update
News from, and for, Scotland’s farmer co-ops - Summer 2022
‘Back to Normality’ for the SAOS Conference With Focus on Sustainability and Actions It was great to be back to the buzz of a face to face conference and, despite our moving to a Spring date which we knew would mean a drop in attendance from farmer members, we were delighted with the strong turnout we had at Dunblane on the last day of March for the SAOS Conference 2022. After a welcome from our CEO, Tim Bailey, we’d a very positive presentation from Mark Brooking (right) Sustainability Director at First Milk. Producing 850 million litres of milk a year, the co-op, which has 700 members across Scotland, England and Wales, continues to grow, with milk volumes up 25%, turnover up more than 50%, and net assets almost doubling to more than £40m. Mark told us that opponents of the dairy industry are using climate change as a stick to beat it with. “There are individuals and organisations which would like to see no dairy produced in the UK at all,” he said and told delegates that the dairy industry needs to respond pro-actively to this. “If there are practices we cannot defend, we need to change those practices. Every time there is a negative story in the press, someone will decide to stop using dairy.” But sustainability presents an opportunity as well as a challenge. Since consumers “are interested in where their food is coming from, more than ever before“ he said, and co-op farmers have a story to tell, that of “traditional family farms that care about people, animals, the Earth.” Mark suggested that co-ops need to raise awareness of the work they are doing on building social capital, giving the example of First Milk’s Women In Agriculture group; and also on animal welfare, with all First Milk farmers having signed a pledge “beyond the RSPCA five freedoms” stating that their “cows will go out to graze and that no healthy animal will be euthanised on farm”. Net Zero remains the biggest issue though, with 95% of dairy industry emissions coming from farms. To tackle this, (as we’ve covered in previous SAOS Updates) First Milk has developed its First4Milk programme and set a series of targets through this which its farmers have committed to voluntarily . “We have to address this. It’s a big challenge and it will mean that farming will be different in the future.” Mark said. “To reach net zero by 2040, farmers need to sequester 100,000 tonnes of carbon in the soil, each year, by 2025; and increase milk produced from forage by 10% by 2025. All transport and processing must be done by renewable fuel by 2030. To drive this, First Milk advocates regenerative agriculture, a holistic model which uses animals in the field to help sequester carbon; work to minimise soil disturbance and protect the soil surface, work to encourage plant diversity and maintain living roots. Farm data and digital mapping are crucial here, he said, to allow farmers to measure increased carbon measures in the soil and demonstrate “how we’re helping the planet“. Using soil sampling to a metre depth, First Milk now has the biggest soil data set in the UK, he added; it is also mapping hedges, watercourses, grazing, cultivation, electricity use, feed and fertiliser. “We’re collaborating for success through the whole supply chain,” he said, and with a hugely positive response from First Milk farmer members as more than 90% have signed up. Next on the podium was farmer, Graham Barr, (right) who is also Chair of the Pentlands Land Managers Association, which SAOS was integral in setting up, to enable the group to find collaborative ways to manage access to the park following a surge in problems and inappropriate behaviour during the pandemic. The Pentland Hills Regional Park - which comprises 9,000 hectares of land on urban fringe of Edinburgh - has 600,000 leisure visitors a year, but funding cuts mean there are only three rangers, and no visitor education. As a result, rubbish is left, fires are lit, trees are chopped, gates are left open letting livestock loose, and livestock is attacked by dogs. All of which has had a significant impact on farmers’ mental health, Graham told us. (Continued overleaf)