Watch: Northern Ireland farmer hits the 'big screen' as the face of new M&S advert

A County Antrim farmer will return to the 'big screen' as the face of M&S, this time in a new Farm to Foodhall campaign celebrating the local dairy industry.

David Irwin from Dervock whose family farm has been supplying the M&S Milk Pool for more than 24 years will feature in TV, in-store and online advertising as well as across social media.

The Farm to Foodhall campaign, starring Michelin-starred chef Tom Kerridge, is the retailer’s biggest ever marketing campaign, and will see Kerridge visit the retailer’s Select Farms across the UK to tell the stories behind a range of products.

David will front a focus on M&S’ longstanding Milk Pledge, which was first launched in 1999, and guarantees its dairy pool a stable and market-leading price, providing much-needed certainty and security to allow farmers to plan for the future.

25 years on, the milk pledge is still a central tenet of the retailer’s strong relationship with the local dairy industry in Northern Ireland.

Steve McLean, head of agriculture at M&S, said: “We’re passionate about the quality and sustainability of our products – and we know our customers are too. That’s why for the last 25 years, M&S has committed to paying our farmers a transparent and competitive price, so that they can have peace of mind that they will receive fair recompense for their hard work and dedication.

“It also means we can get on with the job of helping our Select Farm partners to continue reducing their carbon footprint and lead the way on animal welfare within the industry. M&S is the only retailer to sell 100% RSPCA Assured Fresh Milk - something we are very proud of.”

Farmer David added: “It’s fantastic to feature once again in the upcoming Farm to Foodhall campaign. Working with M&S has been crucial to the stability and sustainability of our business, and we love knowing that it’s our milk on shelves in M&S stores across Northern Ireland being picked up by customers. We look forward to building on our partnership, particularly with the aim of reducing Co2 emissions our farming processes together.”

As part of its commitment to sustainable farming, M&S recently announced a £1 million investment in a change to the diet of the pasture-grazed cows in its milk pool to reduce the amount of methane produced in a cow’s stomach and which is then released into the atmosphere.

This UK first-to-market initiative will remove a projected 11,000 tons of greenhouse gas emissions from the atmosphere annually, cutting M&S’ fresh milk carbon footprint by 8.4%.