Catherine Mead

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Catherine Mead Lynher Dairies Cheese
Co. Presentation to the Economic Forum 28th
November 2007
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Contributing to a Sustainable Rural Community
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• Farming in the late 80s-
• A mixed bag.
• Milk prices had reached their peak and were
  coming down
• Pressure on margins
• Reinvestment ever more difficult
• Pressure to increase herd numbers or leave the
  industry

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The grass could genuinely be greener we knew it
could but how?
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• Getting it right on the farm
• Significant structural change
• Substantial economic improvement
• milk quality consistently in top band
• But still we have a small farm and
• little scope to increase milk production
• In a much stronger position to
• consider diversification

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• Yarg Cornish Cheese
• Truly distinctive
• A great story to tell
• Strong Cornish
• Associations
• Local provenance
• Back to Nature

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• The vision for the new
• production facility
• That is should be
• empathetic to its woodland setting
• and rural surroundings
• aesthetically pleasing
• linear and efficient
• low carbon impact and high
• energy efficiency
• pleasant to work in
• reflect our brand and core values

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• You cant make cheese for Harrods in any old shed
  
• High expectations of production standards
• Volume requirement
• new infrastructure
• But.
• The farm could never support such a project
• Without Objective 1 support it would not have
  happened

.
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• Award Winning Modular Building
• Linear process
• adaptable /flexible
• energy efficient
• impresses our customers

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• Cheese making is a craft
• a skill
• milk is delivered from 10
• nominated farms
• ex farm price is back to 1985 levels
• 10,000 litres is processed a day
• totaling 200 tonnes of cheese per
• annum
• cheese is made by hand in open vats

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• Its hands on work..
  
• four types of cheese are made
• demand exceeds supply
• support from Cornwall Taste of the West
• cheese continues to win industry awards
• quality and recipe are always subject to change

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• Large employer in
• very small rural area
• one of three main employers in Stithians
• team of 30
• majority of whom live in the parish
• IIP accredited
• Career development (supported by Rural Progress)
• great team spirit have fun and produce good
  work
• Pride, commitment and loyalty

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• Maximising Productivity
• Minimising Waste
• Participation in Lean Manufacturing
• Programme (IGD /DEFRA)
• Continuous assessment/ continuous
• improvement
• Energy and waste consumption minimisation
• are business KPIs
• Employee engagement in the process
• Reduce, re-use, reduce and then recyle

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• New Developments
• Product development
• Product differentiation
• Drive the agenda for nutrition and
• health
• maximising the Pengreep milk
• (production values and health benefits)
• keeping the balance between
• production capacity and market need

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• Our Legacy For the Next Generation
• An enduring business
• A relevant business
• A dynamic business

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• Without whom it just would not have
• been possible.
• The Objective 1 team, Defra, GOSW, ADT
• Cornwall Taste of the West, Duchy College
• An understanding bank manager
• An outstanding team
• And really lovely cows

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