The company was founded in 1948 by Joseph and Edgar Dickinson after they inherited a 30-acre (12 ha) farm near to Holmfirth in the West Riding of Yorkshire.
[3] Initially just having a few head of cattle, they farmed the land and with their herd of Jersey cows they first started producing cream in 1954 after wartime food rationing had ended.
To start with, the cheese was made in tin baths and stirred with hay rakes before more suitable processes were adopted.
Longley Farm were the first European company to make cottage cheese on an industrial scale and sell it.
[1] The Telegraph described the yoghurts produced by Longley farm as being "...natural, exceptionally good and simple fruit yogurts from this small dairy.