Members were welcomed to this month’s meeting of the Werrington Ladies Circle by Susan Desmond who introduced the speaker Bill Clarke from Trewithen Dairy.

Bill began his talk by giving the members a background into the history of Trewithen Dairy who they are, their ethos, what drives the family and their customer base.

Trewithen Dairy is owned and run by the Clarke family Bill and Rachel and his two sons. They have owned Greymare Farm in the Glynn Valley since 1976, and started crafting dairy products there in March 1994.

In the early days the Clarkes had their own herd and would bottle the milk and deliver it early the next morning. They cooked the clotted cream themselves, in open trays and potted it by hand. Their customers loved their Cornish dairy products and soon the Clarkes were supplying more and more customers.

Their business just grew and grew and they went on to develop the Cornish brand to help the farmers and by 2001 the milk bottling and cream making side of the business had become so successful that a big decision was made on whether to continue dairy farming or switch completely over to processing milk so the family decided to sell their herd and move full time into producing milk, cream, butter and yoghurt and with the help of European funding the family started working with the supermarkets.

Trewithen Dairy products are supplied to a wide range of customers including wholesalers, supermarkets, restaurants, shops, pubs, cafes and Kelly ice cream and balancing supply and demand through the year is a very important role for Trewithen Dairy. More recently the family develop a new more creamy and smoother milk a Black Label Cornish Whole milk specially designed for making frothy coffees which they supply to coffee shops.

Farming is really important to the family and approximately 40 farms supply Trewithen Dairy with milk. The families ethos is that they are very passionate, treat people with respect and being open and honest. The family also insist on the cows grazing on fresh grass and not housed in sheds.

Bill then when on to talk about ‘Regenerative Farming’ which is complex and can be difficult to explain. Regenerative agriculture is a conservation and rehabilitation approach to food and farming systems and amongst other things focuses on topsoil regeneration and increasing biodiversity and is resilience to climate change therefore strengthening the health and vitality of the farm soil.

Susan thanked the speaker and invited questions from the members. Refreshments were served by Shirley Bell and Wendy Fettner.

The next speaker at the meeting in April is Tasha Fullbrook (officer for Devon and Cornwall) who will be talking about ‘Finds and Antiquities’ so if anyone is interested in joining and becoming a member of the Werrington Ladies Circle then contact Susan, president, on 01566 773768.