Next time you visit the supermarket, stop and think before you pick up your baked beans or butter – are they from Britain? Buying British isn’t just about buying local produce, it’s about supporting our home brands too. For example did you know that Country Life is the only major British butter brand? The other two leading brands are from Denmark and New Zealand.
British Dairy farmers take great care with their herds to give Dairy Crest the British milk they use for Country Life butter. Their farmers are proud of their British heritage and believe that provenance has a huge role to play in the quality of their milk. Here’s the story of one of those proud British farmers.
Peter Hawkins
Name of Farm: The Lingens Farm
Farm size: 160 acres
Number of cows: 85
Amount of milk produced every day: 1,100 litres
Peter Hawkins studied agriculture at college before travelling all over the world with his wife, Helen, working on farms in Canada, Australia and Saudi Arabia.
The Lingens Farm has been owned by Helen’s family since 1971 and when they returned to the UK in 1991 Peter and his wife took it over.
Situated in Broadwas on Teme, Worcester, The Lingens Farm is shrouded in heritage and still has many of its traditional 17th Century buildings including two threshing barns and old orchards that remain from the time when the farm was used for fruit and hops. Peter is currently working with Natural England to try and restore the old buildings to their former state.
Cows were first introduced to the site by Helen’s father in 1971 and today Peter and his family work hard to ensure that the farm works as a profitable dairy farm whilst remaining true to its traditions. To do this, Peter has created an environment where everything can live and over the years, as well as his cows, Peter’s farm has become home to many other species of wildlife including hares, foxes, sparrows, wrens and owls who like to nest in the old barns.
Peter’s farm is so unique that it has been awarded a high level stewardship scheme in recognition of all the work he puts into sustaining the conservation, wildlife habitats and historical features of his farm. The scheme has been designed to support farmers in their efforts to protect and improve the countryside, and it aims to support farmers who put the time and dedication in to supporting the traditional aspects of the site whilst still maintaining a modern, working farm.
Peter really believes that consumers should make every effort to buy British, to show their support for British farmers, so that they can sustain their vital industry. Peter genuinely believes that buying British is best for three main reasons: “The quality of British products beats all others and the milk’s creamy taste is unique to us. Consumers really need to start giving back to British farmers and with the issue of food miles high on the current agenda, it’s important that consumers take responsibility in order to make a difference.”
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