Sustainable Farming

Dairy farmers don’t just make milk. Every day they face a balancing act between protecting the environment, caring for their animals and keeping dairy affordable to all. This challenge led to the development of Arla UK 360, a programme designed by the farmers that own Arla to share the responsibility of food production across the whole of the supply chain, from cow to consumer. Through Arla UK 360, farmers continuously explore, develop and practice the highest standards in dairy farming across six key areas of farm business.

Whilst every farm and farmer is different, animal welfare is a priority for all our farmer owners, so much so that our welfare standards known as ArlaGarden form an non-negotiable part of being a member of the Arla cooperative and are checked on farm by both Arla and independent experts.

One of the greatest challenges facing us all is providing natural, nutritious food for a growing population whilst reducing our collective impact on the world around us. The farmers that own Arla have been tackling this challenge for decades, applying the partnership principles of our cooperative to their daily work with nature and considering environmental benefits and impact across the land they farm. This means while every Arla farmer works differently, they are all working for a more sustainable world, every single day.

The farmers that own Arla are very proud of what they do and love to share their knowledge of dairying farming with anyone who has an interest. Across the year they help thousands of school children understand more about farming, they give talks to community groups, support community events and they participate in Open Farm Sunday where this year over 70,000 people visited an Arla farm to learn more about dairy farming from our farmers.

Farmers are resourceful by nature, finding all sorts of ways to fix things, reuse things and rethink things. With the significant technological advancements in agriculture, a changing legislative landscape through the Agricultural Bill, Arla's partnerships with retailers and food service operators, and the ambition of our farmers to always be the best they can be, you'll usually find at least one Arla farmer involved in any significant UK developments in dairy.