Construction is under way on a multi-million pound dairy unit for the Duke of Westminster close to his Eaton Hall home near Chester.
Grosvenor Farms – Tesco’s largest milk supplier in the UK – will use intensive farming methods at the revamped Lea Manor Farm at Aldford with room for 535 cows to live indoors.
Up to 400 cows will feed and sleep in a cubicle shed with individual cattle separated by stalls and a second ‘dry cow’ shed for non-lactating beasts.
The milking parlour involves cattle being milked as they slowly rotate on a walk-on walk-off circular platform.
Grosvenor’s dairy operation will focus on three farms east of the Dee with Lea Manor Farm at its centre. Grange Farm and Lea Mosses will continue to graze cattle in the traditional way.
Park Farm, west of the Dee, is being closed because it is not easily accessible by agricultural machinery from the main holdings since a weight limit was introduced on the listed Iron Bridge at Eaton Park. Livestock will be relocated to Lea Manor which becomes operational this autumn.
Mark Roach, managing director of Grosvenor Farms, said: “We currently supply some 40,000 litres of fresh milk daily which is ultimately sold in Tesco stores around the region.
“Our key objective is to produce highly nutritious food by employing the highest standards of animal and crop husbandry whilst simultaneously protecting and enhancing the natural environment for future generations.
“This exciting new dairy unit is an important step forward in improving all aspects of business.”
Mr Roach accepts the issues raised by farming cattle indoors are ‘emotive’ but did not wish to ‘get into the debate’ except to insist that Grosvenor employs the ‘highest standards in the industry’.
The new unit includes a solar energy scheme meaning the site will generate more power than it consumes. The surrounding area is being landscaped with 100 trees.
Grosvenor Farms Ltd (GFL), which employs more than 30 full time staff and has an £8m turnover, is one of the largest farms in the UK, with 5,500 acres on the Eaton Estate.
It is home to 1,400 dairy cows and 1,000 dairy heifers. GFL, owned by Wheatsheaf Group Ltd, part of the Grosvenor Estate, also grows 4,500 acres of crops for animal and human consumption.
