Lakeland Dairies has launched a farm sustainability strategy, with a key component being a payment to support farmers in carrying out sustainability actions.

The strategy 'Farming for a Better Future' focuses on rewarding farm families for taking positive actions on their farms through a new three year Sustainability Incentive Payment. The payment runs from 2024 to 2026.

For carrying out a range of sustainable actions and measures, farmers will receive a 0.5c/L or 0.5p/L payment.

According to Lakeland, the payment has been designed to support suppliers in reducing the carbon footprint of their enterprise, while delivering benefits for water quality, biodiversity, soil health and animal welfare.

Applications for the payment must be made before December 15 this year and can be submitted online via the Lakeland Dairies website.

The Sustainability Incentive Payment is open to all Lakeland Dairies milk suppliers, and the payment will be made for milk supplied from January 1, 2024.

To qualify for the payment in the Republic of Ireland (ROI), farmers must complete five measures from a list of twelve, which are included below:

Age at first calving: 80% of heifers calving before 26 months;
To have minimum dairy beef index (DBI) across beef bull team of €120;
Development of a water quality plan in conjunction with an Agricultural Sustainability Support and Advisory Programme (ASSAP) advisor;
Add a family member or partner to the shareholding. This person must be on the associated herd number and milk account;
To have €10 Economic Breeding Index (EBI) per year;
Genomic testing for all breeding heifer calves;
Minimum of four milk recordings per year;
Produce an up-to-date Nutrient Management Plan including soil samples taken within the last two years;
A total of 10 trees or five metres of hedgerow per 100,000L milk supplied in the previous year;
A total of 0.5 tonne of protected urea purchased per 100,000L of milk supplied in the previous year;
A total of 25% of dairy straws sexed;
In terms of Somatic Cell Count (SCC), a 5% reduction per year, under 150,000 cells/ml automatically qualifies for the payment.

An AgreCalc Audit measure where a farmer must "commit to completing a carbon audit and share data with a co-op" is a mandatory requirement for farmers in Northern Ireland.

To qualify for the payment in Northern Ireland, farmers are required to complete four measures out of the nine listed below.

Add a family member or partner to the shareholding. This person must be on the associated herd number and milk account;
Genomic testing for all breeding heifer calves;
Minimum of four milk recordings per year;
Produce an up-to-date Nutrient Management Plan;
A total of 10 trees or five metres of hedgerow per 100,000L milk supplied in the previous year;
A total of 0.5 tonne of protected urea purchased per 100,000L of milk supplied in the previous year;
A total of 25% of dairy straws sexed;
In terms of Somatic Cell Count (SCC), a 5% reduction per year, under 150,000 cells/ml automatically qualifies for the payment.

Lakeland Dairies chairperson Niall Matthews said:

“Building on current initiatives and programmes, we are committed to exploring new avenues of innovation and we are actively engaging with our stakeholders to shape a sustainable future for Lakeland Dairies and the farm families who we serve.”