Farmer-owned Organic Herd looks for more suppliers and raises milk price

The co-op, based in Weston-super-Mare, says its growth reflects increased demand for organic milk and its work to build an export market for its Cheddar

UK farmer-owned agri co-op Organic Herd has increased its milk price to 50ppl as demand for organic products grows, and is looking for more producers to join.

The co-op – formerly known as Omsco – has been carrying out a number of innovations in recent years, working closely with regular customers to future-proof organic milk supply, developing export markets for its organic Cheddar and creating partnerships across the UK with those seeking certified PWAB (produced without antibiotics) milk.

In September, a rebrand brought 14 new Organic Herd products into the independent retail channel.

Sara Ogborne, Organic Herd’s director of membership and communication, said: “Our latest price rise reflects growing demand we are witnessing for our organic milk in particular from core domestic dairy processing customers. The April increase is in line with our commitment to returning to our members small, incremental but, crucially we believe, also sustainable improvements in their milk price.

“By delivering a sustainable price and minimising price volatility we endeavour to enable members to grow their milk production. at the same time, we are now signing carefully selected new members to help meet increased demand for our organic milk and dairy products from both domestic and export customers.”

Farmers looking to join the co-op will need to demonstrate a long term commitment to organic dairy farming and share the co-op ethos. They should contact Ogborne at [email protected]