The Dairy Herd
Our dairy herd is made up of 60 cows, mainly Jersey and Friesian. Our cows are outside grazing for around 300 days of the year, only housed when the weather dictates and are housed on a deep straw beds in newly converted open airy barns. We provide a doorstep milk delivery service within 5 miles of the farm, with the remainder of the milk going to a local cheesemaker in Somerset.
We pride ourselves on having a small sustainable dairy herd and all our cows have names. The cows in the picture from left to right are Patricia, Snickers, Bramble, Monica and Maisey. Research shows cows can recognise up to 60 faces, this means that all the cows in our herd recognise each other, given the average herd size in the country is now over 200 cows this is something of a rarity but we believe it is an important part of giving our cows a low stress lifestyle to produce the most nutritious milk possible.
Why is our milk different?
There are many reasons our milk is different. Our cows live in a small herd and are outside grazing until the weather turns inclement, this is normally around 300 days a year. We do not push our cows to produce high volumes of milk, our average cow produces around 5000 litres a year compared to 10,000 litres or more for the modern Holstein. We concentrate on producing quality milk from predominantly grazed grass. Being outside our cows can exhibit their natural herd behaviour more easily and we believe are under far less stress because of this. This is better for the cow, living a longer and healthier life, and better for the consumer who gets a more nutritious and ethical product. We believe you can taste the difference in our milk.
Front of the photo on the left is 'Teddy Bear', despite her modest size (being a Jersey cross) she is a lead cow often seen at front bringing the rest of the herd in for milking.
We are always very happy to answer any questions about our dairy herd so feel free to send us an email. Alternatively, if you have a group who would like to visit then why not organise a farm visit on our 'farm visits' page and see the herd yourself!