Under the motto "Fairness for all", the trade magazine Lebensmittel Praxis and the agricultural trade magazine top agrar organised the "Fair Partner" competition in the categories meat and meat products, dairy products and alternative concepts. They were looking for concepts that implement fairness along the value chain, i.e. that create win-win situations for producers, processors and retailers alike. As lighthouse projects, they show how sustainability can be turned into reality. In the dairy products category, the Berchtesgadener Land dairy co-operative came out on top with its energy efficiency project "Zukunftsbauer". (from left to right) Elke Häberle, Sylvia Schindecker and Bernhard Pointner. Image source: Molkerei Berchtesgadener Land

"The aim of this joint project between agriculture, dairies, retailers and customers is to contribute to climate protection and the preservation of family-run farms and small-scale farming structures in the Alpine region," says Sylvia Schindecker, Head of the Agriculture Department, who is in charge of the project. Agricultural businesses are called upon to optimise the energy efficiency of their farms and implement at least two of the five energy areas of saving, efficiency, recording, in-house production or in-house electricity use and receive funding for this.

"As a cooperative, we are particularly pleased to implement a support programme with our retail partner PENNY in which everyone - retailers, companies, farmers and consumers - pull together. Climate protection only works together. The Future Farmer is the right project at the right time," says Bernhard Pointner, Managing Director of the dairy: "With the current energy crisis, the Future Farmer project is very much in tune with the times, because it supports farmers in making the necessary investments in energy-saving potential and energy generation. In this way, agriculture is also making an important contribution to climate protection and reducing dependence on fossil fuels in the future.

PENNY and the Berchtesgadener Land dairy successfully launched the "Future Farmer" climate protection support programme in October 2021. With up to €10,000 per farm, the cooperative dairy's farmers receive targeted support to optimise the energy efficiency of their farms. Since then, the two partners have massively expanded the financial basis of the project: Since the beginning of March, PENNY has been offering PENNY "Zukunftsbauer" natural yoghurt (1.5% and 4%) - bottled by Berchtesgadener Land Molkerei - in all 2,200 stores nationwide. As part of the "Zukunftsbauer" joint project, PENNY is waiving part of its sales margin on all Berchtesgadener Land dairy products and the Berchtesgadener Land dairy is doubling the amount. Watch the video to find out which other PENNY products are to be included in the "Zukunftsbauer" range and how much money has already gone to the farmers from the subsidy pot.