Supermarket chain Morrisons has called time on its farming operations.
The retailer is to return the 1,000-acre Dumfries House estate, coined The Morrisons Farm, to the Prince of Wales’ charity, Dumfries House Trust, next month.
The Ayrshire estate has been farmed in partnership by the two organisations since 2009, with Morrisons using the farm to carry out a number of research and development projects.
Morrisons has invested £2million in the farming enterprise, which comprises 800 Scotch Mule sheep and 200 Beef Shorthorn cows, over the past five years.
It will now be brought back under the management of the Dumfries House Trust.
Morrisons’ group corporate services director, Martyn Jones, said: “The Dumfries House project was an exceptional opportunity for us to explore and develop farming practices. We are pleased with our achievements at the farm including developing our Signature beef specification and creating best practice guidance for our suppliers. We will take the learning and development knowledge gained from Dumfries to progress our sustainable livestock programme with our existing farmer supply base.”
A spokesman for the Dumfries House Trust Estate said: “In 2007 when the Trust took over Dumfries House we needed input from a number of different partners and Morrisons played a key part through their involvement with the farm.
“We are indebted to Morrisons for the hard work and investment put into developing the farming operation. Now that the estate has developed and the project is more stable, this seems the right time to bring the farm back under the direct management of Dumfries House. This coincides with a repositioning and a change in priorities for Morrisons. Although it is our intention to reduce stock, we will continue to develop the operation, to give the farm and the Dumfries House Estate a sustainable future.”