Nocton Dairies Ltd, just south of Lincoln, has submitted a planning application to North Kesteven District Council for the UK’s largest dairy farm. Over 8,000 cows are planned to produce up to 250,000 litres of milk per day for the East Midlands milk market. Located on Nocton and Dunston Heath, south of Lincoln, the dairy will make a multi-million pound contribution to the local economy.

The farm will employ over 80 local staff including a fully qualified full time vet. Plans include providing a visitor centre and up to the minute training facilities, with the intention of making the dairy a flagship for the next generation of the UK dairy industry.

The application also includes plans for an anaerobic digester which will produce 2MW of power from the farm waste – enough to power the dairy and over 2000 homes. Another benefit of the digester is that the residue “or digestate” is odour-free, being separated into solid and liquid fractions which will be applied back to the land to benefit growing crops while reducing the requirement for artificial fertiliser.

Forage for the cows will be produced by a co-operative of local farmers. The cows’ diet is designed to reduce methane emissions and to maximise the use of locally produced feed, supplemented with by-products from industries such as the Newark sugar beet factory and the proposed ethanol plant at Immingham.

Robert Howard, who farms in Nocton and is involved with the proposed dairy, said “This is great news for local farmers as it provides another nearby outlet for our produce and the opportunity to grow a broader range of crops. The British dairy industry has suffered from under-investment in recent years, hopefully this will go someway towards reversing that trend. Nothing this ambitious has been attempted in Western Europe - let alone this part of Lincolnshire. It provides all of the neighbouring farms with an opportunity to work together and represents a massive investment into the local economy".