Jordans - Conservation Grade Farming Protcol

John Lewis and Waitrose Supply Chain Award 2007 supported by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

The introduction of Conservation Grade standards for cereals promotes biodiversity on UK farmland, ensures a steady supply of high quality cereal and offers support to farmers in the supply chain.

Processes

Jordans (Cereals) Ltd is a family owned business that has sold organic breakfast cereals since the 1970s and are sympathetic to the environmental benefits of organic production. However, as Jordans’ breakfast cereal business grew in the early 1980s, Jordans experienced supply chain difficulties associated with procuring organic grain, the principal ingredient of all their products.

Jordans aimed to develop an alternative farming system to guarantee the quality of ingredients (and therefore a reliable supply) at the same time as limiting the use of agro-chemicals to reduce the environmental damage to the British countryside caused by intensive farming.

The company worked with environmentalists and agronomists to launch the Conservation Grade standard for cereals in 1985.  Conservation Grade was designed to promote biodiversity on UK farmland, ensure a steady supply of high quality cereal and offer support to farmers in the supply chain.

Initially the scheme limited the agro chemical inputs that could be used on the crop, but allowed farmers sufficient input options to ensure the quality of the grain.  In return Jordans issued contracts to Conservation Grade farmers that guaranteed them a premium price for their cereals.

The Conservation Grade protocols were revised substantially in 2004.  Under the new protocol Conservation Grade farmers were required to take 10% of their land out of food production and create a number of very specific wildlife habitats designed to work together to increase the overall biodiversity of the farm.

Impact

  • Independent scientific trials demonstrated the revised Conservation Grade approach to farmland management led to a fivefold increase in wildlife compared to conventional farming systems
  • All Jordans products are now made from Conservation Grade or Organic cereals. Conservation Grade accounts for 80% of the grain used in Jordans cereal based products
  • Jordans now has contracts with 79 farmers, representing approximately 60,000 acres of UK farmland

See also