Matthews Cotswold Flour has a strong commitment to this year’s Earth Day theme of ‘Our Power, Our Planet’, which reflects how environmental progress is sustained by daily actions of communities, businesses and individuals protecting where they live and work. The specialist flour producer works closely with local farmers, encouraging regenerative practices. By using their grains, Matthews Cotswold Flour can supply professional and home bakers with flours that promote biodiversity and soil health, which helps their suppliers and customers to protect the environment with their everyday actions.
Bertie Matthews, 8th generation MD of this 200 year old family-run business, based in the Cotswolds, says: “We have long advocated for regenerative farming practices, which prioritise soil health, biodiversity, and carbon capture. Through our Cotswold Grain Partnership, we work closely with local farmers to ensure they adopt practices that protect the environment. We also help identify speciality grains and diversification options that allow farmers and soil systems to thrive. We are working alongside them to move all our grains to a regenerative farming model as soon as possible. These are long term partnerships that will benefit the soil, the farmers and our customers for generations to come.”
Ed Horton is one of the local farmers who is part of Matthews Cotswold Flour’s Cotswold Grain Partnership. Ed says: “We work very closely with Matthews Cotswold Flour, providing them with durum wheat, spelt and milling wheat. Our regen journey started about ten years ago, when I returned to the family farm. In a challenging economic environment, we needed to make ourselves more financially sustainable for the long term but we also wanted to provide space for biodiversity, protect water quality and improve soil health. Our partnership with Matthews Cotswold Flour has enabled us to do this and, as well as the hugely rewarding environmental progress that we have made on the farm, we have reduced the risk exposure related to high inputs such as fertilisers. I would encourage all farmers to look for ways to move towards a regenerative model.”
Matthews Cotswold Flour now produces nine regenerative flours which are milled from grains farmed in a way that improves soil health and enables trade customers and consumers to create delicious, nutritious, planet-friendly bakes. The aim is that all their flours will be made entirely from regeneratively grown grain by 2030.
Bertie adds: “Our regenerative journey started when we sat down with local farmers to see if they could grow grain that’s good for the land, the farmer, and the baker. Since then, we’ve developed our own audit process and standards that help farms rebuild soil health, boost biodiversity and restore balance to our food system. Through our Cotswold Grain Partnership, we are helping farmers grow grains that bring life back to the soil and flavour back to the loaf. We are also helping our customers on their regenerative journey too, so that each of us is able to contribute in some small way to protecting the environment.”
