A documentary feature about one couple's determination to find a way to keep dairy cows and their calves together.
Every day, thousands of dairy calves are separated from their mothers at birth. Wilma and David Finlay risk everything to prove there’s another way. A Dairy Story shows how changing a farming system changes everything; from the lives of the animals to the wellbeing of the farmers, and perhaps the future of dairy farming itself.
The film will have its premiere at IndieCork, a film festival in Ireland on 11th October, and its UK premiere at the Central Scotland Documentary Festival in Stirling, on 1st November. Tickets for both screenings are now on sale.
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Why this story matters
At a time when our food systems face unprecedented scrutiny, A Dairy Story offers a window into a farming innovation that brings a wealth of ecological benefits. Wilma and David’s approach, keeping dairy calves with their mothers, challenges fundamental assumptions about dairy farming while proving that compassion and commerce can coexist.
As post-production of this film concluded, the EU committed €3 million to encourage other farmers to adopt cow-with-calf dairy systems. There are more than 7,200 dairy farms in the UK. Only 21 of them follow cow-with-calf management systems and Rainton – David and Wilma’s farm – is the farm that proved cow-with-calf dairy could be done at commercially viable scale.
This family farm in southwest Scotland now finds itself the global epicentre for rethinking the ethics of dairy farming, challenging conventional wisdom about animal welfare, profitability, and environmental sustainability in equal measure.
Set against the sweeping beauty of the Galloway landscape, A Dairy Story is both a poignant portrait of two remarkable people and a hopeful vision for agriculture’s future.