Farmer's bid to be UK's first plastic-free dairy farm

Bryce Cunningham has launched a crowdfunding appeal to raise £10,000 to buy the 63,000 glass bottles needed to make his bold dream a reality.

The 31-year-old runs Mossgiel Farm, where bard Robert Burns once ploughed the fields.

Bryce, who took over the Mauchline family business in 2015 following the death of his dad Robert, has already secured official organic status for the milk produced from his 80 strong herd of Ayrshire cows.

Now he is determined to do his bit to reduce the amount of plastic waste, by getting rid of it completely.

Bryce, who is dad to three-year-old Arran, said: “We average 1,300 two litre single use plastic cartons per wholesale customer every year, I was shocked when I realised how much waste that accounted for, that’s when I knew I had to do something about it.

“I don’t want to just reduce the plastic we use, I want to get rid of it completely, and it is perfectly achievable, with a bit of help from the public.”

So far his appeal has raised almost £2,000 within days of launching, and he hopes to encourage others to join his environmental revolution and sign up to help him stock up with reusable glass bottles and metal churns.

Bryce, who is the third generation of his family to farm at Mossgiel since his grandfather, also Robert took on the tenancy in 1948, explained: “The methods I’m using now with are not that different to those my grandfather would have used, before fertilizers and plastics were introduced.

“My dad’s way was very different, it was more about high yields and he lived for the grand pedigree of the cows”

“If he was to see his cows just easting grass and producing a low yield he wouldn’t have been happy.

“Before he died he told me never to go organic or bottle my own milk, now I do both. For me it’s the only way to go for a sustainable future for both the environment and my family. But I’m sure he’d of proud of me for making it work.”

Log on to Bryce’s appeal at https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/byob/