We know that the pace of change in society must increase, not least in farming. We need more sustainable farming that can also meet the goals of increased production and preserved biodiversity. At the same time, profitability must be strengthened. Farmers in Sweden are interested in working sustainably with the right conditions, but operate in a market with small margins. Climate & Nature offers the perfect opportunity for those who want to change as the programme comes with a premium which means the transition can be implemented at farm level.
The Climate & Nature cultivation program is based on science, turning research-based knowledge into concrete methods for farmers. According to our measurements, cultivation in line with the program both reduces CO2 emissions with 30% and promotes biodiversity in and around the fields.
News 2022
Climate & Nature is developing rapidly. This year, new customers have joined the programme, which we are delighted about. New customers for the harvest of 2022 are:
- Paulig which will contribute to increased volumes in the programme. Wheat flour from Climate & Nature will be used for tortillas.
- Spendrups has joined the program to use malting barley, which is grown for the first time according to Climate & Nature.
- KRAFFT which will join in the harvest of 2022 meaning that horse feed with grain from Climate & Nature will soon be available on the market.
- Customers who buy grain directly are also increasingly interested in grain grown according to Climate & Nature. Demand has increased among existing customers and as a result of the growth in new business.
In Finland, we will see the first harvest of grain from Climate & Nature this year. A big step on the way is the introduction of Climate & Nature products onto the shop shelves in our neighbouring countries. In the long term we also see opportunities in the export market, not least since the programme is in line with the requirements of Science Based Targets which creates opportunities for companies to meet their climate targets in the value chain.
Our existing collaborations with Oatly and Polarbröd, together with these new customers and our own brands within Climate & Nature, mean that this year we will see a big increase in the volume of sustainably cultivated grain from Climate & Nature. This trend has progressed from year to year; in 2020 about 61,000 tonnes of grain were delivered, in 2021 it was about 94,300 tonnes of grain and this year we will reach a volume of more than 100,000 tonnes of grain cultivated according to Climate & Nature.
Other important news this year is the investment in fossil-free fertiliser together with Yara, which is the last piece of the jigsaw in enabling fossil-free cultivation. Fossil-free fertiliser is something we will be able to see in Climate & Nature from the harvest of 2023. With fossil-free fertiliser, we can reduce climate impact from cultivation by 50% compared with the average for Swedish cultivation in 2015.
The future
The Climate & Nature cultivation programme is constantly being developed. We are adding new criteria that advance the positions for sustainable and profitable cultivation. In the future, for example, we see the possibility of developing more criteria that benefit biodiversity. Another area of development is an exciting project in conjunction with Svensk Kolinlagring at Bjertorp, our Farm of the Future. Carbon farming is about binding carbon in arable land through a variety of measures and there is much to explore in this area. With the help of new digital solutions, we are looking at the potential of measuring the effects of Climate & Nature on farms; this is also an area we will develop in the future.
For consumers, Climate & Nature provides an opportunity to be part of the journey and contribute to more sustainable cultivation in collaboration with us at Lantmännen, our customers and farmers. Now that demand is increasing rapidly, it is very important that we do not forget about the profitability of the farmers. They are the ones who implement everything that creates value in the programme.