PLOUGH YOUR OWN FURROW

THERE ARE MANY alternatives to cow’s milk: almond, soya, coconut, to name a few. Many have high food miles, not necessarily being made, or with ingredients sourced in this country. But there are exceptions. Oats are a brilliant break crop popular with British arable farmers. They are grown in plentiful supply locally, so oat milk can surely be made on our doorstep too?

Yes, it can, and Leicestershire farmer Miles Marlow-Thomas and his family are doing just that. Miles has recently launched Wild & Furrow and is making oat milk (although it can’t be called a ‘milk’) on his family farm just outside Market Harborough.

But why would you drink oat milk anyway? What’s the matter with good old fashioned cow’s milk? Alternatives to dairy are very ‘fashionable’ at the moment. But there are pros and cons, as is always the case. Oat milk is lactose free, lower in saturated fat as well as obviously being vegan. t s high in fibre and can help lower cholesterol. It’s lower in protein than cow's milk and does not naturally contain as many nutrients (although Wild & Furrow oat milk has twice the amount of protein compared to some oat milk brands). But if you have allergies, are vegan or just don’t like cow’s milk, oat milk is a great alternative. If you are concerned about food miles and the environmental impact of your shopping then something made on your doorstep is just perfect.

Miles was brought up on the arable farm and after school at Oakham and university headed to London as a commodity broker trading in coffee and cocoa. ecause was in the industry and based in London I quickly became aware of the trend for alternatives to milk, particularly almond and soya milk at the time,’ says Miles. ‘But as a farmer’s son with cousins who are dairy farmers and obviously very pro British agriculture I quickly realised that these alternatives weren’t sustainable, something which I think is really important. I came across oat milk, which got me thinking. We grow oats on the farm so why couldn’t we make it?’

Miles started doing some research and spoke to his family about his plans. ‘My brother and sister were really keen to explore this as it was an innovative farm business idea, but my parents were a little more sceptical.’ And then Covid struck. Miles moved back to the farm working as a trader remotely whilst still doing lots of research.

‘The plan was always for me to come back to the family farm one day but I wanted to return with a viable business. Family farms need diversification to survive and really thought we were on to something with the oat milk.’ Within six months Miles had resigned from his job and launched Wild & Furrow with his siblings. ‘As a farmer’s son I was determined I was not going to knock dairy farmers but celebrate all of British farming. We wanted to produce a premium product that could be sold alongside cow’s milk,

'As a farmer’s son I was determined I was not going to knock dairy farmers but celebrate all of British farming.'

highlighting the benefits of a locally produced, sustainable, delicious product made using very low food miles.

And that is what he did. Miles oat milk is made of oats, water, rapeseed oil and salt with added phosphate which is an acidity regulator. ou basically stew and stir the oats to produce the milk. t is gently pasteurised so has a shorter shelf life than the mass produced long life versions. ou keep it in the fridge alongside your milk. Miles worked with a food scientist to perfect the recipe. is oat milk is creamier than many alternatives on the market so it works well in lattes or on porridge. nce he d perfected the recipe in the kitchen he then had to buy the equipment and set it all up on the farm. This was the hard bit and the most risky, deciding on the equipment. was determined we were going to use glass bottles, again to make it more sustainable. We recycle the bottles and because we use glass, milk rounds have included us on their deliveries.

Dairy alternatives are not allowed to use the word milk when marketing their products, hence you will see alternative spellings. Miles decided he would use the term oat drink simple and accurate. So now he had the manufacturing sorted out they had two months of trials to perfect it he had to market his drink. This is very much a family concern, says Miles. My sister annah is Director of Sales, my brother Angus and his wife Sally help with the marketing and social media. ven my parents are now onboard mum now drinks it in her coffee and am allowed to put that on record

Miles and his sister have been true to themselves. We re not preachy and found that if we can get customers to try it, they will buy it. ecause it is a premium product and locally produced on a farm, farm shops, local caf s and eco shops have embraced it. Demand is high and since launching in December 202 , making one batch a week, Miles has been selling out. We are now on milk rounds around Melton, Leicester and orthamptonshire with other rounds showing an interest as well. ve found that oat milk isn t replacing cow s milk in people s diets but is being bought to drink alongside it, which is ust what wanted and hoped would happen. We are running alongside the dairy industry and supporting farming.

Wild urrow quickly built up a waiting list of people wanting to stock their oat drink so production has e panded and they are e tending deliveries to include Stamford, akham, Market arborough, Leicester and ppingham as well as farm shops stretching from Melton and many villages in between. And don t forget the coffee shops and caf s too, local baristas are loving it visit the website to find local stockists near you . And the team are now working on shake recipes chocolate and coffee are in the pipeline at the moment.

Covid and subsequent lockdowns have made people really appreciate what is grown and produced locally and it is great to see businesses such as Miles thriving and growing. Locally grown and manufactured, low food miles and a premium product. Just what we all want.

'I was determined we were going to use glass bottles, again to make it more sustainable. We recycle the bottles and because we use glass, milk rounds have included us on their deliveries.'