Retailer Waitrose has extended its grazing pledge for its dairy cows as the supermarket exceeded its own target for outdoor grazing, achieving an average of 167 days last season.
As a result, Waitrose has increased the number of days it guarantees all its dairy cows spend outside, from 100 to 120 days.
Waitrose has been keen to show a commitment to animal welfare, and the campaign is in response to the demand retailers are seeing for shoppers wanting to be reassured about provenance.
The target factors in the occasionally challenging weather conditions across the UK. The grazing season lasts from early spring to the end of autumn, when the conditions are best and the pasture is at its most nutritious.
Heather Jenkins, Waitrose Director of Agriculture and Meat, Fish and Dairy Buying said: “We’re proud of our dairy farmers for exceeding the targets that we set out in our original grazing pledge and it’s fantastic that we’re now able to extend it to 120 days.
“Grazing ensures our dairy cows are producing great quality milk and contributes to our high animal welfare standards, which has always been fundamental to our business.”
Waitrose has an exclusive pool of 60 dairy farms across the UK in Oxfordshire, Gloucestershire, Buckinghamshire, Wiltshire, Berkshire, Dorset, Somerset and Devon.
Compassion in World Farming (CiWF) has endorsed animal welfare standards at Waitrose with the Good Dairy Award and CiWF Retailer of the Year Award.
