Tesco has extended its environmental data baselining programme to British beef and lamb farmers and is urging the UK government to introduce a national framework to standardise farm data collection.
The initiative, delivered with the Soil Association Exchange, will help 360 farmers in Tesco’s Sustainable Farming Groups capture soil, water and nature data up to November 2026.
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The UK-based grocery chain stated that its programme provides baseline measurements and tailored advice aimed at improving farm resilience and efficiency.
The expansion follows Tesco-commissioned research with hundreds of UK farmers, which found that 91% want greater government support to build farming resilience.
The study also revealed that 96% see inconsistent environmental standards and reporting requirements as a major barrier to progress, while 73% face challenges in accessing on-farm innovation.
Soil health was identified as a concern by 64% of the respondents.
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By GlobalDataThe research also found that 89% of UK consumers believe the government should do more to support domestic farmers.
The programme builds on the retailer’s incentives scheme launched in August 2025, which provided more than £800,000 ($1.5m) for dairy farmers to assess soil and water health.
With the latest expansion, Tesco’s total support for environmental baselining exceeds £1.5m.
Tesco UK CEO Ashwin Prasad stated: “British farmers are the backbone of our food system but they face unprecedented pressure, from rising costs and climate shocks to uncertainty over government policy.
“Our new programme will give farmers the data and tools to build resilience and it’s vital farmers are provided with a clear and consistent reporting framework to reduce the burden they face and make it easier for the whole industry to measure and scale progress.”
The initiative follows recommendations in Tesco’s Greenprint for UK Farming Report, published at the Oxford Farming Conference 2025, which called for standardised data and insights to help farmers strengthen resilience and reduce environmental impacts.
In October 2025, Tesco raised its profit guidance following a rise in sales across all markets in the first half (H1) of fiscal 2025/2026.
Group adjusted operating profit at the UK supermarket chain was £1.67bn ($2.24bn) in H1 25/26, up 1.6% at constant rates from £1.65bn in the previous year.
Adjusted diluted earnings per share were 15.43 pence for the 26 weeks ended 23 August 2025, compared with 14.45 pence a year before.
