Dairy - Cheese & Milk - Morrisons Farming

Milk

All our fresh milk is British, and mainly supplied by a group of around 130 aligned Morrisons farmers from the UK Arla farmer co-operative.

In addition to Red Tractor standards, in 2019 we became the first retailer to sign 100% of our aligned farmers up to comply with the Arla UK 360 standards, which include best practice support on managing animal health and welfare, the environment, staff development, business health and efficiency and linking farms with the local community.

All information is anonymously benchmarked and shared for improvements within the group. Farmers meet twice a year for practical workshops to help share information on key topics, as well as having access to newsletters and a dedicated farmer portal for further knowledge exchange.

We also sell a range of milk under our ‘For Farmers’ brand: stories about the farmers who supply us can be found here.

We launched our 'For Farmers' range in 2015 so customers could show support for farmers by choosing a range which commits extra money to go straight back to those people who produced it. The range has been really successful and has given over £12,000,000 backsince it was launched. Farmers who grow in our Milk for Farmers range commit to giving their cows the freedom to graze - that is, to be on grass at least 120 days a year, but often longer if the weather is fine.

Our 2021 grazing results showed cows in our grazing group outside for an average 221 days in the year.

imaged9t0t.png

Case study

'Ian Barker from North Hill Farm looks after 150 cows on his family farm, along with his wife and 3 sons. The cows produce over 1.3 million litres of milk every year which comes straight to Morrisons after being put into containers at his local Arla processing plant. The cows on Ian's farm are part of our 'grazing' group which means that they'll be out on the grass at least 120 days every year.

Through the ‘Milk for Farmers’ scheme and its associated premium, Ian has invested in grass plate meters, tracks and training to help improve the health and welfare of his animals.'

 

Cheese

Much of our fresh cheese is British and supplied by farmers based in Dumfries and Ayrshire selling to Lactalis.

Farmers meet twice a year for practical workshops to help share information on key topics, as well as having access to newsletters and a dedicated farmer portal for further knowledge exchange.

Rory Christie

Rory Christie's family have been farming Dourie Farm on the West Coast of Scotland for hundreds of years. Dourie Farm sits beside the sea, making it the perfect location for his cows to live a free-range lifestyle. The milk from Dourie Farm is sent to Lactalis in Stranraer, where it then goes into a range of our own brand cheeses.

Cheese for Farmers

We give 34p per pack back to the farmer for every 350g block of cheese you buy, which you can find here