In traditional dairy farms, calves are often removed from their mothers within a few hours of their birth. The Ethical Dairy has spent over ten years adapting their farm and developing a system where calves can remain with their mothers. They remain together for five to six months, with the cows being milked just once per day during this period.
“We can now say with absolute certainty that for us, this system works,” says the team. “It works for the cows, whose behaviour suggests a marked reduction in stress, improvement in health, and higher than expected levels of productivity. It works for the calves, who thrive being reared by their mothers, growing twice as quickly as before. It also works for us and the farm staff, with reduced inputs and a highly motivated team.”
Compared to an average dairy farm, The Ethical Dairy has:
- Cut greenhouse gas emissions by more than half.
- Reduced energy use by more than half.
- Cut antibiotic use by 90%.
- Doubled the productive life of cows.
- Increased their farm biodiversity five-fold.
- Increased the net amount of food in their food system by 80%.
In 2021, they published 25 years of soil organic carbon data, showing that their farm is carbon negative, and in fact is sequestering higher levels of carbon than commercial forestry could achieve.
All that, and they make some seriously good cheese!
Product gallery
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Calf suckling from its mum at Rainton Farm Picture: Ian Findlay -
Dairy cow with calf Picture: Ian Findlay -
Cheese maturing at The Ethical Dairy Picture: Ian Findlay -
Cheese Store at The Ethical Dairy Picture: Ian Findlay
