WHAT is claimed to be the country's most environmentally advanced and efficient fresh milk dairy was opened in style earlier this week.

The new processing factory was warmly welcomed and immediately praised by West farmers. The new Robert Wiseman Dairies site in Bridgwater, Somerset, will process and pack nearly 10 per cent of the nation's requirement for fresh milk, and set new standards in minimising use of energy, water, plastics and food miles.

With total capacity for processing 500 million litres of milk a year, the £80 million investment completes the first phase and will handle 250 million litres a year.

Somerset milk producer, businessman and NFU council member Derek Mead said: "The smart, state-of-the art and environmentally friendly dairy almost completes the jigsaw of milk distribution across the UK. The whole country should be proud of it and it will be a great asset to producers.

"It's just a great shame that Tesco's are still using milk as a loss leader forcing down prices when milk supply shortages are growing, and that puts a damper on Robert Wiseman's achievement."

At the opening, chief executive Robert Wiseman said the company had already started work on the next phase to lift capacity to 350 million litres a year, within nine months of the dairy's opening.

He said: "Bridgwater is in the heart of one of Britain's largest milk producing areas, which keeps farm tanker miles to a minimum. The site is the largest single investment and represents a step change because of the focus on use of energy, water, materials and waste.

"An on-site water treatment plant, allows us to treat and recycle waste water back to bathing water standard so that it can be used again for vehicle washing and to irrigate the local cricket pitch adjoining the site. A zero waste-to-landfill policy will be a focal point for reducing the amount of plastic used in our packaging."

Opening the plant, Lord Rooker, Minister for Sustainable Food and Farming, said: "The new dairy plant demonstrates the dairy industry's willingness and ability to reduce its environmental impact in the face of climate change, which was at the heart of the Dairy Road Map launched earlier this year. I hope others in the industry will follow Robert Wiseman's lead."

Robert Wiseman Dairies now processes and distributes milk from 22 sites across the UK, from Cornwall to Aberdeen, and employs more than 4,500 people.

The company has processed just over 1.5 billion litres of milk in the past year which represents a market share of 27 per cent of the UK's fresh liquid milk market.