The Farms

Where everything happens

Where everything happens

As a farmer-owned cooperative, everything starts with our farmer owners and their thousands of farms across seven European countries. Our committed farmer owners work to create a more sustainable future for dairy farming – and reaching our ambitious 2030 goal of a 30% reduction of farm-based emissions per kilo of milk since 2015*.

Rewarding farmers for climate activities

Imagine if you were rewarded for your efforts to reduce your climate footprint. Arla Farmers are. To encourage farmers to reduce the carbon footprint of their milk and improve protection of biodiversity on the farm, they get points for feeding their cows efficiently, managing manure well or using renewable electricity, to mention a few.

The more points a farmer earns, the more they are paid per kilo of milk. Up to 500 million Euro annually are earmarked to reward our farmer owners' activities to reduce the carbon footprint of their milk and improve protection of biodiversity on the farm.

FarmAhead™ Incentive
Farmers sat at a table

FarmAhead™ Check

Helping our farmer owners spot ways to lower their farms' emissions requires knowledge. So, we've developed FarmAhead™ Check. A tool to collect data and build our knowledge. Farmers use it to collect more than 200 data points; from what the cows eat to the energy that is used on the farms.

The results are verified by an independent climate advisor. Collected across seven countries, this is one of the world’s largest verified datasets on dairy farming. And we share learnings with industry stakeholders, politicians, and research partners for continuous development. 

Farmer with a tractor

The big 5

It always helps to have focus. But where? Well, based on the data from our FarmAhead™ Check, we have identified five things that we currently believe have the biggest potential to reduce a dairy farm’s carbon footprint while also being feasible for farmers. We call them the ‘Big 5’. The levers work across all Arla farms, regardless of cow breed, farm size, geography, or land condition.

Cow eating in a barn

Hello, I'm a farmer

The milk you drink and the yogurt you enjoy have been through the hands of someone like Vagn, Sara and Kristoff – our hardworking farmer owners. Every single farmer is at the heart of the business and makes a difference, every day – from caring for their cows to working to lower emissions.

They’re part of a community of several thousand farmers across seven countries who share knowledge, challenges, and successes. Together, they help us reach our 2030 target to reduce farm-based CO2e emissions per kilo of milk by 30% since 2015 (Arla’s Climate ambition).

Farmer with a cow

*Arla's Climate ambition

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