks to funding from Defra's Rural Enterprise Scheme (RES).
Mr Archer and his wife Sue, of New Moor Farm, Walworth Gate, Darlington, have been given a £25,094 RES grant to transform a former stable and forge into an ice cream parlour.
The couple will use milk from their herd of 300 Jersey cows to make the ice cream, which they will sell on the farm.
It is a change of direction for the Archers who have been dairy farmers at the 300-acre New Moor Farm since 1976.
Mr Archer said: "Like many farmers we really suffered in the foot and mouth crisis. Our herd of 320 cows had to be culled and we also lost more than 100 young stock which was devastating.
"But, it did make us sit back, take a good look at what we had left and think about how we could change things in the future.
"We didn't want to go back exactly to how we were, but we did want to draw on our strengths as a strong, well-established dairy farm. The idea of moving into the more specialist market of home-made Jersey ice cream, made by us with milk from our own Jersey cows, and sold by us to customers visiting the farm, really appealed.
"In the past we were all about filling up the milk tanker, but once we had waved goodbye to the tanker, that was the end of the process.
"Being able to market your own products on the farm is a real treat for any farmer. "
It is also a dramatic change of direction for wife Sue, who has given up her job as a lecturer in holistics at Darlington College to run the new business.
"It is a very different job, but one I am really looking forward to," said Mrs Archer. "I love the idea of us running our own family business and working as a team from home. It will mean I will see more of the children as well as being on hand to taste any new flavours we may be experimenting with! We are planning to revive an old fashioned flavour called "Hokey Pokey" made with lumps of cinder toffee - I can't wait to try that one out with the kids."
The idea of ice cream on their own doorstep is an exciting prospect for the Archer's three children Jessica, 15, Timothy, 13 and Charlie, nine, who are already planning to invite their friends to a grand opening this summer.
The bulk of Defra's RES grant will be spent on the two hi-tech machines needed to make and store the ice cream. Work has started on transforming the old stable and forge and the Archers will be open for business from 30 May.
Meanwhile the couple plan to carry out taste tests with lucky pupils at High Conniscliffe Primary School.
"Once we have their seal of approval, we know we are on to a good thing," said Mrs Archer.
