Nocton Dairies Update - August 2010

Thank you Dot for this current assessment of the situation facing Nocton Dairies Limited.

For a more comprehensive study of all the issues facing local villages, please visit the local campaign website http://www.caffo.co.uk . There is also my village blog http://nocton.blogspot.com that provides a comprehensive collection of links to articles concerning the Nocton Dairy development and also the wider topic of dairy farming.

We should remember that the proposed development is still planned to be located above the fragile aquifer on the Heath that provides water into the very heart of our villages. It could still be determined that the site is totally unsuitable for such a large scale concentration of dairy cattle.

There is much room for debate on whether these intensive dairy developments are appropriate for the UK, or even necessary. Even opinion within the farming community is split.

It still remains to be seen whether a public enquiry should be held before planning permission is considered, to consider all the issues arising from these massive American-style facilities, before they are adopted as the norm and change our countryside for many years to come.

All I would ask is that you fully research this topic and make up your own mind before you believe everything that is published.

I'm not sure about the reference to "the most tenuous of links". To my mind, the concerns raised have been well-researched & are always substantiated with hard evidence.
When the initial application was submitted, so-called 'vociferous local residents' had to push very hard for any sort of public meeting. In fact, some Parish Councils gave little more than a cursory glance before approving it!
A proposal of this magnitude should always be scrutinised - if it was not classed as an agricultural development, and was more appropriately submitted as an industrial enterprise, then many more objections would have been raised in the beginning.
Oh, and can you add to the list of 'concerns' - the demise of the British dairy farmer; the increased stranglehold of the supermarkets and the lack of opportunity for local employment?
If Messrs Willes, Barnes & Howard are so proud of their 'dairy', then they should be able to defend it to everyone.
I urge everyone to visit the CAFFO website to see the proposed slurry spreading plan for themselves.

I find the phrase "other environmental issues including the risks to the local aquifer have also been addressed" quite astonishing as it implies that these problems have been solved.The NKDC scoping opinion about the factory dairy should be compulsory reading for all those who purport to represent their local communities and thought should be given to contingency arrangements for the possible contamination of our drinking water.This proposal is unprecented. We need a public enquiry to examine all environmental risk before any further plans are submitted.Assurances to Ms Howe from those who have a financial interest in this scheme are simply not acceptable.

There are some very good reasons as to why some countries like Switzerland or New Zealand ban Factory farms.
The united States will only allow them miles away from dwellings and some states will not permit them.
The vociferous villagers have carried out a lot of research on this subject and should be heard.
Regarding animal welfare, lets stop the hypocrisy. We know that these poor cows will be exploited to the full, and have a very short life span (6 years, 7 if they are "lucky").
So far I have failed to be convinced by Mr Howard, Barns, and Willes as to the reason Nocton and its surrounding villages should have to suffer this monstrosity.

I am staggered that there are still so many people out there still `won over' by Willes, Barnes & Howard - despite the mounting evidence of the damage in so many areas that an enterprise of this size will have, some are still convinced its a good thing.
I totally concur with ALL the public comments left so far and would add that property blight, with just the mere threat of the farm application is now very evident and hard evidence is also held to confirm this. In the USA properties in close proximity to these farms have suffered approx 30% drop in value of their homes - some cannot sell at all, and live in the hell of smell, flies, pollution, bad health, and so many damaging environment problems because of these farms. This is in a country where they DO have adequate land unlike the UK. So how is our little, now becoming very overpopulated island going to survive this?
"The vociferous - the antis" - intelligent people are being called various names for merely wanting to protect the environment, their country, the areas they live in, their homes, their health and protect those animals who have as much right to a decent quality of life as humans do.
Why is it we are called names when all we are doing is seeking the facts and truths behind schemes like this? Perhaps we should create a name for those who seem to be under the sad illusion that factory farming is a good thing..
The only reason we are being called names is because those who believe its a good thing don't want to hear the real truth behind it all. The innocent people out there need to know the complete facts not just the `showcased' ones.
oh and one final thing - willes promise to the RSPCA - letting 6700 cows out to graze - ok, the strategics of this - "howdy cowboy, time to round em up for their 3 TIMES a day milk sessions". Now that should prove VERY interesting to see!
The applicants live in cloud cuckoo land and have not done indepth research (as the antis/vociferous have) and still refuse to believe this is going to cause any problems. Funny what the colour of money can make people see and believe isnt it.

IN response to the article by Dot Hawes regarding the proposed development of an 8,100 super dairy and the vocal opposition having ‘tenuous’ links, as a group of concerned residents within the CAFFO group we have tried wherever possible to use scientific papers to make our case. These papers range from European Scientific Panel reports to peer reviewed published articles. These papers show that:
• Cows reared and milked in the way Nocton are proposing have a life expectancy one year less that conventionally reared (Whitaker et al).
• The milk yield Nocton require is 46% higher than the UK average and excessive milking in this type of regime correlates with higher incidence of mastitis (Bradley et al) (FAWC 2009).
• Lameness in high yielding cows is greater than conventionally reared (Amory et al).
• The proposed ratio of cows to stockpeople is significantly higher than recommended levels at 632:1 (Reading Agricultural Consultants 2010).
Looking at the human impact of living with a development twice the size of Wembley Stadium on open heath land as local villagers we will:
• Experience a significant increase in volume of traffic on the B1188 (a designated Red Route road), most of which will be slow moving HGV delivering feed, removing calves and 250,000 litres of milk each day. Farm tractors will also need to use the same entrance to transport slurry to outlying fields (this will be the only way to transport to Branston, Metheringham, Blankney and Scopwick).
• Increase in slurry spreading (440,000 litres each day) in our locality and until the commissioning of the proposed anaerobic digester in three years, this will be raw and untreated. Such spreading has the potential to increase odour and associated fly infestation and threat to human health as is being experienced by Heckington at the moment. Other risks associated with this level of spreading in the area include shallow soils, proximity to a major aquifer and a pre-existing diffuse pollution in the area.
• An industrial process of this size will produce noise and given the milking is planned on a 23 hour rotation will produce significant levels of nuisance in the area.
• Housing blight is a fact already affecting some of the local villages with sales falling through or unacceptable offers being made. And this is before a revised planning application has been submitted.
Given the above, is it good enough just to take the word of Ms Willes, Barns and Howard, who may be well intentioned but looking to make a significant profit from this venture (I have no problem with farmers making a proift, but not at the expense of the local population or rape of the environment), or should we examine some of the issues in more depth by asking for a public enquiry into industrial scale dairy farming on this scale in the UK?
We may not get a public enquiry, but to have NKDC listen would be a start!
Ian Glaister

I think we need to leave this to the relevant expert agencies to determine whether or not the issues have been addressed. The Environment Agency will not appreciate, I'm sure, being told that the problems they identified have been addressed already before they have had the opportunity to determine that for themselves, and that will not happen until the application is resubmitted. The time lapse between submission and decision is decidedly shorter than 'months'. Am interested also in the number of public meetings proposed, no dates have been announced and if the last attempt is anything to go by, in a semi-derelict cottage with inaccurate information given as to the location, it will be anything but public!
I know this is a blog, so factual accuracy is not necessarily an issue, but this is an important precedent not only for us but for the whole of western Europe and we owe it to our communities and the environment at the very least to inform and educate - and to check sources rather than cut and paste PR blurb. Let us remember Nocton Dairies have misled on many of the issues concerned - we have every reason to suspect they could continue to do so.

Dot says: "...and increasing imports from abroad." Can we nail this once and for all. In 2008, with the high value of the pound against the Euro, there was a surge in imports of milk, which has now dropped back. But even then it was very small. As one would expect, the economics of importing a bulky low-value fresh product like milk are very weak.

The actual figures given in parliament for 2008 were:
134.1 million litres of which 54.4 came from the Irish Republic.
To put that into context, the UK produces something like 35 million litres a Day, so imports at the most were only 4 days production.

Dot. I read your comments with great interest.

May I humbly suggest that you submit a follow up to your article detailing all information provided by those against the dairy for your readers. Actually it may take too long to compile all of the information on one page so that may not be possible.

I advise everyone that lives in Metheringham (as they will be affected if the dairy goes ahead) to actively research the internet and other information sources so that they become fully and correctly informed with up to date and accurate information that has been meticulously researched and submitted by highly intelligent and sensible people that are against this dairy.

I recommend the information links provided by Geoff Hall which are very informative!

Hi Dot,
Thanks for your article. I hope that this and the comments that it will receive will get a lot more people discussing it and finding out as much information as they can to be able to make up their own minds about the impact that this Dairy will have on their lives and the area.

I hope that these proposed meetings will be well publicised with ample notice not like the meeting in August which gave less than a week's notice and a completely incorrect address. Hopefully the venues will be located in the centre of the villages so that those people who have no transport or are have mobility problems will be able to attend.

I find it very difficult to accept that the presence of 8,000+ cows about one mile away will not create a smell - even if their excrement is quickly cleaned away - they still have body odour. Will they really not attract more flies and insects?

If the dairy is operated 24hrs a day, 7 days a week and cows milked 3 times a day, there must be a continual noise from the machinery, lights on all the toime, tankers travelling in & out oveernight. Will this not disrupt the lives of all those people living along the B1188 from Dunston to Nocton and on Grange Lane and the heath road?

Surely this mega dairy will see the end of the traditional dairy farm. They have been struggling to survive with increased costs of feed, veterinary services etc and all the time the return for the milk they produce being forced down by large supermarkets to satisfy our incessant demand for cheaper and cheaper food.

Wouldn't it be better for the country and the dairy industry for there to be 8 dairies of 1,000 to 1,500 cows in different locations of the UK close to dairies to supply the supermarkets and other depots cutting down the CO2 emissions and diesel from transport miles.

I cannot see any financial benefit of this project for our area. If they were committed to reopening the Boutham Park Dairy and creating more jobs in Lincoln and were likely to employ more than 50% of their proposed 80 workforce from local residents that would be a small consulation.

What happens if the fears of the "vociferous opposition" are proved to be reality once this dairy is given the go ahead and up and running. Who will compensate us for having to live with an strong odour of cow, lots of flies, potholed roads with deep rutted verges, unsettling cries of cows from the maternity block when their calves are taken away, constant low level noise from the operation of the dairy and a loss in value of our properties that is if we are able to sell them at all.

I WOULD LOVE TO PROVED WRONG AND MY FEARS TO BE TOTALLY FOUNDLESS.
Unfortunately I have heard nothing yet that gives me confidence in this project.

if a super dairy was proposed in the Cotswold,Berkshire or Surrey area do we all think it would be allowed? i would say no!! so why dont we get down to the real reason for this project in the area.The project leaders think they can get away with it because they think we are simple Lincolnshire folk, they are throwing money at it as if there is no tommorrow,wonder why? its an indusrial project!!.There is no milk shortage and if we pay a little more for milk as we do for petrol and diesel its not an issue, and this project would be dead. I say support dairy farmers we still have currently,and fight this case to the end, stop this project now,to many issues are being fogged over, lets hope the main bodies of authority can see the wood for the trees and not be bought with false promises. As for transport issues double the suggested figures to support this proposed project,having spoken to number of drivers if they were to be involved, they all say they weill take the shortest route wherever to save time and fuel and unless a law was in place they would not addear to a proposed route, as they said, who will police this route.

As a Metheringham resident, and one who would be affected directly by this dairy factory, living as I do on the B1188 within sight of the field upon which it would be built, I was rather hoping that the parish council would be supporting its residents by opposing this development. In fact, one could almost be forgiven for thinking that they are actually in favour of it. I am not a member of any vociferous group, but I am a local resident and I have real concerns about what could be built just a mile away from our homes. The issues are just as real now as they were the first time the application was submitted. I am quite worried that the interests of big business will overrule the wishes of the local population, and we will end up with a huge industrial-scale factory farm on our doorsteps that serves no-one's interests except the developers, and no doubt the well-known supermarket that is probably behind it all. Meanwhile, more true dairy farmers will be driven out of business. There is a certainly a crisis in the British dairy industry. No-one can deny that, but industrial factory dairies aren't the answer.

I’m saddened to see that this blog entry reads rather like a public relations announcement for Nocton Dairies Ltd. Like Julie, I’m concerned by the accusation that locals are making ‘tenuous links’ in expressing their concern about this experimental project that risks significant environmental and ecological damage.

Robert Howard, the farmer on whose land this factory farm will be built says, “Nothing this ambitious has been attempted in Western Europe - let alone this part of Lincolnshire.” (Farmers Weekly Interactive 1 March 2010). He is right, there is no precedent for an operation of this size (a factory farm comparable to in size to Wembley Stadium) in the UK. In the USA, the factory size would be subject to a range of constraints - including a ‘setback distance’ from residential property of up to 8 miles. Property blight is so significant that, according to the University of Oregon, people often give up trying to sell their homes and simply abandon their communities due to the smell and pollution.

At every stage, the opposers to these plans have supported their arguments with well researched and documented case studies. The response of Nocton Dairies has been to simply assert that the opposition is ‘ridiculous’ yet they are unable to offer any substantial assurances that they are able to protect the quality of life of the villagers
.
Finally, as I write, there is a blustery south-westerly wind blowing - I would be downwind of the factory - am I expected to believe that 8100 cows and their associated effluent won’t smell?

I have just read the latest update from Dot Howes which i appreciate but
i feel i must comment on with the animal welfare aspect.Still etched in my memory are the dreadful pictures of cattle being destroyed and cremated during the last foot& mouth outbreak.Caring farmers who had built up herds to provide us with the milk were devastated.Those farmers were real caring people,not the ones who for purely financial reasons are wanting this factory unit.The outbreak was spread by livestock movement and when i asked Mr Wiles about my concerns he said that the unit was self contained and no movement would take place.With the lifespan of an estimated 5 years for these factory cows perhaps they will be parachuted in!A very unsatisfactory answer to my question.Bovine TB is another of my concerns but with a vet on site full time, i presume that it is not a problem.If animal welfare is a prime concern for these so called caring farmers, i would like to know where they will find a vet who will wear blinkers!

Dear Dot,
If you prefer to hear stories from America, how about this one written in July 2008
“More than 4,800 dairy cows at risk of carrying tuberculosis are being slaughtered this week in central California, where nearly 16,000 cattle in the country’s largest milk-producing region have been quarantined. One of the affected dairies milks more than 10,000 cows and sells semen and embryos from high-production cows and bulls internationally. The operation faces losing 50 years of genetic development if the dairy operator chooses to slaughter his cattle, said Michael March, chief executive of Western United Dairymen.
“Because we don’t have a good test and it can be spread so easily, unfortunately they are guilty until proven innocent,” said Andrew House, spokesman for U.S. Rep. Devin Nunes, whose constituents include dozens of dairy operators. “That’s especially tough if you have a dairy herd with 10,000 animals and only one confirmed case.”
Nocton Diaries have said that they chose Lincoln because we have had no cases of TB in this area. Well let’s hope this remains the case. We can all remember the scenes of 1000s of animals being slaughtered to rid the UK of Foot and Mouth.
Surely having so many animals in one place must increase the risk of situations like these.
Whilst on the subject of risk; the days of intensive farming will come to an end. Driven by the need to consider the UK’s as well as Global Food security (a secure supply of healthy, affordable food from less land, less water, fewer inputs and producing less waste and emissions) many experts and commentators already consider that expansion and development of organic farming will bring many more benfits than industrialised methods. Here are some mentioned within recent Environmental Reports as well as a recent bulletin from the International Dairy Federation:-
 Higher quality healthy milk
 Reduced carbon emissions
 Increase biodiversity
 Reduced land and soil degradation
 Less pollution
The main risk to our villages will be if these issues are considered too late for this planning application and we all end up with a failed factory dairy and a huge carbuncle on our landscape and reputation.

Dot, wake up and smell the cow s**t!

I am one of the "vociferous" Metheringham residents who is keen to explore and share information about the proposed Nocton dairy plan. The development is a completely new concept in western Europe, not just a simple, everyday planning application. It is one that could have very wide reaching repercussions locally and nationally, as noted in the comments from Geoff, Julie, Kathryn and Odile.
It is essential we are equipped with the information necessary to decide if we want a dairy factory here, or anywhere, even if this means "stretching the relevance of the agenda...by the most tenuous of links." (Who's deciding on the relevance, by the way?)
We should also maintain a healthy scepticism towards the reassurances of those who stand to benefit most from the the plan - the developers!

I think the answer is simple. We do not want or need this kind of farming in the UK and the EU. There is plenty of evidence that intense dairy farms like this pollute the environment and endanger the lives of those living near them. Nocton Dairies have proven incompetent so far and I can't see that changing. End of debate. Encourage and support small dairy farms and we have a much nicer environment to live in. If that means our milk cost a little bit more so be it. With more people in this country suffering from obesity we can afford to eat less thats for sure!

Reading Dot Howes comments is like reading a political party broadcast on behalf of the farmers' party. Has Nocton Dairies dictated this?

Propaganda for the dwindling few factory farming groupies!!!

I think you now have to benefit somehow from this scheme to want to believe this so called "update"

As Metheringham residents and members of the "vociferous antis" we definitely support all objections already mooted against the proposed dairy factory farm.

One particular point which has not yet been made is the fact that the slurry spreading map (available on caffo website) shows a "lagoon" of 6 million gallons of manure effluent to be placed to the west of Metheringham probably adjacent to Blankney golf course which appears to place it within a mile of the Metheringham Primary school. The school then is situated downwind of the slurry pit and in line with the prevailing westerly winds.

Research reading indicates that during a very hot and dry spell, in particular, noxious substances from such a slurry pit can become airborne and subsequently be carried on the wind. The school would thus be prone to receive high levels of these substances. Perhaps the parents of Metheringham should be aware of this specific in the whole scheme of things.

I am surprised that the noise made by the cows themselves has not been mentioned. From my bedroom in Nocton I can clealy hear one cow lowing about half a mile away. The thought of eight thousand making the same noise is terrifying! The noise from the factory between Nocton and Dunston is also clealy audible here in Wellhead Lane. The noise from the new factory, let's not pretend it is to be a farm, will likely be an order of magnitude worse.

We live here, we pay the rates, we elect the council members. I have yet to see a local person support this application.

Nocton Dairy

As a retired Dairy Farmer one may have thought that I would support this idea of a cows in our next village. No way can one think that 8000 animals on one site is suitable. They can never graze . A cow needs to feed itself and conserve for the winter about 1acre each. Therefore 8000 acres around the area will be need to provide the forage for thhis number of animals. The road netwoerk is totally unsuitable for the kind of vehicles that will use them.
No consideratiuon has been given to the water suppy. Yes a new supply will be provied that will deplete the surrounding villages. A cow needs about 10gallons per day with about the same amount for washing down the miling parlours etc.

The effluent is to be piped out to surrounding land in surrounding villages. What happend in the winter when the land is wet and maybe flooded. What about the leaching of that effluent into our water courses through the light land in this area?

The cows will have to be fed on silage and high energy grain. Silage or hay loses its food value once conserved where grass has a high food value to produce milk. All the cereals have to be purchased from around the world. We have a cereal shortage now. Why feed it to cows which could be using and grazing grass if not concentrated ina 8000 herd on one site
This is why I call this idea a "Concentration Camp for cows."

Our farming has been a great success over theyears. This is because dairy farms and mixed farms obeyed nature. Cows have grazed grass for milk production for the last 5000 yearsin the UK.. If you want factory farmed milk this Noctoon scheme will provide it. If the Suppermarkets want cheap milk they will help to destroy the remaining dairy farms by this kind of operation.Are they the ones providing the £millions to build this entterprise? I hope that all supermarkets will refuse to have factory type milk as they now do for factory hens eggs.

September 4th
Martyn Long

Jeremy gunner; I totally oppose this plan like you, I just thought you might like to know that there are a few residents living down Wellhead Lane who think Mr Howard is wonderful and these people believe Mr Howard no matter what claptrap he comes out with, they think its a "wonderful plan" - one has to ask what hold Mr Howard has over these few supporters living in Wellhead Lane and whether they will still agree with it when they too are suffering the smells, the flies, the noise and the traffic problems. They will probably just say "ah well it is a farming community" (yes indeed it is, a `farming community' not an industrialised one). maybe we will be able to say "we told you so" later if this silly plan gets the go ahead wont we :)