'Superdairy' firm looks elsewhere

Velmur Ltd, which proposed keeping nearly 3,000 cows at South Witham, near Grantham, announced withdrawal in the face of hostile local reaction, which followed the talking down of a similar proposal by an English consortium, Nocton Dairies, involving 8,000 cows at North Kesteven, near Lincoln.

But Stuart Paton, of Chesterton Humberts of Stamford, a

land agent who helped Velmur find the possible site at South Witham, said yesterday that

his clients only accepted that they had chosen the wrong location.

He said: "They are still absolutely convinced about the business and animal welfare issues.

"This exercise has been valuable and we would like to find something more acceptable in terms of location."

Many dairy farmers say superfarms are a logical next development in view of milk prices which have already made intensive indoor milk production from up to a thousand cows routine.

A UK delegation, organised by the NFU and a big farming consultancy, has just returned from a fact-finding tour of the USA, where several thousand milkers in one unit are common.