Ayrshire dairy farm 'has the bottle' to turn into first in UK to ditch single-use plastic

A farm the place Robert Burns wrote two of his most noted poems has become the primary single-use plastic-free biological dairy within the UK.

Bryce Cunningham runs Mossgiel farm in Ayrshire, where the Bard labored at the time he reached his inventive height.

The 32-12 months-ancient become forced to take the reins five years ago following his dad's death.

His takeover coincided with the collapse of international milk costs that wiped out earnings and basically ruined the household's business.

So Bryce switched his consideration to sustainable farming and has managed to turn the family unit fortunes around.

He talked about: "i wished to carry the milk Burns had to shoppers and do it with out inflicting hurt to the atmosphere.

"The day we begun, the one factor i needed changed into to place milk into natural bottles.

"the entire cash we had went right into a tiny pasteuriser, a yoghurt maker."

Mossgiel Farm, run via Bryce Cunningham, has ditched single-use plastics (photograph: Chris McNulty) examine greater  

Burns composed To A Mouse and Holy Willie's Prayer – two of his most acclaimed poems – while working at the farm between 1784 and 1786. He additionally met his wife, Jean Armour, there.

due to the fact that being in can charge, Bryce has doubled production each year and signed offers with high-profile restaurants reminiscent of Glasgow's Ubiquitous Chip.

however the transformation has not been plain sailing. In 2013, the business was on its knees. UK dairies were area to international milk expenses, Russia banned all milk imports from Europe and prices plummeted.

regardless of Scottish producers not being able to deliver adequate milk for the nation, Bryce couldn't come up with the money for to retain going.

And it wasn't lengthy earlier than the banks came knocking. Bryce additionally purchased an historic bottling machine which he rebuilt himself only for it to move on hearth weeks later. but clean traders helped him stay on his ft and he joined forces with different farmers.

He brought: "The expense we had been being paid dropped from 28p per litre to 9p in a year. I lost £120,000 within the first yr.

"We had to promote three-quarters of our cattle to live on. The banks which we'd been with given that 1948 instructed us the company wasn't conceivable."

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frustrated at how farmers had been being handled by way of large business, Bryce stopped imparting the significant chains.

He referred to: "All our milk became bought to make cheese. My father had died, the milk rate collapsed and the financial institution pointed out they didn't see a future.

"The bank took all their funds again so the simplest method we survived changed into via supportive suppliers who gave us extended credit score and friends who invested in us.

"I felt we might delivery an choice business so three of us fashioned a collective. we now have 50 cows, an extra farmer has 60 and a third has a hundred.

"The milk tastes greater and tastes the way it did one hundred years ago, comes in a tumbler bottle and is sustainable."