How a Northumberland dairy farm is working with Aldi to improve life for its cows

Thornington Farm, near Mindrum in the Cheviots, joined the partnership back in 2018 in a bid to further improve sustainability practices, maintain high animal welfare standards and to share knowledge across a network of like-minded, progressive dairy farmers across the UK.

Since then, the farm has improved social interaction for its cows, eliminated soya from all animal feed, and increased their recycling efforts.

Tom Neill, at Thornington Farm, said: “The Aldi Dairy Farm Partnership has helped us to make significant environmental changes and incorporate new animal welfare practices to make our farm more sustainable and resilient for the future.

“We’ve adapted the way we rear our calves and care for our cows, giving them more social interaction.

"We’re also proud to say that we’ve eliminated all soya from our cows’ diets this summer, and are finding better ways to use less plastic and recycle it more effectively.

“Visiting other farms has been really useful to share ideas and benchmark our progress. Even with Covid-19, we’ve kept this going with regular Zoom calls and group chats. We’ve been inspired to invest in more water troughs to further improve our cows’ experience when out at grass in the summer.”

The Neill family milk 320 British Friesian cows with the dairy business structured to capitalise on milk production and male Friesian calves being reared through the farm’s beef system.

Thornington Farm is also a member of the Arla cooperative which is owned by farmers.

Julie Ashfield, managing director of buying at Aldi UK, said: “Our Dairy Farm Partnership, in conjunction with Arla Foods, supports dedicated dairy farmers such as R Neill & Sons to maintain high welfare standards whilst driving a more sustainable future for the dairy industry.

“Building long-term relationships with British suppliers has been key to our growth, and we’re proud to source 100% of our milk from British farms. We’re delighted that we’ve been able to help R Neill & Sons on their journey so far and look forward to continuing our work with them.”

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