Future Fit Dairy Initative puts regenerative agriculture into practice across Northwest Europe
A new farm-level monitoring guidance offers a concrete example of how regenerative agriculture can be locally implemented across Northwest Europe. The approach supports farmers in their transition towards more resilient dairy production while enabling outcome tracking across diverse farming systems.
A newly launched case study highlights how the SAI Platform’s Regenerating Together Framework (RTF) is being practically applied at farm level in the dairy sector through the Future Fit Dairy Initative (FFDI). This collaborative, pre-competitive initiative brings together five major players in the Northwest European dairy value chain: Arla Foods, Danone, FrieslandCampina, DSM-Firmenich, and Rabobank.
The FFDI is built on the five core impact areas from RTF, namely soil health, biodiversity, water, climate and farmer livelihoods. Through selected pilot farms in Denmark, Sweden, Germany, the Netherlands, France, Spain, Romania, the UK and Poland, the FFDI is testing the application of the RTF at scale. Findings from these pilot farms are helping refine the framework in line with on-farm data, local policy contexts and farmer feedback.
Driving regenerative outcomes through collaboration
The FFDI guidance reflects a shared ambition: to demonstrate how dairy production can nourish communities while operating within planetary boundaries. The initiative provides a structured, outcome-based approach to measuring environmental progress. It outlines context-specific indicators, thresholds and aspirational targets designed to support continuous improvements in areas such as soil organic carbon, greenhouse gas- and ammonia emissions, and the share of farmland under biodiversity-enhancing practices.
The initiative comes at a time when regenerative agriculture is gaining traction globally. Danish companies are increasingly supporting suppliers in the adoption of nature-based practices. By aligning with broader sustainability strategies, these efforts contribute to the long-term resilience of the agri-food system. The FFDI reflects this shift, with Danish actors contributing with knowledge and experience in translating high-level frameworks into measurable outcomes.
Participating farmers are supported with tailored guidance, peer learning networks, and technical tools to help reduce transition risks and strengthen knowledge-sharing. In addition, the partners are working to design a general approach for collecting data on net transition costs ,– accounting for differences between farm types, countries and production systems.
A roadmap to scale measurable impact
By 2027, the FFDI aims to onboard 1,000 dairy farms across 10 countries, serving as a catalyst to reach thousands more by 2030. In parallel, the initiative will work with the SAI Platform to co-develop a harmonised Monitoring, Reporting and Verification, MRV, framework that enables outcome measurement, impact validation and transparent learning across systems.
The effort builds on cross-country collaboration and practical implementation experience – areas where Denmark has long held a leading position. With the Danish agri-food sector’s strong track record in organic farming, data transparency and public–private partnerships, Denmark provides a valuable foundation for outcome-based regenerative transition.
The FFDI stands as a strong example of how measurable change can be delivered across borders – with Danish expertise contributing scalable approaches rooted in practices that align with natural systems and support the long-term sustainability of the dairy sector.