March 15, 2021

HKScan starts virtual climate training for contract farmers

The first part of HKScan's virtual climate training will focus on what the company have learned concerning Agrofood Ecosystem pilot farms, the carbon footprint of pig, broiler and cattle farms, and how to reduce the carbon footprint in these productions.

"Climate training for our contract farmers is part of HKScan's Zero Carbon climate plan. We aim for carbon-neutral food production," HKScan said. "In addition, we will have an aid policy and the environmental impacts of primary production in a broader perspective on the agenda."

The interviews of Ulf Jahnsson, HKScan's vice-president of strategic development primary production, Kari Valonen of Finland's Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, Senja Arffman (Envitecpolis) and Katri Behm (VTT) are featured the first training sessions.

Corporate responsibility, an increasingly important aspect of HKScan's contract farms, have been developed to help reduce climate impacts, the company said.

"In line with the Zero Carbon climate plan introduced at the beginning of January, we will further reduce the carbon footprint of agriculture together with our contract farmers. In our activities, we will focus on the promotion of resource efficiency and carbon binding in the field farming. With the climate training, we provide tools for this development," said Veli-Matti Jäppilä, senior vice president (animal sourcing and producer services) at HKScan.

"Climate training is part of the development phase of contract farming, where responsibility work is increasingly integrated into the contract farming. In the training, we will provide our contract farmers with the latest information in the field together with our partners. At the same time, we will collect feedback from our contract farmers on farm-level climate and responsibility issues. Through co-operation, we will make our contract farmers climate heroes," said Jansson.

Themes of the virtual training sessions cover carbon farming, carbon footprint, eutrophication, biodiversity, water footprint and animal welfare.

In Sweden, farmers' climate training will begin in autumn 2021.

- HKScan