Warburtons, the bakery giant, has today announced the finalising of new wheat-growing contracts with more than 300 British farmers.

The new contracts will last five years and provide Warburtons with around 40% of its wheat requirement, with the rest being sourced through long-term relationships with Canadian farms. The wheat will be milled at seven locations in the UK.

The long-term commitment is designed to build relationships between Warburtons and its suppliers, so the bakery can ensure consistency in quality and supply. It is also seeking to ensure farmers treat long-term sustainability as a priority, with particular focus on soil health, water management and biodiversity.

Many of the 300 farms have supplied Warburtons for almost 20 years and all are manged through Openfield, the British grain co-operative which has a history of working closely with the bakery.

Brett Warburton, executive director at Warburtons, said: “As a family business, we are able to take decisions for the long term, and it is this approach that has been key to maintaining our business success over the last 140 years.

“We believe that, for our business to grow, we need to work in partnership, and that means working with our farmers, and partners like Openfield, to ensure we deliver what the business needs – but in the right way.”

Warburtons recently came top of a survey of Christmas adverts for its Giant Crumpets promotion featuring The Muppets.