FDBusiness.com

Nestle has joined a new partnership with other dairy companies in Brazil to help more than 2,200 farms improve milk quality, safety and sustainability. Nestle has entered the agreement through Dairy Partners Americas, its joint venture in South America with New Zealand-based dairy co-operative Fonterra. Dairy Partners Americas has teamed up with Brazil Foods and Itambe, two leading Brazilian food producers, to share best practices.

Together, the three companies have worked with the State Secretariat of Science, Technology and Higher Education for Minas Gerais – a major dairy farming region – to define a set of common standards. The companies will help their suppliers to meet these standards in all the regions in Brazil where they purchase milk.

Their aim is to accelerate milk production while improving dairy farming practices across the country by encouraging other organisations to adopt the same standards. Farmers will be helped to improve milk storage as well as the use and cleaning of equipment. They will receive training in basic veterinary skills, as well as training to improve animal welfare and milking parlour conditions.

Farmers will also be shown how to reduce the environmental impact of their activities by setting up better wastewater treatment and drainage systems. It is expected that 2,260 farms will start to adopt the recommended practices by the end of 2012.

Dairy Partners Americas purchases around three billion litres of milk per year to supply to both parent companies, Nestle and Fonterra. It works directly with 13,000 commercial milk producers and indirectly with another 40,000 through farming co-operatives. In Brazil, Dairy Partners Americas employs more than 3,000 people and operates 12 sites.