Pembrokeshire’s new creamery is looking to sign milk contracts with more dairy farmers to get the plant up to full processing capacity.

Pembrokeshire Creamery at Haverfordwest currently has capacity to bottle more than a million litres of milk weekly but is planning to double this following new investment.

Managing director Mark McQuade said although he is pleased with the level of interest shown by dairy farmers in becoming suppliers, that plant still had “some capacity’’.

“We are on a mission to support local farming communities and want to be able to source all of our milk as locally as possible,’’ said Mr McQuade.

The £20m creamery, the only liquid facility in Wales which is British Retail Consortium Global Standards certified to supply major retailers with Welsh milk, started processing milk in May.

  • Don't miss our next edition of Pembrokeshire Farmer - with news and features from across west Wales, it's free inside the Western Telegraph on Aug 28

It has already announced major deals to supply own-branded milk to Asda and Lidl stores across Wales and has also launched its own milk brand, Blas y Tir, which is Welsh for ‘taste of the land’.

The Blas y Tir brand is owned by Pembrokeshire Creamery’s sister-business, Puffin Produce.

Meanwhile Tesco has announced plans to reduce the number of farmers in its Sustainable Dairy Group, a move that will affect a certain portion of its dairy suppliers later this year.

Farmers who are affected by this decision will be given 12 months’ notice from late September, after which they will transition to a direct contract with processor, Muller.

Tesco said the changes are expected to affect a “small number” of dairy farmers, but no figures have been officially released.

It is understood that when the Tesco Sustainable Dairy Group (TSDG) was first created in 2007, there were more than 700 farms involved. There are now around 400 producers left in the group.

CAPTION

The new creamery is seeking milk from Pembrokeshire herds. Picture: Debbie James