Case Study: Farming with Nature – Nestlé and First Milk’s Regenerative Milk Plan

The Aldersgate Group is launching a new series of case studies from its members showing how action on climate and nature is already benefiting people, communities and businesses across the UK. The debate on net zero and nature recovery is too often framed in abstract terms. These case studies offer real, place-based examples of how the transition is strengthening local economies, building community resilience and supporting household stability. Each also sets out what government can do to help them go further.

Farming with Nature looks at Nestlé UK & Ireland’s Regenerative Milk Plan, delivered in partnership with First Milk, the dairy co-operative owned by around 700 British family farms. Farmers in Cumbria, Ayrshire and Wigtownshire have the backing of a long-term supply relationship and, since 2021, a sustainability payment on top of the milk price. With that support, they have extended rotational grazing, reduced ploughing, planted trees and managed hedgerows for wildlife. On farms where soils have been resampled, soil carbon has risen by an average of more than 8 tonnes of CO2 equivalent per hectare each year. Emissions from Nestlé’s milk supply chain fell by 17% between 2018 and 2024.

The case study calls on government to help this model reach more farms across the UK. Its asks include rewarding farmers for measured outcomes rather than the actions themselves, and giving farmers and supply chain partners long-term policy certainty.