Scots join forces in battle for Co-operative Group’s farms

The Co-operative Group has dismissed calls for a co-operative solution to the sale of its farms – but in Scotland, community leaders are working on a proposal for...

The Co-operative Group has dismissed calls for a co-operative solution to the sale of its farms – but in Scotland, community leaders are working on a proposal for its farm at Blairgowrie.

In a statement to the News, the Group brushed aside suggestions that part of its farm estate could become community-owned, saying the business would not be “divided up”. But it faces calls to consult members and to delay the sale to allow co-operative organisations to provide a viable alternative.

In Scotland, a working group including the Hometown Foundation, Nourish Scotland and Fife Diet Project is working with contacts in the Scottish Government towards a community solution at Blairgowrie.

Pete Richie, of Nourish Scotland, said the group realised there was little time. “We envision breaking the farm up into 10 or more small farms to create opportunities for new farmers to come in,” he said. “The Scottish Government has done a huge amount to support new entries into farming and wants to see more land in community ownership.”

petition on campaign website 38 Degrees, calling on the Group not to sell until it had explored co-operative options, has attracted almost 7,000 signatures. Groups interested in buying the land, such as co-operatives and Community Farmland Trusts, required time to put finance in place, arrange a sale and find suitable tenants, the petition says.

A Group spokesman said: “All the farms operated by the Group are large commercial operations, which don’t lend themselves to be divided up into many smaller operations. Indeed, 70% of the production from the farms business is cereals, which is sold through the major national grain trading supply routes, purchased by a number of manufacturers.

“The Group is primarily focused on providing a sustainable and confident future for its farms as a whole in order to provide continuity for the business and its employees.”

He added: “Although often cited as one of the UK’s largest farmers, the Co-operative Group has just 15 farms out of a total of 180,000 across the country. Only 2% of the volume of the produce from the farms in a total year goes into Co-operative Food stores.”

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