Milk producer to view pastures around world

A YORKSHIRE farmer is preparing to travel the world to look at dairy practices around the world in an attempt to bolster domestic production.

Malcolm Fewster, who runs Listing Mill Farm near Cleckheaton, will visit pasture-based dairy farms in South America, Australasia and Europe to see how our farmers can adapt to ensure a brighter future.

Mr Fewster, who farms 130 acres in the Spen Valley – home to 95 Friesian cows plus followers – will take the trip thanks to a Nuffield Farming Scholarship.

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The scholarships are agricultural awards recognised around the globe. They promote leadership and the implementation of innovative agricultural practices through worldwide study.

Over the next 18 months Mr Fewster intends to travel to South America, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland and France to look at their methods of pastoral dairy farming. Having already attended the Nuffield Scholars' conference in Washington, in April he visits Ireland to look at grassland research and in Austral-asia, he will examine global milk marketing and managing the carbon footprint in relation to cattle production.

In a visit to France he will study cheesemaking. Mr Fewster said: "Ireland and New Zealand are two of the most forward-thinking grazing countries for dairy farmers, while South America will be exciting as it has a lot of new dairy farming.

"The North American Amish community is really successful at marketing pastoral-based milk products so it will be very interesting to visit them, while in France the difference between pasture-grazed milk and that produced through other feeding methods is really noticeable in the cheese-making regions.

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"I truly believe that grazing-based dairy products are the best you can have – not just in taste but in health benefits. I'm passionate about helping make the industry as successful as it can be and I think my studies over the next 18 months will be really valuable."

Britain's dairy industry is currently facing well-documented problems with many farmers facing low earnings and choosing to quit at a rate of about two a day.

The study has been sponsored by the Yorkshire Agricultural Society, best known for organising the Great Yorkshire Show. Society chief executive Nigel Pulling said: "The farming industry still faces so many challenges and it's vital we take whatever steps we can to ensure it survives.

"Malcolm's research will prove very valuable in helping pastoral dairy farmers understand how they can adapt to making their industry as successful as possible, and the society is proud to support him."

At the end of his studies, Malcolm will present his report to the Nuffield Trust in 2011 and to council members of the society.