Regenerative agricultural practices can help companies reduce emissions and meet their sustainability targets. But thanks to issues such as financial constraints and market access, getting farmers to adopt these practices is a notorious challenge.
With this in mind, ADM has partnered with Mars Petcare US and its subsidiary Royal Canin to implement regenerative practices in the pet food industry.
The scheme will provide financial incentives to corn farmers in Iowa, Minnesota and Nebraska for implementing methods including cover crops, no-till and fertiliser efficiency programmes. In a multiyear collaboration that aims to cover over 100,000 acres in 2024, farmers will also receive access to expert guidance and training, and tools to optimise their processes.
Is there demand for regen pet food?
It is believed that investing in regen ag creates new business opportunities for a company like ADM, allowing it to expand its offerings and strengthen relationships with both farmers and downstream customers.
But the ‘partners for pets’ plan hinges on their being consumer demand for sustainably produced pet food.
On this, it is claimed that by choosing pet food made from regen ag, owners can contribute to a more sustainable food system while potentially improving their pets' health and wellbeing.
“Modern pet owners increasingly prioritise products that align with values such as environmental stewardship and ethical sourcing,” reckons John Grossmann, ADM’s president of North American oilseeds crush and grain. Ultimately, he says, they want products they believe are good for both the planet and for their pets.
He points to surveys suggesting 42% of global pet owners want to purchase pet food with sustainably sourced ingredients, and that 66% of global pet owners are worried about climate change and try to have a positive impact on the environment through their actions. Moreover, 63% of US pet owners aged 18-34 prefer pet food brands that limit their environmental impact.
Why ADM backing regen ag
ADM, meanwhile, is increasingly backing regenerative. One reason is to cut its emissions – it has an aspiration to achieve net zero by 2050 – and help it ensure long-term production as climate change threatens the resilience of crops.
Last year the company worked with over 28,000 farmers across various geographies to implement regenerative practices on more than 2.8 million acres and it has worked with multiple downstream customers including Ooni Pizza Ovens, The J.M. Smucker Co., PepsiCo, Nestlé, and Carlsberg. “We plan to continue to scale our efforts to extend regenerative practices with goals of enrolling 3.5 million acres in 2024 and five million acres in 2025,” states Grossmann.
Feeding the agtech ecosystem
These projects are fuelling opportunities for others in the agtech ecosystem. “Technology is critical to regenerative agriculture,” points out Grossman. ADM is partnering with measurement, monitoring, reporting and verification (MMRV) companies who can offer easy, accurate and private data management. “Our farmer partners tell us that ease of enrolment and minimal time and paperwork requirements are key to adoption,” says Grossman.
The growth of the MMRV sector was recently evidenced by Earthoptic’s $24 million fundraise.
Other tech is needed to scale regen ag and achieve significant impact. In the US, ADM uses the Gradable platform, which connects grain buyers with farmers using regenerative practices. It also relies on the USDA COMET-Planner and Field-to-Market Fieldprint Platform to measure key metrics such as carbon sequestration, greenhouse gas reductions, and other environmental impacts with accuracy.
Application of these tools ensures transparency and credibility, says Grossmman, which is essential for demonstrating programme success and achieving sustainability objectives. “The most important thing is demonstrating the value for all the stakeholders spanning the value chain,” he explains. “For farmers, that can mean helping break down barriers to entry, and then partnering with them on their ongoing work, both with incentives and with expert agronomic and technology support.
“For downstream partners like Mars, it means demonstrating that we can deliver the results we promise to help them meet their own sustainability commitments and goals. And most of all, it means bringing each of these partners together – it’s a broad and complex value chain, and it takes all of us to make regenerative agriculture work at scale.”
Why is Mars is scaling up climate-smart agriculture initiatives?
Mars, meanwhile, plans to deliver more than one million acres of regenerative agriculture practices by 2030 across the globe as it targets net zero emissions across its full value chain by 2050. With almost 60% of the company’s value chain GHG footprint coming from agricultural ingredients, Mars is scaling up climate-smart agriculture initiatives to drive continued decarbonisation.
Most recently it has launched initiatives to promote regenerative agriculture practices across its pet nutrition supply chain in Europe. Multiyear collaborations have begun with suppliers Cargill and ADM, and technical experts Biospheres, Horta, Agreena and Soil Capital in Europe. Mars says these partnerships across Europe will help create 20,900 hectares (almost twice the size of Paris) of wheat and maize crops to regenerative agriculture practices by 2028.
Through these tie-ups, farmers in Poland, Hungary, and the UK will receive financial incentives and expert advisory services to support adoption of practices like crop rotation, minimal tillage, and cover crops. The programmes will support farmers to invest in new methods, and offer training to build knowledge and confidence while reducing barriers to adopting these practices.
Healthy soil is the backbone of a resilient food system, says Deri Watkins, regional president at Mars Pet Nutrition Europe. “Through these partnerships, we’re extremely proud to be playing our part in driving regenerative agriculture practices across Europe, restoring soil health, cutting carbon and building a stronger and more sustainable supply chain for farmers and future generations of pets and pet parents.”
Mars and it partners just better hope owners will invest in better quality products for their pets, even at higher prices.
