Yeo and our Communities
Adrian, Managing Director
We wouldn’t be where we are today without the incredible collection of people behind us. That’s the people who supply our ingredients, work with us, buy our products and so much more.
From inside the office to out in the fields, and from fruit growers to shops and stockists, everyone’s a part of the community that makes it all happen.
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A brief history of Yeo
1400s
The history books mention our ancestors (called Tripp) farming in Somerset.1960s
1961 - Roger and Mary Mead set up at Holt Farm, with 30 cows, a few sheep and some crops.1969 - The farm next door came up for sale, so they expanded.1970s
1972 – We opened our doors with a tea room and pick-your-own fruit, and also tried our hand at making yogurt with leftover milk from our clotted cream. It was so good, we took to the roads, selling it locally from our Morris Minor van!1980s
We enlarged our herd to make more milk, while our yogurt movement gathered momentum. By now, we were a team of 30.1990s
1990 – Roger Mead died, leaving Tim and Mary at the helm of our 135-person business.1994 – We began buying some milk from other organic farmers (the Organic Milk Suppliers Co-operative), and the Yeo Valley Organic brand was born.2000s
2002 – Our first crop of elephant grass was planted – a sustainable biofuel that keeps us warm all winter.2008 – All our land, from the farms to our gardens – was now certified organic.2010 – Our first TV ad hit the screens, followed by another year later.2011 – 50 years in the Valley! We moved our milk bottling over to solar power and we won our third Queen’s Award for Sustainable Development.2012 – Mary Mead is awarded an OBE for her services to sustainable dairy farming.2014 – We joined up with local farmer Luke to host ValleyFest.2015 – We introduced Yeokens on our packs, and opened our canteen to the public.2016 – Yeo Valley was introduced in the Middle East.
A Quick Who's Who
Back in the beginning, there was Mary and her husband Roger.
Tim is Roger and Mary’s son and has been farming in the Valley for most of his life.
Sarah is married to Tim. She’s in charge of the goings on in the valley and designed our fabulous Organic Garden.
Our farm manager Jon also happens to be Somerset’s No.1 dairy-farming skydiver.
Roy’s the friendly face who heads up our staff canteen
This is Rachel, Events Manager extraordinaire!
Supporting our Communities
We’ve got a strong sense of community here at Yeo Valley, so we’re delighted to support the communities we work amongst.
Meet the New-Bees
Bees are an integral part of farming and food production so we very much see them as VIP’s on our farms!
That’s why we’ve partnered with Buckley’s Bees to build and manage 10 new beehives and colonies across a number of British organic dairy farms.
Meet our extended family
OMSCO
The Organic Milk Suppliers Cooperative
We’re doing everything we can to support British dairy farms, starting with always paying our farmers a fair price for their milk. We’ve worked with some of them for over 20 years – since 1994 in fact, when we helped to create OMSCo (Organic Milk Suppliers Cooperative).
Our partnership with OMSCo means that its members – over 250 organic farms across the UK – are able to keep going, which helps keep rural communities alive and kicking.
Our family of fruit growers
On a quest for the best organic fruit
Are you an organic fruit grower, or know someone who is? Better still, are you based in the UK? We’re always looking out for people to team up with, so please drop us a line at fruit@yeovalley.co.uk – we’d love to have a chat.
YeoFit
Come and get YeoFit at our HQ gym, open to the public for a range of classes and gym sessions. Why not combine a group fitness session with a relaxing cup of coffee in the HQ canteen afterwards?
Want to join the family?
We’re always on the lookout for talented people who like the Yeo way of doing things. If you’d like to join us, do get in touch.
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