M&S To Pay Top Industry Price For Milk

UK - Marks and Spencer announced today that from 1 August 2007 it will pay its dairy farmers around 23.98p per litre of milk – the highest price paid by any retailer. The move, part of the retailer’s Milk Pledge, represents an increase of 2.35p per litre of milk and reflects the current rise in milk prices globally.

3 July 2007

3 minute read

Europe

Commenting on the increase, Paul Willgoss, head of agriculture at Marks and Spencer, said: “Paying a fair price for milk has always been central to our milk purchasing policy, providing security to our farmers through a guaranteed price that enables them to plan their business with more assurance and stability.”

In a further commitment to its dairy farmers - and as part of its Plan A business wide eco plan - Marks and Spencer also announced an investment of nearly £250,000 in a new electronic farm management system that all M&S dairy pool farmers will have access to. Developed exclusively for the retailer the system records daily data relating to dairy herds – recording feeding, care and welfare information – enabling farmers to track results, share best practice and improve efficiencies.

Mark Robbins, dairy farmer from the M&S dairy pool in England, said: “The investment by M&S will make a big difference in terms of being able to monitor and improve animal welfare and manage costs, which in turn means we can invest in our farms and future with greater confidence.”

In an industry first, Marks and Spencer is also set to recognise performance on animal welfare and protecting the environment, making it a bonus element of its Milk Pledge going forward. Under the scheme, dairy farmers will be rewarded for achieving improvements in animal welfare and taking a lead on environmental and local community activities. For example, dairy farmers demonstrating that they have improved the health and wellbeing of their herd and are working on environmental projects such as wildlife conservation and awareness of their water and carbon footprints will earn greater financial benefits from the retailer.

The new elements of the Milk Pledge will also reward farmers for producing a Whole Farm Plan to protect woodlands, field boundaries including dry stone walls and hedges, and historic farm buildings as well as rewarding farmers for their commitment to tree planting. In addition, the retailer is incentivising farmers to forge links with local schools to help children understand more about the food they eat.

Commenting on the new elements of the Milk Pledge, Paul Willgoss, head of agriculture at M&S said: “In its original form we felt the Milk Pledge pricing structure was failing to recognise individual farmer excellence in animal welfare and environmental performance. With the changes made today we are now in a position to do this and through our investment in a shared farm management system we can also help dairy pool members improve further.”

M&S’ was the first retailer to launch a premium price contract for dairy farmers in 2005. The company recently introduced similar price pledges for its organic beef farmers and Welsh lamb farmers.