The goal of the incentive is to increase cattle grazing, biodiversity and climate actions
Valio is updating its sustainability bonus programme for dairy farms on 1.5.2023. Going forward, farms can receive additional pay per milk liter for grazing their cattle and giving them access to outdoor activity, for farming practices supporting biodiversity, and for efforts aiming to reduce the farm’s carbon footprint. The renewal is significant also in the big picture of agriculture because about 80 per cent of the milk produced in Finland is within the sphere of Valio’s sustainability bonus programme. After the update, Valio will pay its dairy farmer owners, through cooperatives, nearly 50 million euros for actions exceeding the statutory requirements.
Valio launched the sustainability bonus programme in 2018 to encourage dairy farms to carry out sustainability actions that go beyond the statutory requirements. So far, the farms have received the bonus for actions improving animal welfare. Meeting the criteria has required, e.g., veterinarian visits, planned healthcare for cows and systematic monitoring of welfare. The healthcare of the cattle is monitored through the national and certified Naseva, the Centralised Health Care Register for Finnish Cattle Herds.
“The goal we set four years ago was for all Valio dairy farms to commit to the sustainability bonus programme actions to improve animal welfare by 2021. Now that the original goal has been achieved, we are further developing the sustainability bonus programme. Going forward, dairy farms will receive a sustainability bonus also for farm actions that strengthen biodiversity and mitigate climate change. Animal welfare continues to be an important theme, and now we will focus particularly on increasing grazing and year-round outdoor activity for cows,” says Ilkka Pohjamo, Senior Vice President, Primary Production at Valio.
The new actions are voluntary for farms, and the idea is that each farm will choose the actions that are right for them. Previously, the sustainability bonus was two cents per liter of milk; now it will be possible for farms to earn an additional cent by combining various actions. For example, the average size farm of 45 cows currently receives a sustainability bonus of 8,000 euros. With the programme update, it’s possible to increase the bonus to 12,000 euros.
