Our farmers

We’re committed to supporting British farmers - 100% of our fresh meat is British. By supporting British farming, we can boost the economies of communities across the UK and ensure the highest standards of animal welfare.

We uphold strict policies about the treatment of the animals in our supply chain.

We’re supporting British farming communities by sourcing 100% of our fresh meat from Britain.

From field to table, we are committed to supporting growers to provide you with delicious, fresh produce

Meet the producers

Reducing our impact

We work hard to make sure the ingredients we use in our goods are sourced as sustainably as possible.

Protecting nature and being as green as possible.

Our farming groups

Fresh meat, poultry, fish, eggs and milk, everything we sell is sourced from suppliers who are passionate about what they produce and how they produce it. Everyone we work with has been chosen because they share our belief in honesty, fairness and trust, and are able to work to our strict standards in welfare and quality. In return, our Farming Groups provide networks that help farmers share knowledge and invest in their farms.

Everything we do is based on five Pillars that benefit everyone and guarantee the food you buy is ethical, sustainable and of exceptional quality. Discover how we’re working to improve the lives of everyone throughout our supply chain, from the communities to the people who work in our stores.

Co-op Farming and Food Pillars

Environmental Mapping

We believe that taking a proactive approach to finding a more sustainable future for farmers will not only help to increase efficiency, but will also show our members and customers that we’re taking their requirements seriously. That’s why we invested in a 3-year project to map the environmental impact of producers across our seven Coop Farming Groups. We’ve now completed the third and final year of our Co-op Farming Enviro-Map project, which measures carbon footprints and biodiversity across our Farming Groups. Our farmers will soon be able to use their individual reports to see how their carbon footprint has changed between Year 1 and Year 3. They can also benchmark themselves against the average performance for their group. You can find our 3 year summary report here.

Training young farmers

In April 2016, we launched our Co-op Farming Pioneers programme which took groups of young farmers, aged between 21 and 35 through a free 30-month training programme. The aim of the programme was to help young farmers develop their business and personal skills to better equip them for the future of farming, as well as exploring salient issues like mental health. The programme came to an end in November 2023, and over the years has successfully given over 100 young farmers access to this programme, enabling those Pioneers to make changes within their farming enterprises to create a more efficient, forward-thinking business.

Mary who graduated in October 2018 had this to say about the programme:

“I joined Co-Op Pioneers in April 2016. It was the first of the Pioneers group and ran until October 2018. The programme has been a great opportunity to develop my business skills and has helped me focus on taking our business forward. I’m now in joint partnership with my father and in 2019 I succeeded the farm tenancy, something which would not have happened as quickly and easily without the support and competence I have gained from the programme. The pioneers allowed me to meet some forward-thinking farmers and make connections which will last a lifetime.”