How good cows help make great cheeses for Lidl

dailyrecord.co.uk:

FOR four generations Stuart Hamilton’s family has lived and worked on Knowehead Farm, near Kilmarnock.Stuart supplies quality milk from the 150-hectare farm to be turned into Lidl’s Deluxe Scottish Cheddar.And like all the milk that goes into making the cheese, it is 100 per cent Red Tractor assured, which means his cows are currently meeting the welfare standards.Stuart is passionate about farming in harmony with the environment.

His herd has plenty of space to roam and the farm’s cows are grazed for as long as they can.The family also work hard to encourage natural wildlife on their farm by having large areas of hedges and woodlands.Producing milk for Lidl cheese is no nine-to-five job for Stuart.

It means regular 5:15am starts, but it really is a family affair – his wife Kathryn and mum Pamela both work on the farm too.“My mum’s in her seventies and still helps with the calves,” he says.On top of their work on the farm, Stuart and Kathryn have their three children – Struan, 10, Callan, six, and four-year-old Eila – to look after (with some help from Grandma) as well as Kathryn’s job teaching at the local primary school.When it comes to breeding his cows, Stuart has done so carefully so as to get the optimum milk for making Cheddar. “We’ve crossbred Holstein, Swedish Red and Montbeliardes,” he says.“While the Holstein gives you the quantity, the other breeds provide you with a better quality of milk.

This milk is taken to the creamery 65 miles down the coast at Stranraer, where it’s analysed before being made into cheese.“The most important reading is the protein and butter fat content,” Stuart explains.“You want high protein and butter fat to make creamy milk, which makes better cheese.’’ Stuart believes that the