Once down the nondescript driveway, this visitor's impression of the farm itself is that it is stunningly neat and tidy.
There is no rubbish, sheds are pristine, vegetation is groomed and small groups of men are at work - some wearing bright overalls and others supervising.
The scene could be from any farm, but in the distance, the huge concrete prison wall indicates it is not.
CIE southern farms manager Allan Gorton said the awards for high milk quality (a low somatic cell count) were tributes to the farm instructors and prisoners.
Up to 16 inmates a day could work on the farm, Mr Gorton said.
Last year, 77 spent time working there.
"We were continually training somebody new," he said.
The farm is run as a commercial venture and also as a training facility for prisoners before release.
In conjunction with daily farm work, inmates are offered training through the Agriculture Industry Training Organisation.
Last season 75 prisoners gained 283 unit standards in a variety of courses. For some these were their first qualifications.
The credits were earned for courses as diverse as animal health, animal handling, chainsaw safety, Grow Safe and tractor and all-terrain vehicle driving.
Mr Gorton said he knew of seven men who were now working on dairy farms as a result of training at the Milton property. Others had jobs in related farm industries.
Many in this large, transient workforce had never worked on a farm before, Mr Gorton said. Achieving high-quality milk standards despite this was a credit to the instructors, as was only one cow having to be treated for lameness last season.
The promise of a barbecue provided an incentive for inmates, but achieving the monthly somatic cell count (SCC) target was also a credit to the cow and shed management systems in place, Mr Gorton said.
Sometimes with an idea you just had to get people on board, he said.
"The inmates bought in to it," he said.
Instructors maintained their standards, followed a proven system and worked to teach staff the relevant skills.
The three instructors initially each pair up with a prisoner and show them the basics. As they become proficient, those inmates are given more responsibility.
The instructors are always on hand to check the work. One will work with three inmates once they graduate to working in the pit.
Mr Gorton said other key elements were patience and treating the men as fellow employees, not prisoners. The instructors also realised the inmates were learning life skills.
Inmates usually grew in stature once outside the prison walls.
In their first few days on the farm, many inmates walked with their heads down and dragged their feet.
Soon their confidence grew and they walked and spoke with purpose.
Passing an AgITO course added to their personal development.
"For some, it is the first time they have passed something in their life. To them it's very meaningful. It lifts their self-esteem."
For many, it was the first time they had worked with large animals, which could be intimidating as well as rewarding.
"The thing about animals is that they don't argue, condemn or criticise," Mr Gorton said.
The farm's structure follows that of any dairy business.
Inmates work a five-day roster that includes weekend work and morning milking which starts at 5am. They have two days off and work one weekend in three.
The only difference is staff numbers, with six to seven working the morning shift and a further eight or nine working the afternoon shift, depending on other prison obligations.
Normal breakfast for an inmate is toast and cereal, but morning milkers get a cooked breakfast.
Mr Gorton said they enjoyed getting outside after being confined to the concrete surrounds of the prison.
"Being locked up 24-7 is pretty mind-numbing."
They are paid 40c-60c an hour for the work, enough money to keep them in tobacco.
When the farm was bought for the prison it had just been converted. The calf-rearing shed and effluent pond were rebuilt, and an irrigation system installed to apply effluent to nearly half the farm.
Inmates have also embarked on a large tree-planting scheme, planting nearly 4000 trees for shelter and aesthetic purposes.
In addition to the daily farm chores, the inmates have been tidying and developing the area around the sheds and buildings.
They have developed vegetable gardens for the prison and the local foodbank, and started a small firewood business.
The first three years under CIE management were dry, but given a favourable season, maturing after an influx of young stock and new pasture coming into full production, inmates should be able to achieve 130,000kg/ms, Mr Gorton said.
This year they produced 350kg/ms a cow but 400kg/ms a cow should be possible, he said.
The prison is positioned in the middle of the farm, with the longest walk to the shed 1km by track but just 300m in a direct line.
Young stock is grown out by a grazier in Northern Southland and all the cows are wintered on a CIE-run sheep and beef farm next to the Canterbury prison.
The farm has two tractors and some equipment, but silage is made by a contractor and carted in by inmates.
The prisoners cultivate their own crops, including turnips for summer grazing.
As skills allow, inmates also participate in pasture walks and contribute to developing feed budgets.
"You end up with a couple of guys that over the year have real ability and skills," Mr Gorton said.
Because of the variable time before release, others will have skills in gardening or specific tasks such as calf-rearing.
"You have got to tailor it to the people you get," he said.
He hoped to one day develop a pathway so inmates leaving the farm could go straight to a job or further education to use their skills and develop a career.
One of the farm's three instructors, Willia Selievi, said the key was to be patient and treat the inmates as equals, to praise them when they did well but to be prepared to step up when necessary.
Fellow instructor Frans Janssen agreed, saying it was rewarding to see inmates develop skills and grow in confidence and self-esteem.
Two inmates spoken to said they enjoyed learning new skills and the physical farm work and they hoped the skills they had learnt would help them secure jobs in the future.
One said he tried to achieve every qualification offered and hoped to secure a job on a dairy farm.
The other also hoped to get a job on a dairy farm and said access to training and qualifications should help.
FACTS:
• Corrections Inmate Employment dairy farm of 125ha run in association with Otago Corrections Facility at Milton.
• Cows milked last season: 370, producing 128,500kg/ms.
• Plan to continue milking 370 and produce 130,000kg/ms.
• Awarded merit certificate in milk quality and certificate of achievement for low somatic cell count (SCC) from Fonterra.
• Average SCC last season 121,382.