A project to produce specialist protein ingredients at a creamery in the Lake District is among key achievements highlighted in First Milk’s annual financial and impact report out today.
With 700 members, the farmer-owned co-operative has reported an increase in turnover to £476m for the year ending March 31, 2024.
Operating profit also increased as the business continued a programme of capital investment and completed the strategic acquisition of Dorset-based BV Dairy during the year, broadening its customer base and product range.
Key highlights were:
- Turnover grown to £476m (2023: £456m)
- Operating profit increased to £16.8m (2023: £5.1m)
- Capital investment across sites of £8.4m (2023: £7.4m)
- Total group capital and reserves increased to £58.5m (2023: £46.7m)
A new partnership was agreed with Yeo Valley to create the Naturally Better Dairy Group, supplying a dedicated milk pool produced by regenerative dairy farmers in South-West England.
Capital expenditure increased 13.5% to £8.4 million which included completing work at First Milk’s Lake District creamery in Aspatria to produce specialist protein ingredients in partnership with Arla Food Ingredients.
The co-operative has also highlighted the growth in regenerative farming practices. Currently 96% of 700 members are implementing regenerative action plans on their farms, covering 98% of First Milk’s member milk pool.
The impact report says other initiatives include improving soil health, enhancing biodiversity and sequestering carbon. The number of ‘positive interventions on member farms’ increased to 261,340 from 163,834 the previous year across 84,623ha of land – up 59.5% year-on-year.
“Despite the wider economic and geopolitical challenges, I’m pleased to say that First Milk has delivered healthy performance in the last year and I’m confident we are well placed for the future,” First Milk’s chief executive Shelagh Hancock said.
“Our focus remains on developing and creating value for our members, helping deliver resilience against the many challenges we face. This year has seen us broadening our capability with capital investment to access the specialist protein market, and the strategic acquisition of BV Dairy, extending our market reach into the food service sector and product mix, into fermented products and creams.”
She added: “In addition, our members have made great strides in the last 12 months scaling their regenerative farming practices with the support of our customers. I’m also encouraged to see regenerative farming becoming more widely understood and invested in across the UK food sector, with an increasing number of brands and retailers supporting its development. We remain confident that its tangible outcomes will help to solve the climate, nature and biodiversity crises and improve farm resilience and we are pleased to be leading in this area.
“Ultimately, our vision for the future is clear – we are working to enrich life every day to secure the future for our members, colleagues, customers and communities. We will do that by ensuring First Milk is a distinctive, regenerative farmer co-operative, efficiently producing great tasting, quality dairy products for our customers and consumers.”
