The Co-operative Farms, the UK’s largest farming business, says it is seeking new partnerships with growers, as it announces a profit of £4.2m for the year to January 2010.

The profits were down on last year’s £5.7m, due to lower cereal prices, but were buoyed by strong performances by its two potato packhouses, in Scotland and in Staffordshire, and the continued success of “Grown by Us” – food and drink produced by The Co-operative Farms and sold in Co-operative food stores.

The Co-operative Farms is part of The Co-operative Group, whose acquisition of Somerfield, completed in 2009, means there are now even more outlets for  “Grown by Us” produce.

Christine Tacon, Managing Director of The Co-operative Farms, said the business was actively seeking more partnerships with growers to increase supply of Grown by Us produce into Co-operative and Somerfield stores.

“The increased depth of distribution of our products is a key aspect of our growth,” she said. “We are working towards an ambitious target of supplying 25% of the British-grown fresh produce sold in Co-operative food stores. We are already growing in partnership with other farmers, and are looking to establish more partnerships, to help us towards our goal.”

The “Grown by Us” range currently includes, in season, apples, strawberries, potatoes, peas, carrots, broccoli, sweetcorn, onions, beetroot, flour, apple juice, cider, beer, honey, and even turkeys.

Peter Marks, Group Chief Executive of The Co-operative Group, told The Co-operative Farms’ recent annual conference: “What we need to do is to link our farming business more closely to our food business to create a USP – a unique selling proposition – and that is Grown by Us.

“At a time when food provenance is becoming increasingly important to people, we are the only retailer who can grow so much of our own produce on land that we farm ourselves. We can do that because we have a substantial farming business – we are Britain’s biggest farmer.”

Other highlights during the past 12 months included The Co-operative Farms winning a series of key industry accolades, including Farmers Weekly’s Farmer of the Year and Green Energy Farmer of the Year awards, Farm Business magazine’s Farm Business of the Year title, and Horticulture Week’s Top Fruit Grower of Year.

“It has been another testing, and at times volatile, year for British farmers,” added Christine Tacon. “But it has been a good 12 months for The Co-operative Farms, and we are looking forward with confidence to the year ahead.”

The Co-operative Group stands apart from other major retailers in the UK as a business which is owned, not by a small group of shareholders, but by more than five million consumers. With core interests in food, financial services, travel, pharmacy, funerals and farms, it has an annual turnover of more than £14 billion, employs 123,000 staff and operates over 5,000 retail trading outlets handling more than 20 million weekly transactions.

Following the acquisition of the Somerfield supermarket chain in March 2009, The Co-operative Food is the fifth largest food retailer. The Co-operative Financial Services is one of the largest and most diversified financial mutual businesses, operating The Co-operative Bank, The Co-operative Insurance and Britannia.

The Co-operative is the UK’s number one provider of funeral services, the third largest retail pharmacy chain, a leading travel retailer, supplying the travel needs of more than three million people annually, and is the UK’s largest farmer.

Among its other businesses are The Co-operative Motor Group, The Co-operative Electrical Shop, The Co-operative Legal Services and The Co-operative Clothing.