Trace & Save operates the Woodlands Dairy Sustainability Project

Woodlands Dairy, a fresh milk processor and producer and packager of dairy products located in the Eastern Cape, partners with Trace & Save. Woodlands Dairy cares about their customers and the environment. For this reason they have partnered with Trace & Save. We provide support to the farmers Woodlands Dairy buys milk from. We do this by advising them on sustainable farm management practices. We use the SWAN system^TM, biodiversity conservation, people welfare and animal welfare to measure whole farm sustainability and identify areas of opportunity where farmers can improve. Sustainability is not a destination, but a journey of continual improvement, and this is why Woodlands Dairy, through using the Trace & Save system, provides support through a team of researchers that take soil samples, measure water use efficiency, map biodiversity, measure carbon footprints, assess nutrient use and many more things on a continual basis. It is a process of engaging with the farmers, giving them feedback on a regular basis, monitoring their progress and seeing whether they are reaching their sustainability goals.

Our website also allows consumers of First Choice^(R) products to see what is being done on the farms with regards to sustainability. Both Trace & Save and Woodlands Dairy believe that there should be integrity in reporting on what is being done with regards to sustainability. It does not help to claim it if we can’t show what we are doing to improve, and become more sustainable.

We invite consumers to engage, be part of the process, and ask questions, as we journey with farmers to produce milk in a more responsible, more sustainable manner.