News
Scottish farm begins £900k fundraise as it bids to take on ‘big dairy’
With planning permission already in place, the investment will allow Mossgiel to double its production capacity and make its “organic, ethical and sustainable milk more accessible to more people”.
The push started with a £300,000 crowdfunding campaign which launched on 7 October, while owner Bryce Cunningham is hoping to raise the additional £600,000 through private investors and financial institutions.
Cunningham returned to the family farm nine years ago following the death of his father and within a year had seen the business lose more than £100,000.
Since then he has reinvented the farm’s business model, achieving 30% year-on-year growth and seeing turnover grow to £2m. Mossgiel now produces 1.5m litres of organic milk per year.
The success of the business is attributed by Cunningham to the animal welfare and environmental standards that he has introduced.
According to Mossgiel, its practices differ from other dairy producers where often calves are separated from their mother shortly after birth. Instead, Mossgiel allows every cow to raise their calves naturally.
Meanwhile, the farm has eliminated single-use plastics across the supply chain and is working with other farmers as part of the Organic Herd co-operative.
‘Industrial dairy is giving real milk a bad name’
“Mossgiel is the antidote to a broken system – industrial dairy is giving real milk a bad name and work is needed to repair it,” Cunningham said.
“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.”
Cunningham concluded: “The appetite is there – our success shows that. Our products are in high demand, but our capacity is limited. We want to meet the moment and give people the ethical, organic milk they are crying out for.
“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.”
Meanwhile, Scottish Organic Milk Producers chair Ross Paton has praised Mossgiel for its “dynamic leadership in the organic sector”.
“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,” added Paton.
“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.”
In other news, Kellogg’s owner Kellanova has announced plans to invest £75m into its cereal production facility in Wrexham.
