Fondue is a dish that can sink the boat: it is almost impossible to stop dipping into that big pot of molten sin once you start. So coming up with a respectable alternative that didn’t eat up a month’s worth of saturated fat in one sitting has been simmering at the back of my mind throughout the writing…
A recent blog by fellow Free Range Dairy Network director, Carol Lever, cited consumer research by Harris Interactive, which provided a sharp insight into changing attitudes toward milk and dairy, particularly amongst 16 to 24 year olds. 39% of respondents in this age group said they were ditching dairy, due to increasing concerns about its…
When I was in a local supermarket last week, I picked up a carton of Alpro Roasted Almond (unsweetened). I noticed, on the packaging, an image of a white liquid, very much like milk, gushing from a split almond and wondered, could it be milk? I looked carefully at the ingredients listed on the back…
Just recently I came across a new milk label in a supermarket. Well, not a new label exactly, more like an existing label which had two words added to it – ‘free range’. I have since learned that this is the result of dairy giant Arla rebranding its organic milk offer, to help people fully…
I’m delighted to report that Free Range Milk pioneers, Stephenson’s Dairy, have been offered the chance to supply milk to 24 Booths stores in the north west of England, from July 1st. Chris & Steph Stephenson took up the Pasture Promise logo back in May 2015 and switched all of their customers to free range milk.…
I’m delighted to tell you that our mission to offer British consumers the choice of free range milk, has recently been given another significant boost, thanks to Mid Counties Co-op. They are now stocking Cotteswold Dairy’s free range milk in over 40 stores, which you can find here. The Mid Counties Co-operative is the largest…
As World Milk Day celebrations get under way, I thought you might be interested in a few milk stats, to impress anyone you are having round for a few pints of the white stuff. There’s an awful lot of milk produced and consumed around the globe. Between 2013 and 2015 world milk production stood at…
There hasn’t been much in the news lately about cuts in milk prices or the blockading of supermarket distribution centres by angry farmers. That’s because over the last six months there has been a steady rise in farm gate prices, following a significant drop in production on farms. Total UK milk production was 770 million…
Well. It seems that the milk revolution that we have ignited is rapidly spreading, with more and more people beginning to understand that not all milk is the same. Every week there is news and debate about free range milk that seems to be driving a retailers and dairy companies to hurriedly piece together some…
This month is Sustainable Restaurant Association’s #coffeemadegood campaign which encourages coffee roasters, baristas and consumers to think about where the coffee has come from? They are also encouraging people to think about the milk too. A 6oz cappuccino will consist of 1oz of espresso and 5 oz of milk plus some froth. Milk plays an…
We are absolutely delighted to have received so much interest in Pasture Promise free range milk, following our recent appearance on Jamie and Jimmy’s Friday Night Feast . People everywhere, are demanding to know that the milk they buy comes from cows free to graze in fields, for at least 180 days and nights a…
Free Range Dairy Network has been using the #notallmilkisthesame for a few months now and as we raise awareness of the work of Free Range Dairy Network, the clearer it becomes that indeed not all milk is the same. Within our farmers network we have farmers located from the Yorkshire Dales down to Cornwall, with…
2016 has been a really busy year for Free Range Dairy Network. Having established a collaboration between dairy farmers supplying milk to Dales Dairies and Stephenson’s Dairy in Lancashire, the first free range milk reached the market in May 2015. Since then we have been working to grow our network and offer more people the…
When I began talking about the concept of free range milk back in 2011, I was looking for a way to help people understand the role dairy farmers play in defining the quality of the milk we buy and to halt the loss of traditional grazing herds from the British countryside. I could see that…
It’s that time of year when we can feel the world around us changing, as suddenly summer seems to have slipped away. Shortening daylight, colder mornings, mist and dew, accompanied by a rich hue of orange and gold colours splashed across the once green landscape, announce the arrival of autumn. Still today, in mid October,…
The recently released State of Nature Report with contributions from more than 50 conservation groups, claims ‘policy-driven’ intensification of farming is a significant driver of nature loss in the UK. The report assessed 8,000 species and found that one in ten are threatened with extinction. In a report by BBC Environmental Correspondent, Claire Marshall, lead author of…
This week we ran our last Free Range Dairy event of the summer at Bar house farm in Gloucestershire. Jenni and Jerry along with their cows have been the stars of the events. Jenni making free range cakes and everything in between for lunches that people couldn’t resist after a walk around the farm, pictures…
TV chef and good food ambassador, Jamie Oliver, has established an ambitious new initiative to bring about a global revolution in food and we have been invited to join in and tell the world about the work of the Free Range Dairy Network CIC and its aims. You can read the full details on Jamie’s…
July 1st 2016 marks the second birthday of the Free Range Dairy Network. Our ‘birth certificate’ below from Companies House shows the date we created our Community Interest Company (CIC) and embarked on our stated social mission “to promote the value of pasture-based milk production on British dairy farms for the benefit of cows, consumers…
It is unsurprising, in the wake of the work we have done to raise awareness that not all milk is the same, others are now looking to establish labels providing an assurance that dairy cows are grazed in fields. Waitrose launched a new TV advert in April, shortly after I appeared on BBC Countryfile talking…