Our dairy herd numbers just thirty head, and every one of them knows the sound of the gate. From the first spring grass to the last autumn frost, the cows move to a fresh paddock every day, eating the tops and leaving the roots to recover.
Rotational grazing is the oldest trick in the book, and it still works: the pasture never gets cropped bare, the manure spreads itself evenly, and the sward grows back thicker each cycle. The fields feed the cows, the cows feed the fields.
A day on pasture
Milking starts before sunrise in a calm, well-lit parlour — no shouting, no rushing, the same routine every single day. Cows are creatures of habit, and a relaxed cow lets her milk down fully and holds her condition through the season.
After milking the herd walks out to the day's paddock with fresh water and mineral licks waiting. Calves stay with their mothers in the nursery group, learning to graze by copying the older animals within their first week.
Happy cows on diverse pasture make milk you can taste the meadow in — sweet, golden and clean.
From udder to bottle
Milk travels from the parlour straight into the chilled tank, dropping to safe temperatures within the hour. Every batch is tested, gently pasteurised and bottled on the farm, with nothing added and nothing taken away.
What reaches the farm shop each Saturday is milk from cows you could walk out and meet — most customers have, at least once. Bring the children to the fence on your next visit; the herd enjoys an audience.
