Arla launches its UK360 programme standards with Aldi support

Following a 6 month trial involving 79 farmers Arla have launched their UK360 programme, which is a new set of higher standards than the basic Red Tractor Standards, which encompass the best on farm practice for animal welfare, animal health, people/staff development, environmental and natural resources, community engagement as well as economic resilience and reinvestment.

Aldi is the first retailer to sign up to the new standards and ongoing discussions are understood to be at an advanced stage with other Arla customers. Aldi will pay a premium to a named and selected group of Arla members as part of the Aldi Dairy Farm Partnership in return for these farmers delivering the higher standards at farm level.

More on this in Ian’s next Dairy Farmer article but it’s certainly a very different approach to what has become the norm of retailers setting the farm standards.

Note, Arlagarten will continue to set the baseline standards for all Arla members with UK360 linked to retailers and food service customers’ appetite to come on board and pay a premium to those farmers who can and want to help protect the industry and retailer brands by adopting the 360 standards.