We enjoy sharing farm life

[17.08.2020]

From farm to front door

Have you ever wondered how our delicious, award-winning organic milk gets to your doorstep from our farm? Read on to find out all about its journey from our cows to your coffee.

 

The cows

All good milk stories start with the cows, and ours is no exception. We firmly believe that a happy herd means a healthy herd – and this in turn means the tastiest milk.

 

Our herd of dairy shorthorn cows enjoys a varied and nutritious diet – after all, you are what you eat!

The cows graze on organic grass, rich in clover and herb leys in the glorious North East.

 

The cows are also fed seaweed grown in British waters, to boost their zinc and iodine levels and overall health – this also has the bonus effect of reducing methane in their burps!

 

We also believe a healthy lifestyle is invaluable for our cows, as it is for humans, and our herd spend a lot of time outside. We’re proud to be one of only a small number of dairy farmers in the UK to still practice the traditional system of Summer grazing and Winter housing, allowing our herd to feel the sun on their backs and to roam freely in the warmth.

 

In the colder months, when there is no fresh grass, our herd is brought inside, where they enjoy a rich mix of food, including organic silage made from five different rye grasses and four types of clover, apple cider and Himalayan rock salt. They also benefit from automatic grooming brushes and memory foam mattresses – five-star service indeed!

 

Bottling and buttering

We pastuerise and bottle all our milk on-site – and we’re proud to be 100 per cent green. In 2013, we started using a 67-metre-high wind turbine on our farm at Archdeacon Newton, which provides all the power our processing and bottling plant needs, saving a remarkable 1,000 litres of diesel a week.

 

What’s more, we’re proud to still use glass bottles for our milk – although plastic is available for those customers who prefer it. We always say that, just like tea from a china cup, milk tastes better from a glass bottle – and, being returnable and reusable, is better for the environment too.

 

We also produce our own tasty butter once a week too, churning cream and a little salt together before setting it to harden for a week in our fridges. It’s then put through the extruder, squeezing out excess water and forming the butter cylinders our customers know and love.

 

On the road

We deliver to doorsteps across County Durham and North Yorkshire, as well as supplying businesses further afield thanks to our network of distributors.

 

In addition to our very own milkmen who deliver on our designated rounds, we also work with a number of independent operators who take our products on their own routes – such as our most recent Milkman of the Month, Chris Park.

 

Our milkmen deliver to households in all local towns and the villages between, dropping off Acorn Dairy milk and butter, as well as a selection of staples such as bread and cheese, up to three times a week.

 

Our fleet also delivers to businesses across the North, with customers including cafes, schools, offices, retailers and nursing homes – in short, anywhere where there are fans of delicious, local, organic milk!

 

In the past, we have hosted an annual open day, allowing our valued doorstep customers to see behind the scenes at the dairy, and get a glimpse of the whole process. Unfortunately, Covid-19 has put a stop to this for the time being, but we can’t wait to welcome visitors back to the farm as soon as we are able.

 

Caroline Bell