The supermarket chain Morrisons is pulling out of a sustainable farming project in which it has invested £2m over the last five years.
The struggling retailer took over the running of a 1,000-acre estate belonging to Dumfries House in Ayrshire in 2009 after the stately home was saved for the nation by a charitable consortium led by Prince Charles. The prince took out a £20m personal loan in 2007 to prevent its sale and its unique collection of furniture being broken up.
The then Morrisons chief executive, Dalton Philips, launched a major investment programme in a “living laboratory” to investigate sustainable methods of meat production in 2010. He hoped the farm, which was set up to examine how to increase the amount of meat produced per hectare and how breeding and feeding techniques can reduce methane emissions from cows, would be profitable by last year.
A spokesperson for Dumfries House said its partnership with the supermarket would end next month after “a repositioning and a change in priorities for Morrisons”.
“We are indebted to Morrisons for the hard work and investment put into developing the farming operation. Now that the estate has developed and the project is more stable, this seems the right time to bring the farm back under the direct management of Dumfries House,” the spokesperson said. “Dumfries House is now a growing visitor attraction and it makes sense to reincorporate the farm back into the day-to-day management of the estate.”
The change comes after the retailer – where profits almost halved in the first half of this year – has laid off thousands of staff and shut underperforming stores as it tries to rein in costs amid a tough grocery market. Leading supermarkets are under pressure as they are forced to slash prices to compete with the rise of discounters Aldi and Lidl while coping with a switch in shopping habits towards the internet and small local stores.
The Morrisons group corporate services director, Martyn Jones, said: “The Dumfries House project was an exceptional opportunity for us to explore and develop farming practices. We are pleased with our achievements at the farm including developing our signature beef specification and creating best practice guidance for our suppliers. We will take the learning and development knowledge gained from Dumfries to progress our sustainable livestock programme with our existing farmer supply base.”
