HRH the Prince of Wales sets the Peak District Dairy Wagon rolling!

HRH The Prince of Wales launches  the innovative and unique Peak District Dairy Wagon on Friday 29 June.  The Dairy Wagon will be trundling through the Peak District lanes over the next two years teaching farmers and their families how to make cheese, yoghurt, ice-cream, butters, flavoured milks and new distinctive dairy products.

It will give farmers the opportunity to learn how to make traditional products using their own milk on their own farms. The experience and the training given will hopefully then give them the confidence to develop their businesses and bring new products to the market. The Dairy Wagon will teach everything, from pasteurisation to packaging, from testing to tasting, from maturing to marketing.

John Stone, Chairman of the Peak District Dairy Wagon Co Ltd said ‘This project will allow us and our families to explore other ways to add value to our milk without the huge initial financial risk.’

‘The facilities on board the Dairy Wagon and the opportunities they present will help me to evaluate my diversification ideas, I can learn new skills and gain the knowledge to assist my business development’ said dairy farmer Rosemary Brown from Spondon.

 With support  from Business in the Community, the Dairy Wagon successfully secured funding from the Derby and Derbyshire Economic Partnership (DDEP) and East Midlands Development Agency. It was designed and built by Reaseheath College in Nantwich.  It will be towed by a Land Rover donated by Jaguar Land Rover.  The Co-operative Action Trust are sponsoring the full-time dairy technician who will deliver the one-to-one training on participants’ farms.

As well as Derbyshire DEP, the Co-operative Fund and Jaguar Landrover’s support, additional support has been provided by The Duchy of Cornwall, Musgrave Budgens Londis Supermarkets, Booths specialist food stores, Logistik graphic designers, Peak District National Park Authority (PDNPA)  and local Derby firms Cooper Parry and Nelsons Solicitors.