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Getting to the heart of country life with a look at individual farming endeavours

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On Your Farm: The Milking Parlour

The Milking Parlour

15/05/2016

BBC Radio 4 - On Your Farm, The Milking Parlour

Sybil Ruscoe finds out why two dairy cows were brought into central Bristol for five days.

Why has Nessie Reid chosen to live with and milk two Guernsey dairy cows in central Bristol for five days? Sybil Ruscoe finds out about her Milking Parlour project.

Sybil Ruscoe meets Nessie Reid whose Milking Parlour project has led to her living with and milking two Guernsey dairy cows in central Bristol for 5 days. 

We also meet the Parfitt family of Graylands Farm in the hills south of Bristol, from whose herd of prize-winning pedigree Guernseys the two cows were chosen. They explain that they've supported the project in order to encourage the public to better understand the demands of running a dairy farm, and the narrow economic margins which make so many family dairy farms less and less viable. 

Besides the families who came along to visit the milking parlour and corral set up in a cobbled square next to Bristol's harbourside, Sybil also hears from vegans who express their concerns about the dairy industry and livestock welfare. 

Producer: Mark Smalley.

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