News Milk
Arla goes for 'regenerative' agriculture
Dairy giant Arla dives into 'regenerative', or self-repairing agriculture. To this end, a pilot is being started with 24 common companies in 5 countries. All 916 organic members must perform a baseline measurement this year.
Under regenerative agriculture Arla understands, among other things: strengthening biodiversity, improving soil health, protecting grassland against overgrazing and increasing CO2 sequestration in the soil.
Organic members get started the fastest
With 916 members and 1 billion kilos of milk, Arla claims to have the largest organic milk pool in the world. The biological members have to get to work the fastest. Soil samples will be taken on their farms in 2021 by an independent agency, which samples the soil for: percentage of organic matter, organic carbon, total carbon, total nitrogen and the ratio of nitrogen and carbon. The organic farmers must also take 5 out of a total of 22 measures that promote soil health. From 2022, an annual self-assessment is mandatory, which measures things such as the number of earthworms, soil compaction and soil odour. In addition, various requirements apply in the field of biodiversity.
The usual member companies are given a little more time. First there is the pilot with 24 member companies. After that, the other common companies have to get to work. Arla has set itself the target for conventional agriculture that by 2030 about 30% less CO2 will be emitted than in 2015. Organic farms must be carbon neutral from this year.
Klaas van der Horst
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