Dorset dairy farmer transforms business to be animal-free

Laurence Candy runs Northwood Farm in Manston, which produced dairy products for 60 years

A former dairy farmer has transformed his business to be solely plant-based.

Laurence Candy, 50, runs Northwood Farm in Manston, Dorset, which produced dairy products for 60 years but now grows oat, wheat, and fava beans.

In October 2022, he received the Biocyclic Vegan Standard, which requires he no longer use livestock or animal by-products.

He said the transition to animal-free has been an "enormous change for myself and my elderly father".

The Dorset farm now grows oat, wheat and fava beans

Mr Candy, who took over running Northwood Farm from his father, said they lost most of the dairy cows to bovine tuberculosis in 2017.

In Autumn 2020, his organic milk contract ended and he said he "had to decide either to give up organic farming or carry on organic but do something else".

The answer was to transform his farm to be animal-free and aim to receive the Biocyclic Vegan Standard.

Mr Candy found a new home for the 38 cows in his dairy herd at Hillside Animal Sanctuary in Norfolk

Mr Candy found a new home for the 38 cows in his dairy herd at Hillside Animal Sanctuary in Norfolk.

He said: "I'm in theory stockless and I'm not allowed to use animal manures or animal byproducts as fertiliser."

His farm now produces wheat and oats, and in the autumn he said he will be sowing fava beans.

Mr Candy bought a combine harvester and arable equipment as part of the transformation

Mr Candy said: "For any livestock farmer to completely give up any form of livestock, it's personally a huge change.

"I've had to buy a combine harvester and arable equipment and then convert the existing cowsheds into a grain source so that there is considerable cost involved.

"You're always worried if it's going to work out as planned and it has worked."

Mr Candy said the next step will be to convert the milking parlour into a milling and processing unit so he can take the grains directly to market himself.