A pioneering farm in south west Scotland has launched a crowdfunding campaign to help tell the story behind their journey to cow-with-calf dairy farming. Rainton Farm is home to Cream o’ Galloway ice-cream and visitor centre, and The Ethical Dairy cheese, and it is the largest dairy farm in Europe leaving calves with their mothers to suckle.
The campaign will support the publication of a book called ‘A Dairy Story’, a memoir written by owners David and Wilma Finlay in response to rising public interest in their radically different approach to dairy farming.
The book tells the story of the farm’s transition over 30 years from conventional family-sized dairy farming to organic and, more recently, to 100% pasture, regenerative, cow-with-calf dairy. The Finlays hope that their story of climate-driven farming transformation will help show that transitioning to resilient, net zero food production is do-able and necessary.
David Finlay said:
“Change is never easy, but change is urgently needed if we are going to feed our population without wrecking our planet. We started changing our farming system 25 years ago, and we’re not finished yet.
“This book doesn’t claim we have all the answers – far from it! Rather it’s a story about the challenges that change brings, the problems that need to be overcome and, at times, the very personal consequences of moving away from conventional practice to an approach that centres the environment and climate.”
Wilma Finlay said:
“Writing a book is something we’ve spoken about for years, but now felt like the right time to do it for all sorts of reasons, including personal reasons. The story of our farm transformation is also the story of us; our motivations and our hopes for the future, so it’s more than a dairy story, it’s our story.”
“The reason for the crowdfunding campaign is to pre-sell the book, and to get it quickly into the hands of people who want to read it in an efficient and waste-free way,” Wilma added.
“For us it’s also a personal return to a way of connecting with the general public that we found transformational. When we launched our previous crowdfunding campaign, four years ago, we were amazed at the way the platform gave us an opportunity to speak directly with people who were genuinely interested in what we are trying to achieve. So a return to Crowdfunder seemed like the right approach for this project.”
The Ethical Dairy’s 2018 crowdfunding campaign raised more than £55,000 which helped part-fund cheese manufacturing facilities to allow an increase in production. A stretch goal also helped fund an ‘Ethical Farming Conference’, held at Rainton Farm in 2019. The current crowdfunding campaign runs for four weeks and seeks to raise £10,000 through pre-selling the book to support the printing. The book is expected to be published in hardback in early October.
Early review copies are already generating positive reviews from influential voices, including Helen Browning, Chief Executive of the Soil Association, who said:
“‘A Dairy Story’ sets out David and Wilma’s life’s work in a way that will be hugely helpful for future generations of would-be ethical farmers. However, this memoir should have resonance way beyond the farming community. There is personal growth, and the story of a marriage and business partnership over many decades. This is a tale of resilience, conviction, courage and sensitivity, and it is told with startling honesty.”
Novelist, Karen Campbell, author of The Sound of the Hours and Paper Cup, said:
“A brave, honest and inspiring account of how one traditional family farm radically diverged, to put kindness and compassion at the heart of all they do. It's about more than rethinking how we farm - it's also the deeply personal story of two quiet, determined visionaries - who saw how the world could be different, then went about changing it.”
Pete Ritchie of food policy NGO Nourish Scotland said:
“It’s not about the cows – though when future agriculture students learn about the transformation of dairy farming in the 2030s, this text will be required reading. Even better, this is a great story about two likeable, inspiring and unsaintly people, and their journey through life so far.”
Sue Lawrence, writer and former MasterChef winner, said:
“What a story! So brave and raw. Also heart-breaking yet hopeful; sad yet uplifting - a true tale of determination and indefatigable passion for a goal. A must-read for our time.”
David Finlay added:
“There are lots of influential voices expressing very polarised opinions on livestock farming right now. We hope our story has something to contribute to those broader industry debates, which is why we want to publish this quickly. We also hope that people will find the book interesting and enjoyable to read.”
The crowdfunding campaign can be found at the following link: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/adairystory
More information about the campaign can be found on The Ethical Dairy’s website www.TheEthicalDairy.co.uk .
- Ends -
Review copies of A Dairy Story:
Digital copies of A Dairy Story for review purposes are available to members of the media on request.