The biggest dairy cooperative Valio is updating its sustainability bonus programme for dairy farms on May 1st 2023. Farms can receive additional pay for milk for grazing their cattle and giving them access to outdoor activity, for farming practices supporting biodiversity, and for efforts aiming to reduce the farm’s carbon footprint. Valio launched the sustainability bonus programme in 2018 to encourage dairy farms to carry out sustainability actions that go beyond the statutory requirements. Previously, the sustainability bonus was two cents per litre of milk; now it will be possible for farms to earn an additional cent by combining various actions. More than 70% of Valio farms graze their cattle, and about 80 percent of the farms have either pasturage or exercise yards.