Kerry Agribusiness launched “Evolve” on 2 February. The new €6m Dairy Sustainabilty Programme aims to help reduce suppliers’ carbon footprints and will offer financial incentive to implement low-carbon technologies on farm.

The programme could see the average Kerry Agribusiness milk supplier earn incentives of up to €2,000/herd as they aim to accelerate emissions reductions among suppliers by 2030.

The strategy is focused on biodiversity, soil and fertiliser management, production efficiency, energy use efficiency and knowledge transfer.

CEO of Kerry’s dairy business Pat Murphy said: “At Kerry we have a proud tradition of working with others to achieve better outcomes.

“Our Beyond the Horizon sustainability strategy sets out ambitious targets for the business and today our dairy business is making a significant financial commitment of up to €6m per annum aimed at supporting our milk suppliers in the adoption of sustainable actions in 2022 and beyond.”

Murphy added that the aim is to reach over two billion people with sustainable nutrition solutions by 2030. They aim is to reduce emissions intensity by 30% across the supply chain.

Some examples of the incentives to be paid to farmers are listed below:

It should be noted that there are terms and conditions with these measures. For example, lime must be purchased from an approved supplier and incentives will be paid on a maximum of 1t/cow.

The strategy also aims to plant 200,000 native trees by 2025 and will partner with Trees on the Land to fund a biodiversity programme across the catchment.

General manager of Kerry Agribusiness James O’Connell stated: “Our milk-suppliers are already amongst the most sustainable milk producers in the world. We are absolutely committed to working with them in building upon that advantage and in accelerating the enhancement of biodiversity and water quality across our catchment and in reducing carbon and ammonia emissions.”