“We’re proud to play our part in the UK’s rich agricultural heritage”
The UK’s dairy industry has saluted the company that owns D&H for its “quality and integrity.”
HJ Lea Oakes won the Judges’ Special Award at The Cream Awards 2025 - the dairy sector’s glittering awards night.
This is a landmark year for HJ Lea Oakes, with the Lea family celebrating 350 years of milling heritage. It remains one of the longest-established independent animal feed manufacturers in Britain.
Edward Lea, fifteenth generation of the founding family, is the managing director.
“We are extremely proud to play our part in the UK’s rich agricultural heritage and to celebrate alongside so many other incredible businesses in what has been a momentous year for us,” he said.
HJ Lea Oakes manufactures a wide range of animal feeds, and the Lea family acquired D&H in 2020. Its horse feed mill manufactures under the BETA NOPS scheme.
In The Cream Awards citation, a HJ Lea Oakes customer said: “[This] is a company with a high level of integrity. They have strived throughout their long history to offer customers excellent quality products and an exceptional level of technical support.”
Linda Porter, managing director of D&H, added: “We are proud to be part of such a wonderful company which empowers us to deliver our ethos of excellence in nutrition for happy, healthy horses - and we wish them many congratulations on winning this award.”
