Two cows that launched a family farming legacy

An award-winning farm that began with two cows has grown its herd to nearly 200 and is exploring new ways to increase profits.

Many farms are looking to diversify their businesses as they face challenges to remaining profitable while keeping produce on local tables.

Wrights Family Dairy in Tixall, Staffordshire produces about 1.8 million litres of milk a year from its Jersey cow herd and has recently started using milk vending machines to generate a new arm to the business.

Lowri Wright said the farm's new machines allowed them to "keep more of the pound that would otherwise be kept with the manufacturer or the retailer".

The farm itself was started by her father-in-law Andrew Wright, who was gifted two Jersey heifer calves for his 13th birthday. The entire current herd has been raised from those first two.

"It started from nothing" the 71-year-old said.

"When I was sixteen, I used to milk them by hand before I went to school."

The milk has gone on to win awards - just this year it was named Supreme Dairy Product at the International Cheese and Dairy awards in Stafford.

Andrew said he still found the whole process of raising cattle "fascinating", adding "you can't beat nature".

Jersey milk is high in butterfat, leading to it being used to make various dairy products like high-end cheeses and ice cream.

Lowri said the food was formulated for the cows' needs and also for the optimum milk production, in terms of butterfat and protein.

"All the detail that goes into growing our home-grown forage like the grass, the maize, the fodder beet to then go into the tailored diet that the cows eat," she said.

Despite all the work and awards, it still does not stop Andrew from worrying about the challenges facing the wider industry.

"If you've got the wrong milk contract, it doesn't matter how good you farm the farm you still can't make money - there's no business that survives without the word profit," he said.

Lowri added: "It's a testing time - there is an oversupply of milk, which brings prices down that are paid to the farmer."

Until recently, all of their produce would go to Longley Farm in Yorkshire, with which it has had a 30-year relationship - turning the Jersey milk into dairy products.

But as a way of keeping a bit more of the more of the profit connected with milk production, the family are selling some of it via local vending machines.

One of them is at Canalside farm shop, in Great Heywood.

Geoff Barton, the Managing Director there, said: "Our big thing is about being able to connect farmers with local customer, and it's literally only a mile away so you couldn't get more local.

"The customers I think they just really appreciate being able to drive past a herd of cows they know they can buy their milk from in five minutes time."

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