The premiums will go to members of The Co-operative’s farming groups, which were launched in order to back British farmers and agriculture, and to cement relationships with producers, deliver a continued investment in quality and provide shoppers with a more consistent and transparent supply chain.
They also help maintain The Co-operative’s animal welfare policies and encourage long-term investment in, and improvements to, farm efficiencies, training and sustainability.
The five protein farming groups, which launched in June 2013, are based on five pillars of achievement:
… two of which are mandatory.
There are six farming groups, including dairy (which isn’t aligned to the pillar model), who will share the premium payment.
All the farms need to meet strict and sustained ‘health, welfare & quality’ standards for the first pillar, and attend events with other farmers and representatives from The Co-operative to discuss and exchange best practice as part of the ‘Co-operative brand’ pillar. Farms that meet these two mandatory pillars are classed as ‘Bronze’ farms.
The further three pillars represent sustainability (which includes alternative energy and energy conservation), the environment (which includes carbon footprint self-assessments) and ethical & training (which includes apprenticeships and memberships to professional bodies such as the PIPR).
Farms need to meet four pillars to secure silver standard and all five to achieve gold. Almost 10% (55 farms out of 599) of the five protein farming group farms have progressed through the pillars to achieve silver or gold status since it launched last year. They, along with the dairy group, which launched in 2011 and now includes 207 farms, will share £4,928,627.46 in premium payments.
Source: The Co-operative
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