About Us
Welcome to Nortons Dairy
We are a family-run dairy farm in the heart of the Norfolk countryside and proud producers of high quality and award winning dairy produce.
Relaxed and unhurried, the free-range cows at Nortons family farm produce fresh milk that is second-to-none. It's then expertly crafted into delicious dairy produce on the farm.
Nortons Dairy supply an ever-growing list of farm shops, cafes, delis and restaurants and thank all of them for their continued support. We're also at regular farmers markets & events throughout the year.
Our History
The Norton family have farmed at Church Farm, Frettenham, since 1946, when the farm and surrounding land was bought by Jack Norton.
In 1946, Jack Norton, his wife Ida and four children, Bob, Peter, Janet and Pat moved to Church Farm, Frettenham, which is still farmed by the Norton family today. They arrived with fewer than 10 dairy Shorthorn cows and grew wheat, barley, sugar beet and oats. In addition to this the farm raised pigs and poultry, including turkeys for the Christmas table. In the years that followed, the farm grew a range of crops including potatoes, runner beans, Dutch white cabbage, fodder beet, peas, durum wheat and rye and today grows wheat and barley, plus feed crops for our cows like grass pasture, fodder maize and lucerne.
Over the years the farm evolved as areas of land were purchased and sold. Today the farm covers an area of about 250 acres north of Frettenham village, surrounding Church Farm and St Swithin’s Church.
Sadly, Jack’s wife Ida passed away in 1946 shortly after arriving at Church Farm and Jack later married Olive and they had a son, Phillip. Jack Norton ran the farm until he passed away in 1975 and two of his sons, Bob and Phillip, took over. By 1977, Bob’s son David returned to the farm from agricultural college to milk a herd of around 50 Friesian dairy cows. It was at this time that the farm stopped raising pigs and invested in a new milking parlour, allowing the dairy herd to increase to 65 cows. In 1985 the dairy parlour was further updated and by 1993 the dairy herd comprised of over 75 cows. In 2003 the decision was made to begin the transition from Friesian dairy cows to Brown Swiss – a hardier, dual purpose breed that produces better milk as well as quality beef.
In 2007, with milk prices at an all-time low, the farm decided to begin processing its own milk and today we pasteurise around 200’000 litres on site per year and boast a fantastic selection of Norfolk milk, cream, butter, cheese and yogurt.
In 2011, we invested in a state-of-the-art milking robot to replace the manual milking parlour that was already in place. The robot runs 24/7, allowing the cows to choose when they want to be milked. The cows enter the robot one at a time and a laser-guided robotic arm locates the teats and begins milking.
Bob sadly passed away in 2003, but his son David and grandson Jake proudly carry on the family farming tradition with David’s wife Ruth managing Nortons Dairy and many other members of the family playing key roles.
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