Minshull Hall Farm
Minshull Hall's Jerseys
An exclusive partnership...
The most important ingredient in Beechdean Farmhouse Dairy Ice cream is fresh Jersey milk produced in Cheshire. Beechdean are now in an exclusive and unique partnership with the Platt family.
By working together (with a dedicated Beechdean farming specialist) we are able to produce richer, cleaner milk and we have dramatically cut down our carbon footprint on the transport of the milk from 200 miles down to just 12!!
The integrated partnership allows for the profitable manufacture of milk in a secure commercial environment and the continual improvement of our most important ingredient.
FARM NEWS
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The Platt family have been milking cows for nearly 100 years.
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We are always milking about 230 cows with about 50 cows “resting” they will rest for up to 60 days before having a calf again.
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Animal health and welfare is at the heart of everything they do and the only cows they have on the farm are jerseys.
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We farm 300 acres in Church Minshull – where we can grow lots of fresh green grass.
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To produce milk a cow must have a calf, some of our oldest cows have had over ten healthy calves most of which have now joined the milking herd.
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The cows have a strong Jersey pedigree with descendants of the Loseley herd still milking. (Loseley is one of our delicious ice cream brands). Pictured is 12 year old Loseley Zik Cioletta, we currently have 5 generations from her on the farm.
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She came straight to us from the Loseley Farm. We have been very lucky as she is a fantastic milker and has a great personality.
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The girls are milked twice a day (6:00am and 4pm).
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Jersey cows are the most inquisitive breed of cow and they never miss a trick. The cows love new visitors and will instantly come up to you for a good sniff and a hello...!
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Our girls calve all year round so there is always milk available for the ice cream, this also makes the girls life less stressful and not under as much pressure to produce the milk at certain times of the year
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It takes a year for a cow to have her calf, produce milk and then have a big holiday ready to start again.
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The great thing about our golden Jersey cows is the golden creamy milk they produce - it is considerably higher in fat and protein than the black and white cow's milk which makes the ice cream extra tasty.
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We are a grazing farm - which means weather permitting the girls will be outside enjoying the green grass and lots of space from late February to late October.
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During the winter months or when very high rainfall is expected the cows are housed in their purpose built shed. Each cow has a cubicle which has its own mattress and fresh clean bedding every day.
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The largest part of the diet being fresh grass it is easy to ensure the girls have enough to eat. In the winter months the cows are fed a mixed diet with a high percentage of forage crops alongside grain grown locally
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Due to all the diseases calves can catch we take hygiene and health with them very seriously. We have a brand-new calf rearing facility with automated calf feeding from Lely. This allows them to have access to fresh milk, water and a specially formulated weaning pellet whenever they feel like it.
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We pride ourselves with having the happiest calves around which grow into the fantastic cows which produce our deliciously creamy Jersey milk.
