SUSTAINABLE AND EFFICIENT MILK SUPPLY

NESCAFÉ GOLD and the Milk Plan

Our unique First Milk partnership

We have a responsibility to make a positive impact on all the people involved in producing our coffees, starting with the farmers who supply the milk that goes in to our frothy coffees. That’s why we have a partnership with First Milk, a British farmer owned dairy co-operative.

We’ve been working together since 2003, in a relationship that has focused on building a long term sustainable supply chain that supports farmers and the environment, and produces the best quality milk for the frothy coffee you love.

The Nestlé First Milk Partnership is made up of 86 farmers in Ayrshire and Cumbria. First Milk supplies fresh British milk for our manufacturing site in Dalston, Cumbria, which makes our NESCAFÉ GOLD Cappuccino, NESCAFÉ GOLD Flat White and NESCAFÉ GOLD Latte instant coffee as well as a number of other coffee flavours in the frothy coffee range.

For our milk farmers, animal welfare and sustainable farming go hand in hand, and they know they can rely on the support from Nestlé and First Milk to help reduce their environmental impact.

Caring For Cows

Our work with First Milk and their farmers ensures that the milk we use in our frothy coffees is the highest quality. We know healthy cows are happy cows, and happy cows produce both more milk, and milk of a higher quality. The farmer-led work encourages farms to enhance quality and improve animal health and welfare.

Supporting Young Farmers

The Next Generation Dairy Leaders Programme identifies young farming talent and develops them to become leaders in their industry. Through the scheme, young farmers improve their understanding of the global dairy industry and of their own supply chains from field to consumer. They learn practical tools and gain the confidence to help them succeed.

Responsible Resource Use

The milk farmers supplying our Dalston factory attend around four sustainability workshops per year, which give them the tools and techniques to use less water and energy and therefore reduce their greenhouse gas emissions

“Being a part of Nestlé has also helped to improve our own farm business. Through encouragement from Nestlé and AHDB (Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board) we started to benchmark. This has allowed us to identify strengths and weaknesses of how the business was performing and make changes to rectify the weaknesses.”

Paul Barrow, Helm Farm

Working With Nature

The Nestlé First Milk Partnership encourages and delivers environmental stewardship on every farm. In collaboration with the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust, the partnership establishes the right biodiversity programme for each farm. Through 2017 and 2018, Nestlé farmers repaired over 2km of stonewall, planted 21km of hedges, used 28,000 metres of fencing to protect watercourses and planted 8 hectares of new woodland.

Helping Communities

Nestlé farmers help to bring the classroom to the countryside, by opening their doors to children from the local area in order to teach them about farming and the environment, the day in the life of a milk cow, and how milk gets from the cow to the factory.

First Milk is a wholly British farmer-owned dairy co-operative with a vision to create value for members by delivering long-term prosperity in the form of success, profitability, security and wellbeing.