Threat to island's cheeses as dairy reveals plan to shut down creamery

FOR decades, it has carefully curdled the produce from the island's dairy herds to create a range of cheddars that have become firm favourites in households around the country.

Now though, things have turned sour on Bute after Britain's largest dairy farmer co-operative announced it intends to close the award-winning Rothesay Creamery.

First Milk, the nation's largest cheese supplier, claims the creamery is "severely underutilised" courtesy of a 25 per cent downturn in the amount of milk being produced on the island.

Having considered and rejected alternative options, the firm is resolved to shutting the facility, which employees 19 people.

Dairy farmers on Bute have made stinging accusations against First Milk, suggesting "ulterior motives" lie behind the move.

It comes as Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) pledged yesterday to try and find alternative business models which might keep the dairy operational.

Last week, First Milk began a 30-day consultation period on the proposed closure, which would see production of the creamery's award-winning Isle of Bute cheeses come to an end.

Robert MacIntyre, the deputy leader of Argyll & Bute Council, who has a 90-strong dairy herd on Bute's Dunallan Farm, told The Scotsman there was growing anger over First Milk's rationale.

He said: "The company has an ulterior motive to use our milk to supply its contract with Robert Wiseman Dairies that it otherwise might be in danger of not fulfilling."

Paul Flanagan, a spokesman for First Milk, refuted the Wiseman allegations as "absolute rubbish", adding: "We looked at a range of proposals, and we have invested in the creamery over the last couple of years. We have a long-term commitment to producers on Bute and we will work with HIE."

Should the creamery close, it will bring to an end Bute's half-century heritage of cheesemaking, with the original creamery dating back to 1954.

Sue Gledhill, head of transformational projects at HIE's Argyll area office, stressed that all possibilities would be considered.

She said: "It may be that it's possible to produce yoghurt or premium cheeses at the creamery, or if it is suggested that buying in milk is the only way to keep the business going, we will look at it."

Some of Scotland's leading cheese experts believe First Milk is guilty of fundamental flaws in its business plans for Rothesay.

Humphrey Errington, the celebrated cheesemaker behind Lanark Blue, said: "The problem is that First Milk are obsessed with the idea of producing commodity cheese, or block cheddar."

Phoebe Weller, of cheese- tasting session hosts Roving Fromagire, said First Milk could import milk to the island.

She said: "A lot of cheesemakers, even artisan cheesemakers, like to keep it quiet, but they also buy in milk without it having a significant impact on the quality of their products."

CHURNING OUT SUCCESSES

SEVERAL cheesemakers in Scotland have enjoyed critical and commercial success of late by eschewing the approach of industrial cheddar creameries to create unique products.

Highland Fine Cheese, based in Tain, hit the headlines after Alex James, the bassist in the pop group, Blur, commissioned the firm to make him an innovative square blue cheese called Blue Monday.

Connage Highland Dairy, based at Milton of Connage, near Inverness, has won national prizes for its produce, which includes crowdie, a traditional Scottish soft cheese usually eaten to line the stomach before drinking whisky at a ceilidh.

Not every small independent cheesemaker favours traditional Scottish cheeses.

Italian Gabriele Caputo and his partner, Adriana Alonzi, produce traditional southern Italian mozzarella cheese from the unlikely location of Yester Mains Farm in Gifford, East Lothian.