Asda is piloting a partnership scheme between its in-store bakeries, a group of North Yorkshire farmers and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB).

Wholemeal 400g in-store baked loaves, sold in the supermarket’s English stores, now use wheat grown on farms endorsed by the RSPB. And the scheme is likely to be rolled out to other lines if the pilot is successful.

Each farmer taking part in the initiative has introduced at least 10 different bird-friendly measures to encourage wildlife back onto their farmland.

These measures, designed to help wildlife flourish, include producing an environmental plan of the farm; growing a minimum of 15 hectares of spring crops; cutting ditches once every two years; installing feeding stations – where waste grain and seed is left to provide food for seed-eating birds; leaving a one-metre grass strip between the outer edge of the hedge and the crop edge; and good hedgerow management.

Asda agriculture strategy manager Chris Brown, said: “This project has taken two years in the making, so it’s great to see the fruits of our labour.”