The Organic Milk Suppliers Co-operative (OMSCo) in the UK is celebrating its 25^th anniversary year, and Richard Hampton, its managing director, spoke to Dairy Industries International about the challenges and successes of the organisation. It has the second largest organic milk pool in the world, with a turnover of £100 million (€111m). It has embarked on an export phase, where 20 per cent of its output is exported to the EU and beyond, including a recent deal in the US for cheese.

It would seem a no-brainer that organic will do well in this era of consumers demanding to know that their dairy is fed sustainably and organically, and the growth of the organic market in several countries bears this out, Hampton notes.  It is also exciting to hear how organic is growing in the area of infant, senior and sports nutrition. These seem to be no-brainers for organic, but yet very little is currently going into these areas. Please see our article in the February issue of the magazine for further information on what he had to say about all kinds of subjects, including Brexit.

I also spent the weekend not paying attention to the news, as is my wont now. Instead, I made a cottage pie and oxtail soup from veal that was a by-product of the dairy industry. The Real Veal Company is based in Cornwall, and it ships throughout the UK. I operate on the basis that I like to know where my meat comes from, so a box from these folks has done a very good job of sustaining us throughout the holidays. I often think it is worth a little extra effort in order to find products that are fairly local and useful, and this fits the bill. Plus, it’s just delicious.