Sainsbury’s will be introducing a “unique” Cost of Production (COP) model from 1 May that is designed to reward Sainsbury’s Dairy Development Group (SDDG) farmers for “outstanding animal welfare and environmental standards”.

The farmers will benefit from the most robust and transparent model available that forms part of Sainsbury’s ground-breaking 20 by 20 Sustainability Plan.

The model has been developed with independent consultants to suit all Sainsbury’s farm types and sizes and ensure their sustainability and profitability in the long term.

One of the “unique elements” of the COP is the quarterly review of feed, fuel and fertiliser. This will ensure that the most volatile elements of costs will be reviewed every quarter and the COP milk price will change to reflect these varying costs, in turn ensuring a fair deal for the 324 farmers involved.

From 1 May the COP price will be set at 30.30 ppl (for a standard one- million litre producer) including a welfare and environment bonus payment. The bonus is designed to reward farmers for excellence in animal welfare and their continued commitment to reducing the environmental impact since the Sainsbury’s Dairy Development Group was established five years ago.

Justin King, Sainsbury’s CEO said: “This is great news for farmers and testimony to the incredibly close relationships we’ve built over the past five years through our industry-leading Dairy Development Group. We’ve invested £40m and seen significant advances in animal welfare and environmental standards, in turn saving our dairy farmers over £10m.

“We’re delighted farmers have voted to adopt our model. It’s a real vote of confidence in our approach and will help farmers at a time when costs for producing milk are so volatile.

“This is also good news for customers who want retailers to do the right thing on their behalf. This move is a great example of how our values make us different. It is a natural next step towards our wider commitment to source with integrity, including our pledge to source all key raw materials sustainably by 2020, and to double the amount of British food we sell.”

Ben Jack, SDDG steering group representative, said: “This confirms Sainsbury’s huge commitment to its liquid milk suppliers and will enable the SDDG to move forward and promote the terrific work that has already been achieved.”

Source: Sainsbury’s