Morrisons employs tree advisors to help UK farmers meet planting targets
The Morrisons supermarket chain has employed a team of ‘Tree Advisors’ to give specialist advice to its network of 3,000 UK farmers on the best species of trees to plant.
The advisors will work with farmers to help them “plant the right tree species in the right place for the right reasons”, gain government and grant funding to cover their costs, and bring in additional income from their woodland projects.
Advice will be offered on a case-by-case basis and the supermarket will work with farmers to create individual woodland planting and management plans.
A collaboration with Natural England and the Forestry Commission, the initiative forms part of Morrisons’ plan to become directly supplied by net zero British farms by 2030 and to be net zero for emissions by 2040. Farmers at Morrisons 50 net zero blueprint farms will be the first to be offered access to the scheme, which will be rolled out more widely in the coming months.
Sophie Throup, head of agriculture at Morrisons, said: “As British farming’s biggest customer, we have a responsibility to help our farmers overcome the challenges of working more sustainably. Many farmers, while recognising the value of trees in their landscape, are worried that tree planting initiatives will mean that valuable land is taken from food production – even when funded by the government. We want to take this worry away and help farmers identify what trees work for them on their farm, in the right places and for the right reasons.”
