Co-op has announced a ‘Future Farming Fund’ which will involve supporting environmental projects on its supplier farms.
Led by Co-op’s Beef and Lamb Farming Group, the initiative aims to help farmers adopt sustainable farming practices to boost sustainability and address future environmental issues.
The convenience retailer has promised its Future Farming Fund will drive innovation, promote productivity, and improve climate resilience with a series of on-farm projects beginning in August.
Projects were shaped by feedback from farmers and will look at issues such as soil health, biodiversity, and alternative forage crops. There will also be work involving studying genetics and data management.
In January, Co-op announced the pilot scheme to financially reward sustainable farming practices in its beef supply chain in partnership with Dunbia. The two-year programme was set up to understand what impact integrating sustainable farming practices might have on wider supply chain emissions, and this latest news is building on that initial farm-based work.
Joseph Keating, Co-op’s agriculture manager, commented: “We’re committed to helping our farmers on their journey to climate resilience and reducing on-farm emissions through adopting sustainable farming practices.
“Our new Future Farming Fund has been shaped by what our farmers have told us, and we’re thrilled so many are already engaged with the different projects on offer.”
Claire Martin, Dunbia agriculture account manager, added: “We are delighted to support Co-op’s latest funding mechanism through their Beef & Lamb Farming Group to drive innovation and accelerate emission reductions on farm.
“We have received such positive feedback from our suppliers to get involved. It is very rewarding to provide the necessary support to help the group make improvements that will subsequently improve their beef and lamb production efficiency and the sustainability of their farming business.”
Co-op said every farmer in its farming group can undertake at least one project, and the results will be used to guide others in their move towards more sustainable farming methods.
The five Future Farming Fund on-farm projects, in Co-op’s words, are:
- Better soils for better forage: A key aspect of the new fund is promoting soil health. The fully funded project, which is open to all farmers in the group, will include in-depth testing to discover more about the nutrients and carbon in the land to help shape the management of the soil. This will enable farmers to support the life forms that live in and around it as well as inform the use of inputs like fertilisers more efficiently.
- Biodiversity: Co-op is also helping farmers to improve nature on their farms by studying insects like bees, butterflies and moths, which are vital for natural habitats. The three-year biodiversity project will use technology to map habitats and record pollinator activity, helping to make detailed action plans for enhancing biodiversity in the future.
- Alternative Crops for Forage: Funding the establishment of multispecies or brassica crops. It is designed to provide farmers with better access to alternative crops for forage and reduce the reliance on concentrate feed, fertilisers, and soya usage to promote soil health, improve water quality and livestock diets and help farmers improve business viability.
- Genetics and data management projects are also included in the funding plan based on farmer feedback on the areas they needed the most support with. From empowering farmers with the knowledge and tools to enhance the genetics of their livestock, to support on how farmers can manage data and collect more in-depth information on farm performance to help shape business plans and drive profitability.
[image credit: Co-op]
