An array of wild orchid species and a diversity of birds and other wildlife are thriving under a pioneering retailer scheme operating on some of the country’s leading dairy farm enterprises.
The Waitrose WildCare initiative operates on the 60 farms supplying Waitrose essential milk. Together they boast land managed for wildlife equivalent to an area 18 times that of Hyde Park – on a ’per farm basis’ that’s over double the national farm average.
"Wild orchids have been identified on farms across Dorset, Oxfordshire, Wiltshire and Somerset," says Waitrose WildCare manager Tim Oliver. "They are ’delicate’ species with a complex lifecycle making them poorly equipped to cope within some working farm environments. This has led to a massive decline in orchid numbers since the 1940s," he says.
"Yet with more land managed for the benefit of wild flora and fauna, the scheme’s latest figures prove that nature conservation and serious commercial dairy farming can go hand in hand," he adds.
Tim explains that while the national farm average for land devoted to natural habitats is estimated at 5-10%, the Waitrose WildCare scheme demands a minimum of 10%. "But our latest figures show farms in our scheme average 25%, with some farms as high as 30%. Meanwhile, the farms are efficiently producing over 100 million litres of milk per year."
Robbie James, Waitrose’s Buying Manager for Dairy explains that the farms are professional operations adopting the latest farm management practices and rigorous animal welfare standards to achieve the high quality milk production that Waitrose demands. The price premium Waitrose pays its producers helps to facilitate the improved nature conservation on the farms.
And with the Hardy Orchid Society, RSPB and the Barn Owl Trust lending their support to the scheme there is an abundance of advice and information available to the Waitrose WildCare farmers.
