A dairy in Ayrshire has joined forces with three farms across northern Scotland in a landmark expansion in a bid to meet growing demand for organic natural milk.
Mossgiel Organic Dairy’s sustainable farming dream began in early 2015, when farmer Bryce – the third generation of the Cunningham family to work the farm of Mossgiel, where Scotland’s national poet Robert Burns lived and ploughed the fields between 1784 and 1786 – grew frustrated with an unforgiving dairy industry dominated by mega-dairies.
Now famed for its bespoke milk brewery, ‘low and slow’ brewing method and string of awards to boot, Mossgiel is hailed as Scotland’s only fully independent, organic dairy of its kind.
Things are only getting bigger and better for the operator that has just taken on the supply from three dairy farms across the north of the country.
Auchlea Farm in Kingswells, Aberdeen, Wester Manbeen, just south of Elgin, Moray, and Connage Highland Dairy in Ardersier on the Moray Firth near Nairn are all now part of team Mossgiel as sustainable, direct milk suppliers.
Taking full, independent control of its milk pool will allow the team to expand even further across the UK.
Managing director and farmer Bryce Cunningham said: ““For too long, our industry has just ticked along with the same system, same rules, same outcome; the slow death of small farms. We’ve spent years proving there’s another way, and now we’re stepping fully into that space, not just shouting from the sidelines, but taking it on directly.
“At Mossgiel, we live by Burns’ words: ‘Dare to be honest and fear no labour.’ What’s happening now hasn’t been easy, it’s been messy, pressured, at times near impossible but it’s also been driven by a growing community of people who’ve chosen not to accept the status quo. Taking on these farms is the next step in that journey.”
Jill Clark of Connage Highland Dairy said: “This new Mossgiel and Connage relationship is a fantastic collaboration between Burns country and us as Highlanders.
“Bryce and the team will take our excess milk after our cheese production and, having been let down by our previous milk wholesalers, we are so excited to be working with Mossgiel. Bryce’s enthusiasm and business acumen has given us a new spring in our step, and we very much look forward to seeing what the future holds.”
The move grows Mossgiel’s capacity by more than 10%.
Auchlea Farm’s Allan Clarke added: “We’ve been producing organic milk for more than 25 years, and this partnership allows us to keep doing what we believe in.
“I’ve long admired what Bryce and the Mossgiel team have built. They’ve flown the flag for independent dairies like ours and proved there’s a better way forward.
“We’re proud to be part of that journey and to work with a Scottish business that shares our values.
“As milk buyers get bigger, producers lose connection and collaboration in the race for efficiency and lower costs. That model simply isn’t sustainable, especially for organic farming.
“Joining the Mossgiel Collective gives us the chance to build something fit for the long term.”
Mossgiel’s trailblazing ‘low and slow’ brewing method put their name on the map back in 2016. The gentle, low-temperature pasteurisation process that preserves the milk’s natural structure, flavour and cream.
The equipment to do this, initially, didn’t exist, so the team built their own bespoke milk brewery.
With sustainability at the forefront of the expansion, Mossgiel was also the first dairy in the UK to go single-use plastic free in 2019, delivering in glass bottles and reusable containers.
You Might Also Like:
And the hard work at the Ayrshire farm has not gone unnoticed, with accolades from the BBC Food & Farming Awards, Scottish Rural Awards, Slow Food Awards, Great Taste and Scotland Food & Drink.
The farm gained international attention when it raised more than £150,000 through a crowdfunding campaign, during which it launched the ‘UK’s most expensive flat white’ (£272, with 34 shares in the farm for free).
For more information: www.mossgielfarm.co.uk.
