Creamery plan a boost for Kintyre farmers

[Kintyre Forum News]

Interesting article in the Scotsman today about plans for Campbeltown Creamery! Excellent News!

This article: http://business.scotsman.com/agricultur ... 1861672007

Creamery plan a boost for Kintyre farmers

SCOTLAND'S dairy farmers now number little more than 1,300 active producers, but those who have survived the dire economic returns of the past decade are now enjoying better times. No fortunes are being made, but the international market now looks much more encouraging with demand for a wide range of products now expanding rapidly.

Milk producers in Scotland now tend to be located largely in Lanarkshire and in Dumfries and Galloway, with some seriously large dairy units in the Borders and in the North-east.

But there also remain a significant number of dairy farmers in one area - on the Kintyre peninsula. This district enjoys many climatic advantages, with relatively mild winters and a long grass-growing season. The downside is that carting milk from Campbeltown to the conurbations of Central Scotland is increasingly uneconomic in view of the rising cost of fuel.

For many years Kintyre producers have been reliant on selling their milk to the local creamery for cheese manufacture. The viability of that facility has been increasingly called into question on account of its age.

The original buildings were erected in 1820 as a whisky distillery and then converted in 1921 to handle milk before becoming a cheese plant in 1974. First Milk, the largest farmer-owned dairy business in the UK, then embarked on a major upgrade during the 1980s making the most of the Mull of Kintyre cheese brand with a discerning clientele who were willing to pay a premium price.

However, it has been apparent for some time that there were just two choices left to First Milk: upgrade or close down and put the local dairy farmers out of business. A decision has now been made, subject to securing support from a wide range of agencies, to make the Campbeltown plant a world leader in cheese manufacturing.

Jeff Halliwell, the managing director of First Milk's cheese operations, said: "We are now exploring the opportunity to develop a new modern, and highly efficient cheese and whey plant on the Kintyre peninsula.

"Our aim is to deliver a top-class processing network, as we have been striving to do with all our facilities throughout the UK, to ensure the long-term future of our members, even in the most remote parts of the country."

Discussions have been under way for some time with the Scottish Government to seek appropriate financial assistance. Richard Lochhead, the Cabinet secretary for rural affairs, and Jim Mather, the enterprise minister, have both indicated a measure of support for this proposed project, which is likely to cost several millions of pounds to bring to fruition. It also seems likely that Highlands and Islands Enterprise will be closely involved in the eventual finance package.

However, Halliwell appears confident that funding, most of which will come from the First Milk reserves, will be forthcoming.

He said: "The ministers recognised the importance of the dairy industry for Kintyre and expressed their support for our plan. Based on their suggestions, we are now engaged in detailed discussions with grant-funding bodies to explore opportunities for financial support.

"We will, of course, keep all our stakeholders informed as we work to put funding in place to develop this ambitious plan."

The creamery currently employs a staff of 33 with a further 95 involved on local dairy farms, but there could soon be more, according to Robert Millar of High Cattadale Farm, Southend, near Campbeltown.

He said: "There is great excitement down here about the announcement of the new creamery. It's a great opportunity for us to compete at the top end of the quality market because we have no chance operating on commodities."

Millar and his two sons, Robert (32) and Andrew (24), run a herd of 150 traditional British Friesian cows, and may just push numbers up a bit further.

He said: "There are lot of young people down here keen on milking cows and the prospect of new markets will give them all a tremendous lift. We have some advantages in terms of a longer growing season, but life has been tough in recent years. However, I think we are now feeling a lot more positive."

[4th gen Suthen']

great news right enough.....as long as they pay the dairy farmers a premium price for their finished premium product....hey, I think I will get back into milking myself ......

[Malky]

Milking yourself 4th gen ?? Would you not be better milking cows?

It is good news though.

Malky

[John S]

Great news, well done to all involved and another big reason why a ferry service, particularly to Ayrshire and Ireland, would be an enormous advantage.