Arla Foods introduces Climate Check programme to reduce carbon footprint. Credit: © Arla Foods amba.

European dairy cooperative Arla Foods has said that its farmers will use data to reduce carbon emission by 30% by 2030 and have a neutral climate impact by 2050.

The Initiative has been launched across seven countries to minimise carbon emissions on farms and also collect the most comprehensive sets of certified climate data from dairy farming.

Arla Foods chairman Jan Toft Nørgaard said: “Dairy is an excellent natural source of nutrients compared to its carbon cost, but we have a strong desire to make the balance between nutrients and CO2 even better.

“Arla farmers have already cut emissions by 24% since 1990 but we also recognise that it’s not enough. As in any other industry, we need to do more and we need to do it faster.”

Arla Foods claimed that its 9,900 farmer owners are producing milk with less than half the average of emissions per litre in comparison to global dairy production.

Under the initiative, the dairy cooperative will introduce a Climate Check programme and also offer support to its farmer owners in Northern Europe to fight climate impact.

The data captured will help the farmer owner to measure carbon emissions level they produce per litre of milk and also identify the areas for improvement.

Each Arla farmer will be required to provide details about herd size to housing, milk volumes, feed usage and production as well as energy and fuel usage in a digital reporting tool.

Nørgaard added: “We will be able to benchmark against our farmer colleagues on carbon footprint. But equally important, the data can be used to gain more knowledge and science-based solutions in collaboration with the agricultural sector and academic institutions.

“This will be important as we decide on which science-based solutions will take us to the next level in the fight against climate change.”

In 2013, the company first launched its Climate Checks model for its farmers in Denmark.