Digital
Dairy Chain
What the project will do
We will generate opportunities to improve sustainability, reduce carbon emissions and develop new products and markets.
Develop Digital Connectivity
Stimulate Research & Development
Provide Support
Attract talent and foster a skills pipeline
Increasing value for the dairy industry
Funding
Regional grant funding programme for collaborative R&D between researchers, businesses and technology providers.
Accelerator
Structured support to help businesses develop technology solutions to challenges in dairy production, transport and manufacturing.
Facilities
World-class research facilities and expertise, combined with modern maker-spaces for new product and process development.
SKILLS & STEM
Raising awareness of opportunities in high-tech dairy manufacture, and aligning industry needs with skills provision.
Innovation
First of a kind Technology Demonstrator that digitally connects the whole dairy supply chain from grass to glass.

Dairy Facts…
The UK is the third-largest milk producer in Europe and eleventh in the world. It produces 14.9 billion litres each year, with a farm-gate value of £3.7 billion.
Most UK-produced milk is supplied to manufacturers who process and package it for liquid consumption (47.5%) or process it into value-added products (50.6%). UK dairy processors deliver a gross value added (GVA) of £1.8 billion.
Cumbria and South-West Scotland is the UK’s second largest milk field, producing 1.9 billion litres each year, with a farm-gate value of £750 million. There are 52 dairy manufacturing businesses adding value to milk produced from 1,300 farms.
Global demand is expected to grow by around 5% per annum to 2025. The UK is cost competitive and well placed to take advantage of emerging markets. Processors have made significant capital investment (£867M in five years), pursuing innovation strategies and new market opportunities.
global demand
UK EXPORTS BY VOLUME (t)
UK Exports by Value (£)

Latest News
£21 million Digital Dairy Chain Opens
The £21 million Digital Dairy Chain was officially launched this week near Dumfries. The project will make the South-West of Scotland...
SmartSTEMs inspires the next generation with their first Dairy Role Model
Gasgow based charity SmartSTEMs are delighted to be the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) engagement partner...
Using existing on-farm sensor technologies to study cow welfare
The successful Innovate UK-funded feasibility study run by Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC) and the University of Strathclyde using...