Duke of Westminster’s Lea Manor Dairy Farm Faces Climate-Driven Pressures

During the June heatwave, temperatures reached 36 °C, causing each Grosvenor cow to produce up to six litres less milk per day. On farms where conditions were harsher, the loss has been reported as high as ten litres per cow.

The Guardian

Lea Manor Farm, the only dairy operation in the Duke of Westminster’s 349-year-old Grosvenor estate, employs 77 staff and runs 2,600 Holstein-Friesian cows on 4,685 ha (11,577 acres) of land. The farm yields more than 34 million litres of milk annually—about 13,200 litres per cow—and supplies Müller and Tesco. After a 2012 efficiency revamp, the farming division posted a pre-tax profit of £2.6 million in 2024, down from £3.6 million the previous year, with turnover of £16.2 million. By contrast, the broader UK property portfolio generated an underlying profit of £88.7 million, and the duke received £53.7 million in dividends in 2025.

The Guardian

• 2,600 cows, 77 employees, 4,685 ha farmed.

The Guardian

• 34 million litres milk per year; 3 tankers (?29,000 L each) dispatched daily to a Müller plant, with additional partial loads for Tesco.

The Guardian

• Milk price drop of up to 50 % this year.

The Guardian

• Biomethane plant under construction (2.4 ha) projected to generate 72 GWh of renewable gas annually from up to 170,000 tonnes of manure, enough to heat about 6,000 homes starting in 2027.

The Guardian

Mark Roach, managing director of Grosvenor Farms, emphasizes that “unhealthy cows do not produce much milk” and points to low disease incidence and minimal antibiotic use as evidence the system works. Hugh Grosvenor, the duke’s managing director, stresses the farm’s “circular farming” approach, citing the use of manure as fertilizer and the avoidance of mined phosphates for 15 years.

The Guardian

• “Extreme weather in many parts of the northern hemisphere is affecting crop yields and farm economics. Farmers are adapting where they can, but the full impact is likely to become clearer over the next growing season, reinforcing the importance of building greater resilience into the UK’s food production system.” — Mark Preston, an executive trustee of Grosvenor

The Guardian

• “Unhealthy cows do not produce much milk,” — Mark Roach, the managing director of Grosvenor Farms

The Guardian

• “The health of our herd, low incidence of disease and minimal antibiotic use gives us confidence that the system is working well. We have welcomed representatives from the RSPCA to the farm, who described it as one of the quietest and most content herds they had seen.” — Hugh Grosvenor, the managing director

The Guardian

• “The concerns we raised earlier this year remain very real,” — Mark Preston, an executive trustee of Grosvenor

The Guardian