A DERFA survey back in 2013 found that the average age of farmers in the UK was 59, at that time. No doubt that age has crept up a bit since then. But dairy farming is changing and a new generation of young farmers, are bringing new ideas, mixing tradition with new technology and connecting…
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Recent news of the closure of Tomlinson’s Dairies, in North Wales, has led to growing concerns about the future of the liquid milk market in the UK. Until a few weeks ago, the dairy business based in Wrexham collected milk from around 80 farmers, 44 of whom were on aligned contracts to supply Sainsbury’s supermarkets…
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At this year’s Welsh Dairy Show, on October 29th, Free Range Dairy Network (FRD) will be launching a new collaboration with Welsh dairy farmer Nick Roch, to win badly needed recognition and value for ‘free range milk’, produced on dairy farms in Wales. According to data from the Food Standards Agency (FSA), 50 dairy farmers…
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The launch of our new website (which I hope you approve of by the way) has prompted me to reflect on how far Free Range Dairy Network has come since the original website was first launched in 2011. Back then free range milk was just an idea in my head, born out of frustration with the…
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Lunch is a 2 day trade show for café, coffee shop and the food to go sector. This year there was a common theme running it through it I’ve never seen before and that was sustainability. From how they source their ingredients, to food waste and energy usage, even to the packaging, everyone was talking…
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490 million litres of milk is thrown away each year. What a waste! Not just in terms of the cost to shoppers, but also for the cows that spend their lives producing this great food, our natural resources and the environment. A UN Report in 2015 estimates the population will grow to just under 10…
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I often think that as someone who has been so closely engaged with farming and nature all of my life, I have a really good connection with food and I understand how important simple, honest food is in making this world a better place. However, a recent experience taught me that food is about so…
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This was a question someone posed in a recent article in Forbes magazine. The writer was fascinated by a video of a cow using a mechanic brush, grooming herself and having a good scratch at the same time. ‘Today’s consumers and especially many young consumers have a desire to know more about the products they…
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What does sustainability mean to you? Is it all about climate change and saving the planet? There are numerous definitions of sustainability to be found these days, but I like this one I came across on Investopedia.com that says “Sustainability focuses on meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations…
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It’s two years ago today Asda became the first major retailer to stock free range dairy milk under the Pasture Promise logo. Here’s Rob, one of the farmers you see on the label telling us how Asda is helping to make a difference for farmers and cows. It’s now been two years since Asda took…
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Summary Last year we started a Coffee and Cows campaign off the back of a new YouGov Poll looking at Coffee Shop Milk to find out if customers care as much about where coffee shops source their milk as their beans? The poll found that 84% of people care as much about where they source…
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The way milk is produced on farms has changed beyond all recognition, over the past 30 plus years in which I have run dairy herds and many people have fallen out of love with milk. But, I believe we can make milk great again, by connecting farmers and consumers and telling the truth about its…
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Release date: Monday 25th February 2019 Over 100 milk producers in England and Wales have left the industry in the last month1 alone, with dairy farmers quitting at the highest rate since 2007. Dairy Farmer Neil Darwent, founder of the Free Range Dairy Network, is concerned that if the industry doesn’t try new ways of…
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From recent media stories you might think that dairy is to blame for all the bad things happening to our health and the planet. But milk and dairy products, especially from pasture based systems, have been part of our heritage for thousands of years and we’ve not only survived, but thrived on it. People have…
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Forget dry January this year, it’s all about what we eat or shouldn’t be eating to save ourselves and the planet this month. We’ve been inundated with advice and research. We’ve had Veganuary, as well as a new report published by the Lancet under a coalition called EAT. Their advice is cut right back on…
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One of the predicted megatrends for the future is the rise in Ethical Living. Passport market research, which is part of Euromonitor International, predicts that increasing attention will be paid to ethics and moral values by food citizens and businesses in the coming years. This means that purchasing decisions will be framed by concerns about…
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We’ve seen how Fake News has undermined democracy across the world, because without truth how can we make important decisions based on fact rather than fiction. Fake news is the master of manipulation, and I believe that Fake Food and Fake Farms are just as bad. Every time you see a picture of cows grazing…
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By Jenni Hobbs, The Hobbs family at Barhouse Farm. I am sure time flies by quicker every year! 2018 has sped past, so much happens on our dairy farm that you never get bored. 2018 has been full of highs and lows, and one thing I always say is that whenever we look back it is good…
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Images of cows in lush, green pastures are synonymous with British milk and the seasonal grazing of dairy herds has been practiced by many traditional, family farms for generations. But, this free range farming system is now at risk of being turned into a meaningless label, defined by those who have never got dirt beneath…
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Listen to the Podcast here. The Passenger Shed at Bristol Temple Meads railway station was the venue for the first ever Bristol Coffee Festival, earlier this month and we were delighted to play a key part, as milk sponsors, along with Cotteswold Dairy. In its first year, the Bristol Coffee Festival created its own unique…
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