Northumberland farmer welcomes launch of new Cefetra sustainability scheme

In the push to tackle climate change, Cefetra Ecosystem Services has been set up for Cefetra – a group of leading companies and brands in the animal nutrition and food and drink ingredient industries – to be the bridge between their customers and farmers.

Cefetra Ecosystem Services is the first initiative to set high standards for climate positive supply chains and reward growers for adopting sustainable farming practices, and is already available for UK and Irish growers’ 2024 crops.

Through practical advice backed with documented sustainability standards, it will ensure that benefits are provided to all supply chain partners.

Partnering with agronomy firm Soil Capital, Cefetra will offer a toolkit of products and services based on each farm’s data plus courses of action, and consumers will see produce sustainable credentials.

Farmer Thomas Todd, who farms crops in Cornhill-on-Tweed, is among those backing the scheme to help farmers make the transition to reduce carbon usage. He has implemented min-till practices, cultivating land using mechanical methods other than ploughing.

He said: “Everyone in farming knows we need to make a difference, but we cannot do it alone, so it is fantastic to see the Cefetra Ecosystem Services initiative launched by Cefetra to help us bridge the gap with the buyers and end consumers who want evidence that our produce meets sustainability standards and for us to secure financial rewards for doing so.”

Thomas joined a panel of experts at the launch at a Cefetra facility in Scotland.