The Co-operative Farms

The Co-operative Farms

Type	Business of a consumer co-operative
Industry	Wholesale
Products	Farmer
Parent	The Co-operative Group

The Co-operative Farms is the trading name of Farmcare Limited, a subsidiary of the Co-operative Group.^[1] It is the largest farmer in the United Kingdom.^[2]

The Co-operative Group manages a total estate in excess of 70,000 acres (28,328 ha) throughout Great Britain, which it is committed to farming sustainably.^[3] The first farm was acquired at Roden, Shropshire in 1896 in order to supply potatoes to local societies' stores.^[4] By 1918, the then Co-operative Wholesale Society already farmed a total of 32,648 acres (13,212 ha) across England.^[5]

Following the merger of CWS and Co-operative Retail Services in 2001, CWS Agriculture became known as Farmcare.^[6] It was rebranded as The Co-operative Farms in 2007.

See also

• Associated Co-operative Creameries

References

1. ^ Registered under the Industrial and Provident Societies Act 1965, No. 28966R
2. ^ UK'S BIGGEST FARMER PULLS PLUG ON GM TRIALS. FOE Demands Halt to "Unscientific" Tests Friends of the Earth, 30 March 1999
3. ^ Benjamin, Alison Co-op bans eight pesticides after worldwide beehive collapse The Guardian, 28 January 2009
4. ^ The foundations The Co-operative Farms (retrieved 21 August 2009)
5. ^ The war years The Co-operative Farms (retrieved 21 August 2009)
6. ^ Mutuals Public Register Financial Services Authority (retrieved 21 August 2009)

External links

• The Co-operative Farms
• FarmSubsidy.org: The Co-Operative Farms