Dairy farmers who supply Arla have just under a week left to apply for grants of up to £10,000 as part of McDonald's capital grant scheme.
The fast food giant is giving away £500,000 as part of its 'Farm Forward' dairy grant initiative, with the deadline on 31 October.
The grant scheme, which launched in March this year, has paid out more than £156,000 so far to 19 farmers around the UK.
The initiative was set up to support the future of the British dairy industry and fund applications that are focused on raising animal welfare standards, providing economic benefit to the farmers business or making environmental improvements.
Dairy cooperative Arla supplies organic milk to the UK supply chain for McDonald’s, and the two companies have a partnership that has lasted over 30 years and has seen a number of collaborations when it comes to agriculture initiatives.
New technology
One of the 19 Arla farmers benefiting from the grant scheme is Lancashire dairy farmer Ian Pye, who was awarded £5,000 to help improve animal welfare across his herd with a range of new equipment.
Derbyshire based farmer, David Dilks has replaced a one km section of worn cow track linking two sections of his land, and in Shropshire, organic dairy farmer Chris Jerman, has used his £10,000 grant to improve the welfare of his cattle with a new cow shed.
Chris Jerman said: “I was determined to invest in my farm’s infrastructure and build a new cow shed, but was struggling to find the funds.
“I’ve applied for Defra grants before, but the process for McDonald’s was much simpler and I think it’s such a great initiative.”
The new cow shed has a fully concreted floor that’s easier to clean and an open ridge ventilation system in the roof that circulates more fresh air. In addition, new technology has been installed along the shed to allow for safer handling of individual cattle.
He added: “You can see that the cows are happier and healthier in there and the new shed is so much easier to keep clean, helping me keep the farm’s productivity up. This investment goes much further than a new piece of technology, it’ll be a part of my farm for the next 50 years.”
Animal welfare standards
McDonald's Farm Forward programme aims to develop skills and knowledge, raise animal welfare standards and make environmental improvements.
Research commissioned by McDonald’s, and conducted by the National Farm Research Unit, found that 88% of farmers believe that high welfare standards are vital to making UK farming globally competitive.
Almost two thirds stated that individual farmers are responsible for driving animal welfare – highlighting the importance of such grant schemes.
Round two of the grant scheme is now open for applications for Arla’s farmer owners not on a retailer/foodservice aligned contract. Entries can be submitted online via the Arla farmers’ website. All applications must be completed by midnight on 31 October 2018.
