We are proud to source 100% of our milk from British farms. In 2018, we launched our Aldi Dairy Farm Partnership, working with progressive dairy farmers across the UK. The Aldi Dairy Farm Partnership, in conjunction with the farmer-owned cooperative Arla Foods, is designed to support this dedicated group of dairy farmers to maintain high welfare standards whilst driving a more sustainable future for the dairy industry.
All Arla farmers in the ADFP work to high standards of animal welfare which ensures the farms have the health and welfare of the cow at the heart of everything they do.
Aldi Dairy farmer Mark Larwood has been crowned Dairy Farmer of the Year at the 2021 Farmers Weekly Awards. Mark was singled out for the award thanks to his efforts in adopting sustainable dairy farming practices.
Mark is forward thinking in all aspects of his farm from animal health and welfare to introducing renewable technology to become sustainable from the ground up. Mark is also taking part in calculating his carbon footprint on farm and already makes milk with around half the emissions of the global average. In winning the award he was recognised for his commitment to helping school children understand how their food is made by welcoming them on farm to explain how cows turn grass into milk.
Each farm is working to achieve the Arla UK Customer Welfare standards, which is above the UK industry standard. The farmers receive 3rd party audits to ensure welfare standards are met.
They also complete Arla’s Climate Check annually and have action plans in place to reduce carbon emissions from farm. The group meets regularly to share best practices in sustainability as well as provide support to establish areas of future improvement.
We also work with our dairy farmers each yearto open theirfarm gates to our customers during activities such as Open Farm Sunday. This gives our customers a great chance to see all the incredible work that goes on around our UK farms.
So you think milk is just a drink? It’s so much more as it’s the starting point for all other dairy products and is rich in nutrients. It is a natural source of calcium, which is needed for the maintenance of normal teeth and bones, and protein, which contributes to a growth in muscle mass. But did you know it also contains vitamin B2 which contributes to the reduction of tiredness, vitamin B12 which contributes to the normal function of the immune system, potassium which contributes to the maintenance of normal blood pressure and iodine which contributes to normal cognitive function. That’s why we’ve redesigned the labels on some of our milk range, to make these benefits easy to understand. Look out for them next time you’re in your local Aldi.
