Joe Towers is the co-owner and manager of Brades Farm, a multi-generational family-run dairy nestled in the heart of the Lune Valley in Lancashire, England. They specialize in producing milk for the speciality coffee industry, which entails not only a focus on great taste and milk structure for latte art, but also on social and environmental responsibility. We speak with Joe about cow care, methane reduction, and what makes the perfect milk for coffee.
Brades feature in Ep. 2: A Tale of Two Tables Contemplating a switch to veganism Rachel Khoo asks what we risk losing if we start to reject food for the planet’s sake. What if veganism destroys more than it saves? In the Tale of Two Tables, Rachel meets a dairy farmer, a burger cook, and a Michelin-starred vegan chef....
Cattle produce more methane than many large countries. A solution could be an ecological and financial breakthrough — and a Swiss biotech company may be on the cusp.
Brades Farm Barista Milk started life as an innovation to prove there was a market for a fully traceable milk back to the farm that was of the highest quality available to baristas, performed and tasted better than any milk on the market, with animal welfare and farm management at the forefront of what we stood for. Looking at reducing methane emissions goes hand in hand with this. Back in 2017, Joe started to look at a form of Seaweed called Asparagopsis Taxiformis as a potential means, however could see it wasn't an option as a current solution. Through this we were introduced to Mootral - A natural product developed from garlic and citrus that had been in development for over a decade and was proving impressive scientific results at reducing methane in cows, once fed it sees results immediately, the health of the herd showed positive benefits and was available to test in a commercial environment, which we did and have been ever since!
