The best quality milk comes from local, healthy and happy cows, believes the third generation dairy in Shaftesbury

BV Dairy was established in 1958 and is now run by the third generation of the Highnam family. Both the business and the range of specialty products has grown and developed to form one of the most respected and successful independent dairies in the South West.
BV Dairy started in the family home at Kington Magna, selling liquid cream. The business moved to its current site in Shaftesbury in the mid-1980s, and with the extra space the product range was extended to cultured milk products like yoghurts, sour cream and crème fraîche – anything from nought per cent fat soft cheese (quark) up to a 45% fat soft cheese (cream cheese).
Our UF Plant, a world-class facility for manufacturing, was commissioned in May 2004. It uses Ultra Filtration (UF) Technology that, at the time, was a recent manufacturing process and uncommon in the UK. The plant offers total flexibility in the manufacturing of a range of different products, and has enhanced our position as an innovative manufacturer of specialist dairy product for our customers. Our active New Product Development department works constantly on new concepts and also with customers (and potential customers) whenever possible.
October 2016 saw the commissioning of a new chill store facility; housing 1,000 pallet spaces and incorporating new office space and storage. The design ethos is based on lean principles, efficient running and full IT integration. We utilise VNA (Very Narrow Aisle) Fork Trucks running on guidance systems; and solar panels which generate 3,500kWh of electricity each day.

Back to the farm
Hailing from a farming background originally, BV Dairy understands all aspects of the dairy industry and is proud of its strong relationship with the local farming community. We understand the importance of restricting food miles; our milk is sourced directly from within the local community, from dairy farms within a 30-mile radius of the production facility in Shaftesbury.
These farms are regularly inspected as part of the Red Tractor Farm Assured Scheme and are required to comply with this standard. In addition, BV Dairy’s own Farm Liaison Team work closely with our farmers in applying modern best-practice principles and helping them maintain herds of healthy, happy cows that supply high quality, rich, tasty and nutritious milk. When collected from the farm all milk joins a schedule of testing – not only to maintain quality but also to form the basis of an agreed payment scheme for the farmer. In addition, BV Dairy host regular forums attended by their farmers and other invited dairy professionals where issues can be discussed and ideas exchanged to help ensure a continuing good working partnership.

The BV Dairy cows
Our typical dairy farm supplier has a long heritage of dairy farming, and a long relationship with the Dairy. They vary in size from smaller, family farms with around 80 cows up to larger concerns with 400 cows. The systems used are dependent on the individual farm but ALL cows will go out on grass for a period of the year, and spend their winter in a cubicle house or barn.
The breed of cow is also varied, with some farms having pedigree Holstein Friesians and others having crossbred stock – such as Jersey crossed with Friesian. There are also Guernsey’s, Brown Swiss and Montbeliarde.
A nutritious diet is essential and in summer months this is mainly grass. In the winter when grass does not grow well cattle are fed mainly silage (preserved grass or maize) with a mixture of cereals and protein feeds to ensure that they maintain their health.
BV Dairy support varied calving patterns as this helps achieve a consistent volume of milk arriving at the Dairy. Calving timetables are tailored by the farmer to suit his farm, workforce and the space and land available – there could also be other farming enterprises such as arable, beef cattle or sheep to consider. Some farms have the facilities to calve year-round whilst others calve in blocks; spring or autumn, or sometimes both!!
BV Dairy is committed to its farmers whatever size their farm and our aim is to help them support healthy, happy cows

Matt Cradock, local sheep farmer and chairman of the G&S Show’s sheep section, discusses the sheep of things to come with Andrew Livingston

For the second year running, sheep shearing demonstrations are back at the Gillingham and Shaftesbury Show. Organisers say that it was the public interest at last year’s display which means that it’s bigger and better than before.
Matt Cradock, chairman of the sheep section, is excited about this year’s ‘Wool Village.’ He says: “[Last year] there were so many people asking what the price of it was, what the procedure was … there were so many questions that we just couldn’t get enough information out to everyone who was interested.
‘This year we’re doing the shearing and then we can see the fleece-judging classes of people who are exhibiting their pedigree stock at the show.
We also have a couple of spinners – the process of getting the wool into yarn – and then we have a representative from the British Wool Board who is coming to talk about everything else in between. This way, the public is getting the whole picture.’
Twenty-nine-year-old Matt, who keeps more than 1,700 sheep on 300 acres around North Dorset, was brought up on his family’s dairy farm. They diversified into sheep to keep their business running.
Matt, who bought his first sheep at the age of 16, is the perfect expert to guide the public through the shearing demonstrations, so he will once again be commentating on the shearing.
‘It’s a time when livestock farming is getting hammered left, right and centre from those who are opposed to it.
Shearing can be a big thing. The public need to see it for themselves to make up their own mind on it. I did the commentary on the shearing last year and the public loved it. We could have spieled and spieled and sheared and sheared, but the public response was what really made it.’

No one likes a Poll Dorset
Originally farmers sheared their sheep because the wool itself was the product … and a big income for sheep farmers. Today, however, a sheep’s wool – which weighs around two kilograms – will only be worth about 70p, with the average shearer costing double that just to remove the wool.
‘Shearing is mainly for welfare reasons now. It helps prevent fly strike, reduces the risk of the sheep getting stuck on their backs. Sheep left unsheared are at risk of rain scald, which is a skin disease.’
Once again, Henry Mayo and Ben Doggrell will be aiming to shear 180 to 200 of Matt’s sheep for the show demonstration –around 30 each an hour. That’s just two minutes per sheep.
In 2019, 20-year-old Henry, from Hermitage in Dorset, became the first English farmer to win the top shearing competition in New Zealand for 30 years.
Matt, who usually shears his own sheep, describes the pair as the best. ‘Put it this way, I’m really particular about what happens with my sheep and I’d be happy for them to come in and shear my own flock. If I didn’t think they were the best, I simply wouldn’t ask them to be at the show.’
Suffolk, Charollais, Poll Dorsets and Llyns are just some of the breeds that will be sheared at the G&S Show.
‘Everything being shorn at the 2022 show is called a shearling – a young sheep which has never been shorn before. They are going to be a challenge, the Poll Dorsets being the worst. I’ve never met a shearer who likes shearing them!’

Accompanying the shearing is the showing of sheep, with competition classes and prizes for all the pedigree breeds. Matt explains why having a rosette-winning animal is big business.
‘It’s advertising your breeding. You get to compare your breeding with another breeder of the same or similar breed.
‘Exhibitors do go to a lot of effort – there’s a lot of preparation work. To achieve a prize winner, they’re obviously breeding the right animal, and that’s what’s key to them. They enjoy the day. They get to go to the show, but their animals – they sell themselves.’
Next year, Matt’s vision for the sheep section at the Gillingham and Shaftesbury Show is once again bigger and better. ‘Why keep something the same? It’s worked one year, so let’s build it up to encourage people.
‘The idea is (we’re always full of ideas, whether they actually work or not is another matter!) we will have had two years’ worth of shearing demonstrations, so we’ll go for a competition shear next year. That way people will understand what the competition is, because they’ve listened to it being explained for the last couple of years. Then they can see what it REALLY means to be a professional shearer.’

The 2022 G&S Show is bigger than ever – and alongside some exciting new attractions, there’s a return of a much-missed old favourite

The Grand Parade of Livestock returns to the Main Ring!
Agriculture has always been the heart of the Gillingham & Shaftesbury Show, and we are proud to announce that for the first time in over 15 years the Grand Parade of Livestock, sponsored by Woolley & Wallis, will return to the Gritchie Brewing Company Main Ring.
At 15:00 watch as all of the days champions and prize-winning livestock parade around the ring – we promise it is a spectacle not to be missed.

The FUEL10K IMPS Motorcyle Display Team
The world-famous motorcycle spectacular! The IMPS Motorcycle Display Team, sponsored by Fuel10k, will be performing their breathtaking dynamic display of skills in the Gritchie Brewing Company Main Ring at the 2022 Gillingham & Shaftesbury Show on Wednesday 17th August!
From the sound of revving engines to the awe of a billowing fire jump and the suspense of a multiple motorcycle combination ‘cross-over’ routine, The Imps will have you mesmerised by an unmissable display of discipline and skill. Furthermore, you will be stunned to learn that the youngest performer in the youth motorcycle display team is only five years old!
Display times – 11:50 and 15:40

NEW: The Lightning Bolts Army Parachute Display Team
One of the world’s most experienced operational deployment teams – the Lightning Bolt Army Parachute Display Team, sponsored by Gavin Dixon Financial Solutions – will be jumping into the Gillingham & Shaftesbury Show for the first time!
They are a dynamic military freefall team – watch them fly into the ring with smoke and flags!
Time: Look up at 12:30!

NEW: The Wool Village
Last year we introduced sheep shearing demonstrations – and this year we step it up a bit and have an entire Wool Village, sponsored by Friars Moor Livestock Vets!
“Wool is one of the oldest fibres known to mankind, and also one of the most beneficial.” (His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales).
Wool is not only natural, it is renewable, biodegradable and lasts longer than artificial fibres.
In the Wool Village you can watch sheep being shorn on a raised stage, learn all about wool itself, feel the wool’s texture and see the winners of the Fleece Competitions.
The majority of sheep are shorn in the summer; this does not hurt the sheep and is required for their welfare – no one wants a woolly jumper in hot weather! The sheep are shorn by a ‘shearer’. A professional shearer is skilled and careful – one shearer can shear a sheep in less than 2 minutes!
Read all about sheep shearing and the Wool Village in our interview with Matt Cradock, the local sheep farmer who is chairman of the sheep section at the show.

NEW: Bees & Honey Marquee
We all now know that bees are essential to life on earth. The new Bees & Honey Marquee is in association with the North Dorset Beekeepers Association and will be filled with exciting demonstrations, hands-on activities and even a bee hive! The marquee also features competitions in all bee & honey related cookery and treats.