WAITROSE is launching the first line of milk to be produced exclusively from the supermarket's own herd of cows at its working farm at Leckford.

The milk is now available on the shelves of all 190 branches.

It is a whole milk, which is called traditional because it is unhomogenised so that the cream rises to the top rather than dispersing throughout the milk.

The 4,000-acre farm Leckford Estate is part of the Waitrose Select Farm Milk Scheme, an industry-leading initiative which provides customers with high quality milk, produced using sustainable practices to protect and enhance the countryside and ensure high levels of animal welfare and husbandry.

Robbie James, Waitrose dairy buyer, said: "It's great for our customers to know exactly where their milk comes from.

"And by sourcing our traditional milk from one herd we can take our customers even closer to the origins of their food."

"Animal welfare is of key importance to Waitrose and at Leckford there has been much innovation to reflect this and ensure our herd are comfortable.

"Keeping happy, healthy cows also has a commercial benefit for us as their milk productivity increases."

One example of an innovative measure taken by the supermarket last year to ensure happy cows at Leckford is their £3 million spend on a new state-of-the art dairy, which also underlines the supermarket's confidence in the future of the dairy industry.