DAIRY PROCESSOR Müller has announced that is 'targeting' a 30% reduction in carbon emissions from its milk supplying farms by 2030.

The company said that it has identified three key changes that will help farmers reduce their environmental footprint – encouraging the replacement or reduction of soya feed in cattle diets; using more natural fertiliser; and increased use of genetics management.

From 2022, the 500 or so farmers in the company’s Advantage programme will be required to use these techniques to achieve that 30% carbon reduction, incentivised with an opportunity to earn a payment of one pence per litre, equivalent to £20,000 for a 2.0 million litre per annum producer.

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Müller said that 99.5% of its Direct contract dairy farmers signed up to the Advantage programme in 2021, gaining access to tools and support to improve areas like supply chain collaboration, herd health and reductions in environmental impact. The company has now updated its payment method, with that one pence per litre now paid quarterly rather than annually.

Chief executive officer at Müller Milk & Ingredients, Jon Jenkins, said: “We know that shoppers are thinking much more carefully about the choices they make, how and where it was made, the health benefits, the value it represents and how it is packaged. With 96% of adults in Britain buying milk, the end-to-end process, from farm to fridge, impacts a lot of lives, and we recognise our responsibility to do the right thing throughout the supply chain.

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“While we already have a powerful story to tell in the dairy industry, to ensure future generations continue to benefit from its goodness, the whole supply chain must adapt and work harder than ever to meet the needs of the markets it serves.”

Within the business, Müller UK & Ireland recently hit its 2025 target to reduce its carbon footprint by 40%, having implemented a number of changes to make it more efficient, including state of the art facilities, using less energy and producing less waste.