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Figure 6: Beechdean dairies	Figure 7: View of Beechdean Farm

Based in the heart of the Chiltern Hills, Beechdean Dairies (see fig.06) has been a high quality milk producer for over 45 years. The farm landscape is shown in Fig.07. Using just over 243 hectares of land in a valley on the Chilterns dip slope, north of the industrial town of High Wycombe about 400 cows are milked twice a day. The herd, one of the top ones in the UK, consist of two types of cow, Friesian and Jerseys both pedigree. The Friesian milk enters the liquid market and the rich creamy Jersey milk is used to make ice cream. Most of the farmland is high quality pasture although some fields are planted with crops to supplement animal feed in winter so that a high quality regular supply of milk is guaranteed throughout the year. The ice cream part of the farm business was started in 1989, when Andrew and Susie Howard joined the dairy farm on which Susie’s family had been producing top quality milk for 45 years. Although the farm in 1989 was profitable, the farm capacity for milk output could not be increased still further to support more of the family. Andrew and Susie searched for ways of establishing a livelihood in the countryside and adding value to the existing business and they attended a one-day ice cream making course which inspired them to invest in a small ice cream machine and van. With Susie making the ice cream and Andrew making the deliveries the business was launched. They were taking the raw ingredients from the farm and adding value to the product. The goal was uncompromising: to create and establish a luxury brand of traditional English ice cream which would be second to none. Within 13 years the business has grown from a capacity of 5000 litres per annum to 2.5 million litres of ice cream per year. This is a huge achievement for a small family owned company where Susie’s brother manages the farm side of the business making sure that the demand for fresh milk with a high cream content is maintained, and Andrew oversees all aspects of ice cream production and marketing. 22 people are now employed in the business. It is estimated that, every year, some twelve million people enjoy Beechdean Farmhouse Dairy Ice Cream. Their market is a high profile niche including Buckingham Palace Garden Parties, leading theatres, airline and shipping companies and quality restaurants and selected specialist retail outlets.