.png)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.png){kind=small}
Hook & Son is a family run farm near Hailsham right on the edge of the Pevensey Levels in East Sussex. Run by Phil and Steve Hook since 1991, the farm called Longleys Farm produces raw milk products, aligning to organic and grass-fed principles, working to maintain and enhance their ‘important and wonderful local ecology’. Angus D. Birditt visited Steve on a sunny morning in Sussex to hear more about raw milk, what it is, its health benefits and challenges when producing such a product.
We start walking the cows from the front of the herd, from one side of the farm to the other to fresh pastures, under a blazing sun and cloudless sky.
ADB: Steve, thanks for having me to the farm. Tell us a little about Hook & Son.
Steve: Yes, so Hook & Son is a farm, most of which is permanent pasture and on the Pevensey Levels, producing a range of raw milk products. We have a herd of 80 – which I think is the perfect size of a herd – and their breeds are British Friesian and Norwegian Red, chosen for their good milk production and being fed on a grass diet.
As we walk, it’s clear to see you have a strong bond with your cows, Steve?
We know each cow by name and age, and we have several cow families still going strong in the herd. We can even identify each cow by its particular markings. We have a closed herd here at Longleys Farm, meaning we rear all our own dairy cows from our own cow families, not buying in replacement young cows (heifers) or cows from other farms.
We turn the cows out in the spring and bring them in autumn when the ground gets too wet. In the barns through winter, we feed them our own silage. An organic mix of sunflower, linseed, pea, bean and molasses is also fed to the cows to supplement their grass diet.
What’s so important about your cows being grass-fed?
Grass-fed means there is no grain in the diet, no maize or wheat. If you lived in Europe 60 years ago and looked across the English Channel, you would have thought, that is where the best beef and the best dairy is, because we have one of the best climates to grow grass.
When producing milk from grass-fed cows, it will only produce 4,500 litres of milk a year. But more recently, with pressures on farms, many farmers have been squeezed to produce more from their cows - 10,000 litres of milk per year – and obviously they can’t do that solely on grass as it’s not nutrient-dense enough so there is a lot of soya and corn imported and fed to the cows to reach that yield.
Also, to produce 10,000 litres of milk from a cow, the farmer will invariably have to keep them inside for longer or even its entire life. It will be in great condition, however, as it must be to produce that much milk, but it’s like a prison, you’re looking after a prisoner really well and their welfare is good, but they don’t have choices, which is quality of life.
Introducing grass back into that grain-fed diet will reduce that higher yield. If you are happy to have that hit on yield and allow the animals out on pasture; it’s not only grass they’ll be eating, but also different types of herbage, trees, hedgerows, and more recently, herbal leys we have planted, they can choose what they want to eat, they have a greater quality of life which is different to good animal welfare. And watching the cows graze down on the marshes, it’s brilliant to see what they are choosing to eat, giving the milk it’s flavour. So, it’s about quality of milk for us, not quantity which you’d find with a lot of grain-fed cows.
Our low input system results in our cows being less stressed, therefore not being prone to stress related cattle health problems, such as mastitis and lameness. Indeed, our cows on average live to be eight or nine years old, compared to the national average of six years old.
And for those wishing to understand, what’s the process of milking your cows?
So, when a new female (heifer) calf is born, it is reared on the farm. When it is mature enough, the heifer is put into calf, and has her first calf at about two and a half years old. After calving, her new milk production begins with her first lactation. Our milkman/woman will milk her twice a day. The lactation lasts for ten months. She then has her holiday, two months on the ancient pastures of the Pevensey Levels and a rest from being milked – known as her dry period, before calving again and starting the next lactation. A dairy cow has one calving and one lactation each year.
What’s the biodiversity like on the farm? You mention part of the farm is on a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).
Yes, that’s correct. Our farm is blooming with a wide variety of flora and fauna. We had a RSPB species survey carried out on the farm not too long ago which found 45 different species of native birds, including eight red-listed species (declined by more than 50% over the last 25 years) and nine amber-listed species (declined by 25-49% over the same period).
"...that’s the beauty of farmer’s markets, you can communicate and get the message out about raw milk."
What is raw milk?
Milk as nature intended. It is produced by a mammal, in our case, our cows on the farm. It is milk that isn’t altered or processed or treated in any way, milk that comes straight from the animal. All we do is filter it and chill to under 4 degrees Celsius, we bottle it and that’s it. The only two similarities between raw and pasteurised milk are that they are fairly white in colour and called milk, and that’s about it, both very different foods.
What are the challenges you face with producing raw milk?
The initial challenge I faced producing raw milk was the prejudice against raw milk not just from authority but from the public as well. I’d be standing at our farmer’s market stall in 2008 and a member of the public would come up to me and accuse me of ‘spreading disease in London’, but that’s the beauty of farmer’s markets, you can communicate and get the message out about raw milk.
Now, the challenge is the science that must be done to prove raw milk’s health properties. I have many theories; one being that raw milk gets rid of asthma, hay fever and eczema. It’s fairly simple, raw milk has a lot of good bacteria like Lactobacillus, and enzymes such as lactase. Lactobacillus is a common probiotic and ‘can act as gut-beneficial bacteria that create a physical barrier against unfriendly bacteria (1).’ I believe raw milk has huge health-benefiting properties that haven’t been researched yet for one way or another.
Just look back in recent history, during the 1920-40s there was much research done genuinely in the interest of humanity, but after the Second World War, science did stuff that was in the interest of the big companies bottom line. In the 1920s, for example, 'The Milk Cure' by Dr Crewe, a co-founder of the Mayo Foundation, later to become the Mayo Medical Research Clinic in the US, is an amazing piece of research. He found that using raw foods like raw milk in his medical practice for over 15 years, found that ‘when sick people are limited to a diet containing an excess of vitamins and all the elements necessary to growth and maintenance, they recover rapidly without the use of drugs and without bringing to bear all the complicated weapons of modern medicine (2)’. He also said that those ‘who live on the simplest foods have little diseases’, which is interesting when you think so many of us now eat ultra-processed foods.
The other challenge for raw milk is to meet the demand. I feel raw milk is about to hit the roof, it’s growing as we speak. The Food Standards Agency has been really good in 2014 and 2018, they have put the mechanisms in place to allow people the choice of having raw milk and to safeguard the production of raw milk, bringing it into mainstream food law, where it should be. So now, resources need to be in place to train new entrant dairy farmers on producing raw milk. You need to bear in mind that farmers are great at producing milk, they understand their cow’s needs, but many don’t know much about the product they produce; farmers don’t know the gold they have before it’s commoditized and cheapened. But I’m certain the demand will come and that will come from the consumers. I don’t know why the NHS isn’t shouting for this, but thankfully people are waking up to realising that we should be eating the food we are designed to have which is great.
"There are big challenges ahead, I think the dairy industry will be very different in 20 years’ time."
What are these health benefits of raw milk you talk about, you mentioned before you believe it helps those who suffer from asthma, hay fever and eczema?
Crikey, this will take me ages, this will! Yes, I believe raw milk can help those with symptoms of asthma, hay fever and eczema. It’s a complete food that is designed for our maintenance, growth and defence. No other food can do that. Also, the cholesterol in raw milk is in its natural state. The protein in raw milk is the protein that is designed for muscle growth and repair, so in terms of sports injuries and fitness it’s in a different league to other sports drinks. Raw milk has also got infection-fighting properties. Some doctors are recognizing the health benefits of raw milk. It is a living food, it is a little ecosystem which is on our side, and if bad bacteria enter that system, Lactobacillus will outcompete it. So, raw milk has so many benefits. Whatever your ailment, and I’m not a doctor, but I would put money on it that raw milk will benefit you.
What is the future for raw milk?
This is a good question. It all depends on science. If science does its research into showing the incredible health benefits of raw milk, then I think there will be more demand for it. This will give more opportunity for farmers to sell directly, giving more power to the farmer and more money at the end of the day for the farmer, paying them for the quality product they are producing. For many dairy farmers they are price-takers, but if they start to produce raw milk, it will help them become a price-maker.
For the dairy industry, there is going to be more coming out about raw milk being good, and how they deal with that, I don’t know. We have a national distribution that is set up to deliver pasteurised milk not raw milk, so I can imagine when more retailers start to ask to sell raw milk, then the whole system will have to change. Pasteurised milk fits the distribution system. So, there are challenges for all parties, whether it’s government and lawmakers or the farmers and the food industries. There are big challenges ahead, I think the dairy industry will be very different in 20 years’ time. Only in the last few years, social media has really changed the narrative of our food and drink, with many under 25s asking for our produce which is great.
What do you sell? And how can someone support you?
Hook & Son sell a range of raw milk products including cream, butter and ghee, yoghurt, grass-fed beef & rose veal, plus a number of pasteurised products and kefir.
To find raw milk nationally, there are around 170-200 raw milk producers registered to the Raw Milk Producers Association, many sell direct from their farmgate and or online. You can also find raw milk at farmer’s markets, not in retailers as raw milk can’t be sold by a third party. It is difficult to find raw milk but do look at the map on the Raw Milk Producers Association for your local farm.
You can also watch the film about the farm ‘The Moo Man’ on Amazon.
References
The Realities of Raw Milk
Article & Photography by Angus D. Birditt
Interview with Steve Hook
Comentários