Scottish farm with links to Robert Burns 'taking on big dairy' with new facility plan

A SCOTTISH farm with links to Robert Burns is “taking on big dairy” as it plans to build a new zero-waste facility.

Mossgiel Farm in Ayrshire has launched a crowdfunder to help build a state-of-the-art, zero-waste dairy facility, doubling its production capacity.

The farm in Mauchline, where Robert Burns once ploughed the fields and wrote many of his famous verses, aims to provide sustainable, organic milk while challenging the dominance of the bigger dairy companies and their negative impact on the industry.

(Image: Colin Mearns) It is the first dairy farm in the UK to ditch single-use plastics, bringing glass bottles “back into fashion” instead.

Owner Bryce Cunningham (below) has already achieved planning permission on the new facility, as he called the farm “the antidote to a broken system”.

(Image: Colin Mearns) He said: “We’re not afraid to challenge societal norms, just like Rabbie himself. Mossgiel is the antidote to a broken system – industrial dairy is giving real milk a bad name and work is needed to repair it.

“For far too long, small farmers have been driven out of business as big dairy squeezes margins, drives down prices, and devalues milk through over processing and commoditization.

“I can’t sit idly by and let an industry I love, that has been our family’s livelihood for generations, be destroyed. The conditions created by big dairy and some supermarkets have a negative impact on the environment and cows themselves.

“There’s a better way, a way that prioritises sustainability, animal welfare, and transparency over profit, and Scottish dairy can be at the sharp end of it.”

(Image: Colin Mearns) The fundraiser has a target of £300,000, with the money going towards the costs of the new facillity, which is expected to be around £900k.

Cunningham said he hopes to secure the rest of the funding through private investors and financial institutions.

Cunningham added that the farm’s products are in high demand, and he wants to “meet the moment” and give people “the ethical, organic milk they are crying out for”.

He continued: “We’ve got nothing to hide. Intensive farming is detrimental to the environment, while our methods actively restore ecosystems, helping to restore soil health and sequester carbon.

(Image: Colin Mearns) “Mossgiel Farm is crowdfunding because our farm is for the people, and we want to get more people to join our herd. We want to give people the chance to be part of the moo-vement against big dairy, and to reshape the future of farming in Scotland and beyond.

“We can transform dairy into a solution rather than a problem. “ Ross Paton, chair of Scottish Organic Milk Producers, has praised Mossgiel’s “dynamic leadership in the organic sector”.

He said: “All our milk buyers are vital to our future, Mossgiel however – as the principal exclusively organic brand – encourage us to have faith in the future and confidence in what we do.

“We would encourage anyone with an interest in the organic sector – not just dairy – to support Bryce Cunningham and Mossgiel in their efforts to consolidate and expand their operations.”

To find out more about Mossgiel Farm’s fundraiser, click here.