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Bravo to BBC1s Jules Hudson for taking the time to explore the difference between summer ‘fresh grass-fed’ milk, and winter milk in an episode of CountryFile Summer Diaries this week.


He visited an iconic ice cream parlour on the Gower in South Wales, where the ice cream you buy is never more than four hours old and always made with the freshest ingredients, including milk from Janet Davey’s 380 cows.

Cows eating grass

Between April and October, the cows are out in the fields grazing – in winter, when the grass stops growing, the cows go indoors and eat conserved grass as silage plus grains.

So a very different diet. So is this change in what the cows eat reflected in the milk they produce?

Jules put milk connoisseur John Horseman to the test. He could easily tell the difference between the subtle summer fresh grass-fed milk and milk from indoor fed cows.

Jules and the John Horseman drinking milk

In a blind tasting he said the grass milk was fresher and lighter and actually a more refreshing drink.

Health advantages
Summer milk is also healthier for us to drink. Gillian Butler, a researcher and nutritionist from Newcastle University has studied the two types of milk. She said there was growing evidence that dairy fats, such as those found in ice-cream and butter are not as bad as people had thought, and that there are certainly a lot of good fats in there.

“When you feed grass and clover there are higher levels of these good fats and in silage-fed cows there are fats that are not so good for us.”

Gillian concluded that: “I think that if cows are eating grass, we can eat ice-cream with a clear conscience.”

Jules eating an ice cream

CountryFile Live
BBC CountryFile is often lambasted by farmers for not taking the industry view in its stories, but its popularity (peaked at 9.7 million viewers) and commitment to tackle the gritty issues, like domestic violence in rural areas, is to be applauded – especially when done in such short, 12-minute time slots.

And three cheers for CountryFile Live, the four-day event that took place for the first time at Blenheim Palace this week. I was there on the first day, and it brought back fond memories of a slightly upper-market Royal Show.

Fantastic gun dog displays and carriage driving and arts and crafts and artisanal food stalls. Tough and hard-hitting talks in the National Trust Tent and awards presented for the finest of foods from National Trust tenant farmers, including Pasture for Life farmer and director Jonty Brunyee.

The animals from Adam’s farm, including Eric the bull, were a huge draw – with colour-coded T-shirt wearing farmers from across the country, on hand to explain to families all they needed to know about livestock farming in Britain.

A great piece of entertainment, with a bit of learning and education for those who wanted it. Great mix. Great show. Well done CountryFile!

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