The Co-operative forges stronger links with British farmers

07 June 2013

The Co-operative Food has announced a major initiative to support farmers supplying its own-brand fresh British meat and poultry.

The community-based retailer has launched five farming groups to cement relationships with producers, deliver a continued investment in quality, and provide shoppers with a more consistent and transparent supply chain. The five groups will also help maintain The Co-operative’s

In a survey commissioned by The Co-operative to coincide with the launch of the farming groups, 72% of people said it was very important that the UK has a sustainable farming industry, with 22% saying it was quite important*.

A third (33%) of the 2, 000 people surveyed said a sustainable farming industry was important for food security, whilst 22% cited its contribution to the national and regional economy; 16% for preserving our way of life; 15% for food quality; 7% for protecting the country and 6% for animal welfare.

All The Co-operative’s own-brand fresh standard pork, fresh standard chicken, Hampshire breed pork, Hereford/Aberdeen Angus premium beef and premium Cambrian lamb will now be sourced from these groups. The cost of setting up and running the farming groups will be borne by The Co-operative and have no impact on the price of the products to customers.

The farming groups are led by a number of The Co-operative’s key suppliers for meat and poultry. All farms selected will need to meet strict and sustained health, welfare and quality standards, which will be regularly measured and monitored, and the farmers within each group will meet regularly to share best practice. Under the new scheme, farmers will receive a premium from The Co-operative as their farms progress to “Silver” or “Gold “ status for meeting additional criteria in sustainability, protecting the environment and training, and further incentives include participation in bulk feed schemes.

The beef farming group will provide The Co-operative Truly Irresistible beef products, which will be sourced from Hereford cattle for stores in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and from Aberdeen Angus cattle for Scottish stores. The other four farmer groups cover Truly Irresistible Cambrian lamb, Truly Irresistible outdoor-reared Hampshire breed pork, standard pork and standard chicken. 

To further improve and demonstrate best practice, The Co-operative also plans to identify a number of “concept” or model farms from within the farming groups, once they have become established.

Steve Murrells, Chief Executive for The Co-operative Food, said: “The Co-operative has always been a strong supporter of the UK farming industry, so helping farmers to reach the highest standards possible makes perfect sense. The farming groups offer a joined-up development approach and long-term commitment to these supply chains.  The aim is to deliver both a profitable return for farmers and high-quality, traceable, fresh British meat and poultry for our customers.

“These farming groups will help further strengthen our relationship with producers and give our customers even greater confidence in the provenance of our fresh own-brand meat and poultry.” 

Further information about The Co-operative’s farming groups scheme can be found at www.co-operativefood.co.uk

Additional Information:

*The study of 2,000 British adults was carried out via www.OnePoll.com between10 and 13 May, 2013.