South Derbyshire family farm secures funding
Paragon Bank has provided a £360,000 funding deal to Alkmonton Dairy, a small, family-run farm in south Derbyshire, to enable the farm to process and bottle its own milk and supply its local community direct.
The Harris family, which includes husband and wife Richard and Jo, owns the ‘Alkmonton Ayshire’ Pedigree dairy herd. Previously to securing funding from Paragon, they would outsource the processing, bottling and distribution of the milk to a third party.
In the midst of the pandemic, they decided they wanted to ‘cut out the middle man’ and secure funding for the equipment needed to process their own milk on the farm.
This included the purchase of a pasteuriser, which sterilises the milk; a homogoniser, which ensures the consistency of the product; and separating equipment, which facilitates the separation between cream and skimmed milk. The funding also allowed the purchase of a bottle filling and packaging production line.
Richard and Jo now manage every aspect of the supply chain, from milking the cow through to distribution, and provide their products to the local area through cafes, shops deli’s and restaurants, as well as offering a doorstep delivery service to the local community.
Paragon’s funding also allowed the business to reduce its carbon footprint considerably by processing and selling the milk locally. The milk is also supplied in glass screw top bottles which means they are fully reusable.
Jo Harris, co-owner of Alkmonton Dairy, said: “There is no doubt that starting a brand new business in the middle of a pandemic was daunting, but I’m so glad we took the plunge!
“We’ve had a great response from the local community. We know sustainability and provenance are really important to our customers, and it’s great to be able to offer them locally sourced produce.
“The team at Paragon were really easy to deal with and took the time to understand our business and what we were hoping to achieve, which made the process of securing funding really seamless.”
Ian Smith, business development manager at Paragon, said: “This funding deal allowed the farm to completely transform its offering and fulfil an ambitious vision, with sustainability rooted at its core. For the team at Paragon, it was a complex transaction that involved multiple pieces of specialised equipment.
“Thanks to the introduction of the Recovery Loan scheme, we are increasingly able to fund this type of deal, and offer solutions for innovative equipment that will help future proof businesses and transform them for the better.”
Paragon Bank will be exhibiting at CEREALS, the leading technical event for the arable industry, between 28 June and 1 July. Paragon’s experienced team, specialising in agriculture, has 40 years’ combined expert knowledge in the complexities of the sector and will be at stand 149.
