An all-female family team has embarked on an environmentally-friendly business venture selling fresh milk direct to customers from their farm cutting out the middleman and doing their bit to reduce waste from single-use plastic.

There has been a steady stream of customers collecting their daily supplies of the white stuff since a self-service vending machine was installed at Manor Farm, Boothby Pagnell, near Grantham.

Anne Harrison (59) manages the farm’s herd of pedigree Bassingthorpe Friesian Holsteins; her sister, Julie Smith (56), who previously worked in the catering industry, is in charge of the pasteurisation process; and Julie’s daughter Rachel (28) oversees the twice-a-day milking.

Bassingthorpe Milk was launched following months of research and preparation and comes from the 400-strong Bassingthorpe herd, 200 of which are milking cows and 200 of which are young stock. There is also a small number of Brown Swiss cows on the farm.

The milk is sold for £1 per litre from a dairy shed built on to the end of a barn, while the specially-designed re-usable glass bottles are £2 each. The vending machine steam-cleans itself after every use.

After pasteurisation the milk undergoes no further processing. Anne said it was 96% fat-free, contains nutrients including calcium, protein, iodine, potassium, phosphorus and vitamins B2 and B12 and should be regarded as a super-food.

“There are not many farms that are just female-led and this is a genuine diversification for us,” she said. “We wanted to add value to the milk for ourselves because the supermarkets have massive control over pricing, and for the customer who will be buying such a great product.

“Our self-service milk has the added environmental benefits of zero food miles and being collected in containers that can be used time after time.

“Our goal is to build a business that is sustainable for the next generation, like our dad did for us, and we thought it would make a difference if we could sell a small proportion of our milk directly to the public.”

Anne and Julie are the third generation of their family at Manor Farm. Their grandfather even had a horse-drawn milk round in Grantham before World War Two.

“You could say we have almost come full circle,” said Julie.

Among the first Bassingthorpe Milk customers was Tim Barden, of nearby Corby Glen, who said: “I have not had milk this fresh for a long time. As a family we are trying to use less plastic and I like that part of the business. I drive past here so it makes sense to call in.”

Anne worked closely with South Kesteven District Council environmental health officers ahead of the launch. It was a steep learning curve for both as it is the first business of its kind in the district.

“We would not have been able to reach this point without the help of SKDC,” said Anne. “The officers led us through all of the food regulations we had to comply with. They have been second-to-none. We have also received a lot of advice from our friends in the farming community.”

SKDC’s Cabinet member for Commercial and Operations, Cllr Dr Peter Moseley, said: “Anne and Julie have been a pleasure to work with and have done a brilliant job. I have been looking forward to trying the finished product and it has been worth the wait.

“It’s good to see this kind of diversification, and self-service is a fantastic way of providing farm-fresh milk to the community.

“This matches our commitment to supporting environmentally-friendly projects. The milk is produced with no food miles and customers can collect it in one of the refillable bottles or take their own container.

“Consumers support British food and farmers and I am delighted to see Anne, Julie and Rachel pursuing this opportunity for business growth in South Kesteven.”

Bassingthorpe Milk is available from 7am to 7pm from Manor Farm, Boothby Pagnell, Grantham, NG33 4DH.

Grantham fire crews attended a vehicle fire in Barrowby last night.

They were called to the scene on Sheepwash Lane shortly before 11pm.

The blaze was extinguished using one hose reel and one breathing apparatus.

Benjamin Hobster reports hearing a bang and saw glowing orange across the field and so called the fire service.

The Development Management Committee of South Kesteven District Council meet tomorrow (Tuesday 5 February 2019) to discuss “installation of statue, plinth and paved surround”.

This is the proposed statue of Margaret Thatcher, in the centre of Grantham.

This section of the meeting starts at 1.30pm, in The Ballroom, Guildhall Arts Centre, St. Peter’s Hill.

There are six people booked to speak at the meeting on this item, including John Morgan, Secretary of the Grantham Labour Party, and Labour Coun Charmaine Morgan, both of which will be speaking against the statue.

There may also be a small protest outside beforehand, athough, given that it is short notice and a weekday, this may not be very large.

Speaking before the meeting, John Morgan, Secretary of the Grantham Labour Party, said: “Margaret Thatcher was a disaster for this country. She wrecked the economy, created mass unemployment and made a lot of people poorer.

“She also started privatisation and de-regulated the stook exchange, leading to the crash of 2008. The last thing we should be doing is commemorating someone who was such a disaster.”

A company has been fined £20,000 after polluting a stream during land spreading at a North East farm.

Whites Recycling Ltd – based at Mill Lane in South Witham, Lincolnshire – appeared at Newton Aycliffe Magistrates’ Court on Thursday 19 December where it pleaded guilty to breaching its environmental permit and polluting a tributary of the River Tees.

It was fined £20,000, ordered to pay costs and a victim surcharge amounting to £4,430.

Prosecuting on behalf of the Environment Agency, Sally Dennison told the court that the company has an environmental permit for mobile plant land spreading at Greystones Farm near Eppleby, west of Darlington.

Conditions of the land spreading deployment states the operation should comply with the ‘Code for Good Agricultural Practice’ which requires that weather conditions are assessed prior to spreading taking place, and also states ‘The activity will be carried out without harm to the environment’.

On 22 March 2017 a pollution incident was reported by a member of the public advising that a stream close to Greystones Farm was running black.

The following morning environment officers from the Environment Agency attended the farm and met with the farm manager. He confirmed that eight loads of digestate had been spread on the field the previous day. The field appeared to be waterlogged.

The officers investigated an unnamed tributary of the River Tees and saw that drainage outfalls from the field were discharging a black coloured liquid into the watercourse.

Whites Recycling arranged for a tanker to attend and remove the pools of digestate and rainwater that had accumulated on the field.

Rainfall data gathered by the Environment Agency showed around half of the average monthly rainfall for the area fell on 22 March 2017 and 23 March 2017 and the Met Office had also issued a severe weather warning for snow on the 22 March 2017 for the area.

Checks on the company’s Environment Management System showed there was no condition to check the weather forecast prior to spreading taking place, and the field record sheet had been incorrectly filled out. It stated the nearest watercourse was 150m away when the river is only separated from the field by a main road.

The company said the incident had resulted from a systems failure and was not committed deliberately of recklessly, and that immediate action was taken to prevent further harm by removing further liquid from the field. The company’s Environment Management System has been reviewed and updated and it had also conducted training for all of its staff in the new procedures. The company apologised to the Environment Agency and the court for the breach and the resulting pollution.

Environment Officers Louise Poole, from the Environment Agency’s Land and Water Team in the North East, led the investigation. She said: “Permits are in place to protect the environment and our communities while also supporting businesses in their activities.

“Permits have strict conditions for a reason and it is vital companies abide by those conditions. In this case, land spreading during adverse weather led to a waterlogged field and a black discharge into a nearby river, impacting on the environment. The company has since updated its procedures and improved staff training.

“Run off from land into our waters has a significant negative effect on the environment. The Environment Agency works hard to protect our environment and I hope this sends out a message to others that we take incidents such as this seriously and will take the necessary action against those flouting the conditions of their permit.”

The 18-year-old student, from Sudbrook, near Ancaster, who was involved in an accident outside Sir William Robertson Academy, Welbourn, on Tuesday, has died.

Emergency services were called at about 3.30pm following a collision with a black Mercedes.

She was airlifted to the Queen’s Medical Centre at Nottingham, but has since died.

The family of Millie Taylor-Noonan, a student at the Academy, has paid tribute to her.

In a statement, her family said: “Millie was a happy, kind, caring and beautiful young lady.

“Millie was really passionate about the environment. For her 18^th birthday she did not want presents but asked for people to donate to the Clean Oceans campaign.

“She was also a member of the Centre for Alternative Technology, in Wales, and completed the Walk For Wildlife, with Chris Packham.

“Millie had also made the choice that at the end of her life her organs should be donated, to help others.

“She was fantastic at school: all her teachers loved her and she worked hard. She was going to go to university and study the subjects that she was passionate about.

“She was loved by everyone, and was beautiful inside and out.

“We will miss you Millie – your family and your loving boyfriend.”

 

 

She is the second teenager to die following an accident on Lincolnshire roads this week.

On Monday afternoon, 16-year-old Eliza Bill, from Threekingham, died after being hit by a lorry at Osbournby.