About Nocton Dairies
“Proposals such as Nocton are the wrong route for dairy farming in Britain. They threaten animal welfare and the countryside, they will put hard-pressed family farms under even more pressure and will undermine the integrity of our milk. These developments are unwanted, unnecessary and unwelcome. The bottom line is that cows belong in fields not in industrial dairies.”
Philip Lymbery, Chief Executive of Compassion in World Farming
Compassion celebrates the Nocton Dairies campaign success
On 16th February 2011, Nocton Dairies withdrew its controversial plans for a ‘mega-dairy’ in Nocton, Lincolnshire. After campaigning vigorously against these plans, Joyce D’Silva at Compassion said:
"If this truly marks the end of this application, then we can rejoice that thousands of dairy cows will be spared miserable lives where they would be deprived of normal opportunities for grazing in fields. This sounds like a great day for animal welfare!"
“Cows do not belong in Fields”
Nocton Dairies, 2010
In a 2010 radio interview (specifically 7m 25s into the interview - above), a representative from the proposed industrial-scale dairy in Lincolnshire made his position clear: “Cows do not belong in fields.” Nocton Dairies' eventual aim was to keep more than 8000 cows indoors in giant sheds, year round, with little or no chance to graze outdoors.
The Original Proposal
In December 2009, Nocton Dairies submitted an application to North Kesteven District Council for the erection of the largest dairy farm in the UK. Located just outside the village of Nocton, Lincolnshire, the farm’s giant sheds could house more than 8,000 cows, kept indoors for most of their lives. This is more than 100 times the number of cows on an average UK dairy farm, which is around 70. It is also more than 10 times the human population of Nocton, which is just over 600!
It is hard to describe the proposed dairy as anything other than a factory farm, US-style.
The plans quickly gave rise to widespread objections by local residents, politicians and animal welfare organisations. Over 170 Members of Parliament signed a House of Commons Early Day Motion (EDM 1037) opposing the ‘super dairy’ and echoing the concerns of local residents.
In April 2010, Nocton Dairies temporarily withdrew their application following a meeting of the District Council Planning Department. The applicants were told they needed to consider how to improve concerns over environmental controls and highways issues.
The Second Proposal
In November 2010, a ‘secret’ press conference launched new plans for the Nocton ‘mega-dairy’ in Lincolnshire. New plans for the UK’s biggest factory dairy farm were kept under strict embargo. Although the proprietors of Nocton Dairies Ltd promised significant changes, Compassion can reveal that the ‘new’ plans are really just more of the same.
On the surface, the most significant change appeared to be a reduction in the number of cows - from 8,100 to 3770. But the devil is in the details. The figure of 3,770 is just a starting point. Nocton Dairies went on record saying it would build the herd up to the original 8,100 as soon as it is practicable.
Cows don't belong indoors
Most importantly though, whatever the size, Nocton Dairies was still bad news for cows. Under the revised proposals, the cows were still be kept indoors for the majority of their lives with little or no access to pasture. Research shows that this type of ‘zero-grazing’ system is associated with increased risk of many health problems including lameness, mastitis, reproductive problems and a number of bacterial infections.
In spite of Nocton Dairies’ assurances that its cows would be reared according to the highest welfare standards, the kind of high-yielding cows that are central to the mega-dairies’ plans are prone to health and welfare problems that cannot be addressed through good animal husbandry alone. Bred specifically to produce vast quantities of milk, these cows are worked beyond endurance. The amount of energy these animals need to expend in order to produce 10,000 or more litres of milk each per year is equivalent to a human being running a half marathon every day for ten months of the year.
Why the Nocton Mega-Dairy proposal was a very bad idea
The cows will be indoor milking machines, rarely allowed out to graze.
Bred for very high milk yields, these cows are at higher risk of lameness, loss of body condition and infertility.
Traditional dairy farmers are likely to go out of business, unable to compete.
The countryside will be devastated with huge sheds and daily HGV intrusions.
Pig and chicken factory farms already spell disaster for animals, people and the planet. Widescale factory farming of dairy cows would be a further step in the wrong direction.
Compassion’s campaign
Compassion has maintained a high level of involvement in this very important issue both behind the scenes and in public. For this campaign, we worked with a highly skilled team of specialist legal experts and environmental advisors to forensically address issues within the revised planning application.
- June 2011: The Cows Belong in Fields campaign receives the Observer Ethical Award for Campaigner of the Year 2011.
- March 2011: North Kesteven District council refused the application for a digestate pipeline and on March 8 the Council refused the application for a reservoir. Read more >>
- February 2011: On 16th February 2011, Nocton Dairies withdrew their controversial plans for a ‘mega-dairy’ in Nocton, Lincolnshire. Read more >>
- January 2011: On 11 January at 5pm, the objections period closed. Initial reports suggested that over 10,000 emails and letters of objection have been received by North Kesteven District Council. Read more >>
- December 2010: On 10 December, the decision process officially began – meaning the public and consulting bodies can formally object to the application. Compassion stepped up the local campaign – every voice counts. The Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, the Rt. Hon Eric Pickles must decide if he will ‘call-in’ the application as requested by Compassion. This would take the application out of the hands of the local council and into the remit of the Government.
- November 2010: Because of the national implications of the mega-dairy plan and its potentially adverse impact on the welfare of thousands of dairy cows, Compassion in World Farming applied for the decision about the fate of the proposed mega-dairy in Nocton to be placed in the hands of national government. Read more >>
- November 2010: An Early Day Motion (EDM 942) was tabled by a group of MPs who attended the joint Compassion and WSPA event in October. It welcomes campaigns such as Cows Belong in Fields and the unprecedented collaboration of animal welfare and environmental groups in their effort to halt factory farming in the UK. The EDM calls on the Government to strengthen regulation in respect of dairy cows to ensure the highest possible animal welfare. Read more >>
- October 2010: Compassion and the World Society for the Protection of Animals hosted a successful event at the House of Commons. More than 50 MPs attended in order to learn more about the threat of factory farming in the UK and about how they can stop industrial farms like Nocton Dairies. Read more >>
- October 2010: Compassion launched a local bus ad campaign in Lincolnshire to encourage residents to maintain pressure on the local council to oppose the ‘mega-dairy’. A national appeal for donations kept the ads rolling throughout the county until December. Read more >>
- September 2010: Using information gained under the Freedom of Information Act, Compassion and the Ecologist Online revealed that the directors of the proposed Nocton ‘mega-dairy’ have applied for taxpayers' money to help finance their business, in order to meet minimum animal welfare and environmental standards.
- September 2010: With the revised planning application imminent several celebrities including William Roache, Bill Oddie and Jo Brand pledged their support for Compassion’s campaign against Nocton Dairies.
- April 2010: Compassion encouraged local politicians to engage on the issue during the General Election campaign.
- April 2010: Compassion submitted its own planning objection to the scheme. We also assisted our Lincolnshire-based supporters to submit objections.
- March – April 2010: Over 4,500 Compassion supporters asked their MPs to sign a House of Commons Early Day Motion (EDM 1037) opposing the ‘super dairy’. More than 170 signed EDM 1037.
- March 2010: Compassion featured on BBC’s Countryfile to discuss the future of British dairy farming and met with Peter Willes, one of the farmers at the centre of Nocton Dairies’ proposal.
Compassion also worked closely with local campaigners in Lincolnshire, providing support and advice. Read more about the local campaign group, CAFFO >>