Yeo Valley Manufacturing producers natural and traditional dairy merchandise, from liquid milk and yogurts to ice cream. First Milk, a British dairy co-op which has embraced regenerative farming within the type of grazing-based dairy manufacturing and field-level actions that enhance soil well being, first rolled out its regenerative farming program in 2021 and has since launched a financial incentive for farmers who undertake nature-friendly actions. Round 90% of the co-op’s farmer members – who’re accountable for 96% of its milk provide – had signed as much as this system in its first yr.
Talking on the Nationwide Farmers Union convention in February 2023, chief government Shelagh Hancock described regenerative farming as “not solely a option to maintain, however to construct one thing again.” She defined that ‘it’s going to take years’ to develop again topsoil that has been depleted, however the co-op will re-test soil natural matter in round 5 years in a bid to higher perceive which regenerative practices have labored greatest.
Now, a bunch of First Milk farmers in England’s southwest will type a brand new typical regenerative milk pool to provide Yeo Valley. Recruitment for the brand new group has commenced and First Milk members withing the catchment space might be invited to hitch, although different farmers can even enquire.
‘Nice farming, producing wholesome meals’
Rob Sexton, CEO of Yeo Valley Manufacturing, has praised the brand new ‘forward-thinking’ partnership. “We’re excited to be working with the First Milk staff and bringing our expertise to this ahead considering and nature constructive typical milk partnership,” he stated. “We’re obsessed with producing nutritious, inexpensive meals which can be farmed in concord with nature. This partnership will guarantee nice farming, producing pure, wholesome meals, is each inexpensive and scalable. We look ahead to working intently with First Milk and their wonderful farmers to nurture and nourish each individuals and the planet.”
First Milk’s chief government Shelagh Hancock added: “Because the Regenerative co-op, we firmly consider that this strategy to farming is the way in which to proceed to supply inexpensive, nutritious meals while addressing the rising local weather and nature challenges we face. We at the moment function the biggest regenerative farming programme within the UK dairy sector, and we’re delighted to have agreed this thrilling partnership with Yeo Valley Manufacturing, which is able to see us broaden this exercise additional, demonstrating that nice tasting dairy could be a pressure for good.”
Do shoppers perceive ‘regenerative farming’?
Whereas bettering soil well being has grow to be a key pillar in lots of dairy farmers’ sustainability initiatives – and measures to enhance soil well being type a part of the UK Division for Setting Meals & Rural Affairs’ Sustainable Farming Incentive – Dairy UK chief government Judith Bryans warned that the trade’s efforts is probably not straightforward to know from a client standpoint.
Talking on the 2023 NFU Convention, Bryans revealed that client analysis carried out by the trade physique revealed that buyers aren’t fully clear on what ‘regenerative agriculture’ stands for – and warned that the trade was too targeted on speaking to authorities and trade stakeholders concerning the sector’s environmental progress quite than to common buyers.
She stated: “We’ve been doing a whole lot of work on what shoppers have been on the lookout for on sustainability throughout the generations…They typically perceive ‘web zero’ and ‘carbon’ however they don’t perceive ‘regenerative agriculture’. So if we wish to speak to them about [it], we’ve got to discover a option to speak about one thing that could be a time period that they do perceive and discover the precise messaging.”
Bryans added that Dairy UK’s analysis had proven that customers have been most engaged with messages round biodiversity and renewables.
