Waitrose launch a line of milk exclusively from its own herd in Hampshire
Waitrose is building on its reputation for quality food by launching the first line of milk to be produced exclusively from the supermarket's own herd of cows at its working farm in Hampshire

/Farming News Articles/ - London, UK, September 06, 2008 - Waitrose Traditional Milk produced on the Leckford Estate in Hampshire will soon be available on the shelves of all 190 branches of the supermarket chain. The new whole milk is called 'Traditional' because it is unhomogenised so that the cream rises to the top rather than dispersing throughout the milk.

The Waitrose 4,000-acre farm, Leckford Estate in Stockbridge, has a very peaceful atmosphere and is in an idyllic spot, nestled beside the River Test. Nevertheless, it belies a busy farming operation which enables the supermarket to put their principles into practice.

Leckford is part of the Waitrose Select Farm Milk Scheme, an industry-leading initiative which provides customers with high quality milk, produced using sustainable practices to protect and enhance the countryside and ensure high levels of animal welfare and husbandry. In return, farmers under the scheme are paid one of the fairest prices paid by a major retailer.

Waitrose believe that sourcing Waitrose Traditional Milk exclusively from their 600-strong herd of Holstein Fresians will take customers even closer to where their food comes from.

Robbie James, Waitrose Dairy Buyer said: "It's great for our customers to know exactly where their milk comes from and by sourcing our Traditional Milk from one herd we can take our customers even closer to the origins of their food. Animal welfare is of key importance to Waitrose and at Leckford there has been much innovation to reflect this and ensure our herd are comfortable. Keeping happy healthy cows also has a commercial benefit for us as their milk productivity increases."

One example of an innovative measure taken by the supermarket last year to ensure happy cows at Leckford is their 3 million spend on a new state-of-the art dairy, which also shows the food shop's confidence in the future of the dairy industry.

Press Release Contact Information:

Charlotte Hutley
Waitrose
PR Manager
4 Leathermarket Street
London, London
UK SE1 3HN
Voice: 0207 403 6900
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