Diversification

Welcome back to our Latest News page! This week I am exploring the ways in which we have embraced change and diversified the farm over the years

Mawley Milk

David and Margaret started ‘Mawley Milk’ in 1982 to add value milk we produced.  The national milk buyers paid less for our milk than it cost to us produce and we were bound into contracts with no say in what the milk was worth.  As a result, selling a small proportion direct from the farmgate gave us some element of control of the return we could achieve.  Even today, milk is used as a ‘loss leader’ in supermarkets & convenience stores by artificially keeping the price low.  This makes it impossible to charge a fair price as there is a limit to what the consumer thinks milk is worth.

We built on our foundations of producing milk in glass bottles for 4 local milkmen in the 1980’s.  Adapting to changing buying trends, today we supply milk in poly bottles to independent customers who we deliver to directly in Shropshire, Worcestershire and Birmingham.  We have seen many changes over the years as Mawley Milk celebrates its 40th birthday next year.   

Open days and social media give us a vital platform to be transparent in all that we do for todays discerning consumer.

Our range of fresh milk and cream
Wind-turnbine-renewable-energy-Mawley1

Renewable Energy - 100% renewable electric

Investing in renewable energy has a very positive impact on the farm.  It dramatically cuts our carbon footprint.  We have a heavy reliance on electricity as our ‘milking parlour’ is run 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, with 6 robots milking the cows. The dairy is also in production 6 mornings a week.  

Our investement started with the installation of 100kw solar panels.   After a lengthy planning process, our 75kw wind turbine followed.  The 2 technologies are brilliant sources of energy, but do rely soley on the Great British weather!

We wanted a waste managment system for the cow slurry to make use of the methane gas that naturally occurs. As a result our 80kw biogas plant came into being.  It is a micro-digester that runs a generator purely off the methane that we capture from cow slurry from the milking sheds.  To keep the generator engine cool it circulates cold water.  Heat exchange gives an abundance of hot water (around 80℃) that we use for pre-heating boilers for wash systems in the dairy and milking shed.  The hot pipes also frost-proof the sheds in winter and provide heating and hot water for the farmhouse.

Light industrial Units

We have a small farmyard across the village from Mawley, at Newhouse Farm, Cleobury Mortimer.  The converted farmyard provides afforable buildings for a variety of businesses, that include a dog groomer, electrician and metal fabricator.  Newhouse Farm is home to well known and much loved Hobsons Brewery!  Therefore the yard provides our rural town with much needed emloyment.  A short distance cross from the Indutrial units is land we donated to the town allotments.

Thank you for reading! Check back next week when I will be introducing you to some of our farmyard friends! Rachel #TeamMawley

Wind turbine and biodigester at Mawley Town Farm

For regular updates follow us on Facebook and Instagram @mawleymilk and TikTok @Mawley_Milk

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