- Over 2,000 farmers to benefit from cutting-edge digital mapping tools
- New partnership to help farmers boost biodiversity and improve land management
- Part of Waitrose’s Farming for Nature programme and commitment to assess the state of nature on all own-brand farms by 2026
Waitrose is teaming up with digital mapping tool, Land App, to revolutionise sustainable farming and support farmers in the adoption of nature-friendly practices in the UK.
The partnership will provide over 2,000 Waitrose farmers with free access to advanced mapping tools and expert advice, helping them to create bespoke land management plans that protect and enhance the environment.
The partnership is a key step in Waitrose’s Farming for Nature programme, which aims to support its British farmers to move to nature-friendly farming practices, helping to boost financial resilience of farms in the long-term, combat biodiversity loss and tackle the effects of climate change.
Rolling out Land App, Waitrose will gather real-time data on the environmental health of its farms, measuring progress on over 60 key sustainability metrics that will help understanding of the current state and potential to enhance biodiversity in Waitrose’s supply chain.
James Bailey, Executive Director of Waitrose, said: “British farmers are the backbone of our food system, and this partnership with Land App is about supporting them to secure a sustainable future for their farms.
“This latest technology will provide us and our farmers with data that we can use, evaluate and act on to support the adoption of nature-friendly farming with real insights on what works and what doesn’t.”
Waitrose farmers will have access to:
- Expert guidance: Access to advice from Land App’s Accredited Professionals, including support from organisations like the Wildlife Trusts and the Farming and Wildlife Advisory Group.
- Detailed mapping: Farmers will create visual plans of their land on Land App, tracking biodiversity and identifying areas for improvement.
- Tailored action plans: Development of long-term regenerative farming strategies to improve soil health, reduce risks like flooding, and enhance wildlife habitats.
- Real-time reporting: Land App’s easy-to-use digital dashboards will help farmers and Waitrose monitor year-on-year progress.
Stuart Rogers, Dairy Farmer, said: "Sustainability and looking after the land have always been really important to us at Longmoor Farm. It’s great to see the real action that Waitrose is taking, because building resilience into our farming systems is so important. I’m not the most tech-savvy, but the support I got to create my Land Management Plan on Land App has been a huge help. It means I can stay focused on what really matters: the landscape and my business. I’m excited to see more farmers getting involved with this project as it really has made such a difference."
Dan Geerah, Director of Growth at Land App, said: "Building resilience and sustainability on farms is more crucial now than ever. It not only supports nature, reduces flooding, and mitigates the effects of climate change but also secures food production for future generations.
“This partnership with Waitrose represents a significant leap toward the widespread adoption of regenerative practices. We’re excited and hopeful to see the positive impact of this project ripple across the farming community for years to come."
Today’s announcement is part of Waitrose’s Farming for Nature programme; a critical step towards completing a state of nature assessment by 2026 of all own-brand UK land-based farms.
Contact Details:
For more information please contact:
Amy Butler - [email protected]
About Land App
- Land App is a digital mapping platform empowering land managers to unlock the full potential of their land through tailored mapping technology, strategic partnerships, and collaborative solutions.
- Land App’s mission is to make digital mapping available to all, already their easy-to-use platform is trusted by over 30,000 individuals, and offers a generous free tier, alongside various subscription tiers for professionals wishing for more functionality.
- Nature Reporting functionality in Land App builds off the trusted mapping system, a clean, robust framework for viewing and benchmarking holdings for supply-chain transparency.
- Land App aims to reduce the reliance on paper-based mapping and analogue applications for funding, saving landowners time, effort and money.
- Land App is working hard to facilitate increased natural capital funding applications and envisions a world where sustainable land management is the norm rather than the exception.
- Website: www.thelandapp.com, follow us on X, LinkedIn, and Instagram
About Waitrose & Partners
Run by over 45,000 passionate Partners, Waitrose has been serving customers for 120 years and offers extraordinary products in our 314 shops and on Waitrose.com. Inspiring food discovery, our expert Partners run almost 800 specialist food service counters in store, where customers can shop a variety of the best quality meat, fresh fish, dry aged beef, sushi, as well as cheese. Our Beer, Wine and Spirits team features the largest number of Masters of Wine of any UK supermarket and we sell nearly 3,000 different wines, beers, ciders, spirits as well as no and low drinks in our shops, on Waitrose.com and Waitrose Cellar. We are committed to selling products which have been responsibly sourced, grown using the very best sustainable farming methods, some of which are grown or trialled on our very own farm, the Leckford Estate. In 2024, Waitrose was granted the Royal Warrant of Appointment to be Grocers and Wine & Spirits Merchant to His Majesty King Charles III.
