ALEXANDER CELEBRATES LOCAL DAIRY
5-Oct-2012
On Friday 5th October, Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch & Strathspey MP Danny Alexander visited traditional, family-owned, fully organic business, Milton of Connage Farm situated at Ardersier.
Milton of Connage Farm owner, Cameron Clark is a member of the Organic Milk Suppliers Cooperative (OMSCo). With around 218 members, OMSCo is the largest and longest established UK organic milk supplier. OMSCo is Soil Association accredited and 100% organic.
Mr Clark was also joined by Lyndon Edwards, Vice-Chair of OMSCo and Richard Hampton, Sales and Marketing Director at OMSCo.
The visit to the farm coincides with the World School Milk Day initiative (which runs from 26th September to 16th October). Earlier in the day, Mr Alexander also visited Drakies Primary School who hosted a World School Milk Day event.
Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch & Strathspey MP Danny Alexander says:
"Milton of Connage is exactly the sort of world class producer and growing business we all want to see in this part of Scotland. As an organic farm it demonstrates best practice in environment/welfare that we can all be proud of"
"We all know how important a successful organic dairy industry is to the Highlands, and quality accessible dairy products are to a healthy nutritious diet. Hopefully the code of conduct between dairy farmers and producers which was introduced in July will help bring greater fairness to the market and enable more businesses to thrive."
ENDS
Notes to editors:
· Connage Highland Dairy is a traditional, family-owned, fully organic business, situated on its family farm at Ardersier. The farm was started by father Hamish Clark and continues to remain in the family. It is owned by brothers Callum and Cameron and their wives Jill and Eileen. Callum and Jill manage the cheese side of the business using their years of experience and producing a fully traceable quality end product – multi award winning cheese. Cameron and Eileen undertake the majority of the work on the farm themselves, from breeding and managing the dairy herd to milking them. The organic dairy herd of 150 cowsare mostly Holstein Friesian with Jersey crosses and Norwegian Reds and they graze the luscious clover pastures around the dairy and along the shores of the Moray Firth.
· Milton of Connage is a member of the Organic Milk Suppliers' Cooperative (OMSCo) .
· OMSCo was formed in 1994 when five like-minded organic dairy farmers joined forces to sell their organic milk. Now with around 218 members, OMSCo is the largest and longest established UK organic milk supplier. Member farms collectively employ around 1000 people (419 direct employees and around 600 contractors).
· OMSCo have a milk pool of 275 million litres per year and supply two thirds of the UK's entire organic milk output, making OMSCo one of the largest organic businesses in the UK.
· OMSCo is Soil Association accredited and 100% organic. With farms stretching from Cornwall in the south of England to Inverness in the north and from Kent in the east to the western-most part of Wales, OMSCo covers the whole of the UK.
· As well as raw organic milk, OMSCo also supplies a range of organic dairy ingredients – cream, skimmed milk powder, liquid skimmed concentrate and butter, and makes a significant contribution to UK exports, with an international turnover last year of £30m.
OMSCo – Background Information
Who are we?
OMSCo was formed in 1994 when five like-minded organic dairy farmers joined forces to sell their organic milk. Now with around 218 members, OMSCo is the largest and longest established UK organic milk supplier. Member farms collectively employ around 1000 people (419 direct employees and around 600 contractors).
We have a milk pool of 275 million litres per year and supply two thirds of the UK's entire organic milk output, making us one of the largest organic businesses in the UK.
OMSCo is Soil Association accredited and 100% organic. With farms stretching from Cornwall in the south of England to Inverness in the North and from Kent in the east to the western-most part of Wales, we cover the whole of the UK.
As well as raw organic milk, OMSCo also supplies a range of organic dairy ingredients – cream, skimmed milk powder, liquid skimmed concentrate and butter, and we make a significant contribution to UK exports, with a foreign turnover last year of £30m
Our Values
Knowing where our food comes from and understanding how we can produce it with respect for the environment and our animals is at the heart of OMSCo farmers' values.
We run various farm-based educational activities to give children the opportunity to see these values in action.
For example we run free Hedgerow Safaris at OMSCo farms around the country, where children can find out about wildlife that lives on an organic farm. From buttercup to butterfly, woodlice to woodmice, children (and teachers) can get close up and personal. The project is designed to be enjoyable and educational and supports a wide range of Key Stage 2 National Curriculum requirements.
We are actively supporting the United Nations Environment Programme 2011-12 Year of the Bat. Bats are a fantastic barometer for biodiversity, and organic farming methods promote this.
Our Values in Action
Our farmers put our values into action every day. We are committed to:
· Producing a high quality, great tasting product
· Rearing healthy, naturally reared cows to produce the best tasting milk
· Protecting our natural heritage
For example on our farms:
· Cows spend as much time as possible outside eating fresh grass (unlike regular farming, organic standards mean that 60 % of their diet must be grass-based)
· Calves are fed on proper milk and kept in social groups
· Good quality grass depends on looking after the soil. That means no chemical fertilisers, herbicides or pesticides and natural methods of cultivating a rich and diverse bio-culture on the farm.
· We only use antibiotics to treat infections and use natural methods to prevent infections as far as possible
· We work with nature, sowing crops in spring and autumn and only cut hedgerows every two years to encourage the flowering that supports a wide variety of wildlife.
Evidence-Based
Whilst we are driven by our values, organic farming methods are underpinned by comprehensive research covering everything from sustainability and biodiversity and animal welfare to the benefits of organic dairy produce.
Our organic accreditation is regulated by the Soil Association which is recognised as the gold standard for animal husbandry and land management implemented across all our farms and is based on world leading evidence of the benefits of this approach.
Dairy produce is widely accepted as an essential part of a balanced and healthy diet. Recent studies by the University of Aberdeen, The University of Liverpool and the University of Newcastle have shown that organic milk is naturally higher in Omega 3 Alpha Linolenic Fatty Acid (ALA) than non-organic milk. ALA is linked to maintaining heart health and is also converted by the body into Eicosapentaenic acid (EPA) and Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) – the two types of Omega 3 fatty acids that are most readily used by the body. The best source of Omega 3 is oily fish but milk can be a useful additional source.
