A farmer is trying to raise £10,000 in a bid to transform his land into the UK’s first plastic-free organic dairy farm.
Bryce Cunningham has launched an online crowdfunding appeal to raise the cash to purchase the 63,000 glass milk bottles needed to realise his planet friendly dream.
The 31-year-old runs Mossgiel Farm in East Ayrshire, where Robert Burns once ploughed the land.
The dad to Arran, three, from Mauchline, East Ayrshire took over the family business in 2014 after the death of his father.
The third generation farmer secured organic certification earlier this month after two years of organic conversion which involved detoxifying farmland from the use chemical fertilizers or sprays.
The farm also refrains from feeding cattle genetically modified food and administering livestock antibiotics.
Now Bryce is looking to rid his farm of plastic waste through using reusable glass bottles.
He also hopes to provide miniature metal milk churns for the cafes and coffee shops where he supplies milk to.
Bryce said: "Since we started milk two years ago we wanted to bring back glass bottles but we were struggling to find the machinery for a decent cost.
"The glass bottles are also expensive and you need to buy a lot of them to make it economically sustainable.
"The only way we can make it financially viable is to take prepaid bottles.
"We want to offer milk deliveries or allow our customers to pick up their milk from shops.
"Glass bottles are just the first step".
After being quoted high rates of interest for a capital loan, Bryce decided to pursue crowdfunding as a more suitable alternative.
He said: "What attracted me to crowdfunding is we see our customers as supporters.
"Big banks don’t support small businesses like they should with their large interest rates so that’s what encouraged us to pursue crowdfunding.
"I’m very hopeful - we’re a quarter of a way there we’ve been in touch with Ayrshire Leader Programme who are a European Union funded body with capital grants for small businesses.
"If you reach 50 percent of your target they offer to make up the other half. We’ve got three weeks to go and I’m very excited about it."
And the Ayrshire farm isn't only making a name for itself through its organic efforts.
Mossgiel Farm was once the home of Scotland's most famous poet, Robert Burns.
The bard moved to the farm with his brother Gilbert to work the land after their father died.
It's believed some of his earliest works were written on the property, including the famous Scots poem To a Mouse.
He said: "Burns used to work these lands and believe it or not in 1786 he was at Mossgiel when his first book of poems, The Kilmarnock Edition, shot to fame."
Bryce's farm is also Scotland's only organically certified barista milk provider and readers can donate to Bryce's appeal by visiting http://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/byob/
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