On May 23, 2023, agribusiness giant Cargill announced that they are leveraging their unique position in the supply chain to expand the company’s award-winning regenerative agriculture program in Europe.
Initially, farmers in Germany, Poland, Romania, and France will be financially compensated for adopting soil-rebuilding, climate-friendly farming practices.
Building on two years of success in North America, Cargill RegenConnect will also expand from 15 to 24 states, introducing the program in nine new states including North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Colorado, Mississippi, Alabama, Oklahoma, Louisiana and Texas.
It will also provide U.S. farmers with higher payments, cover more commodities (such as cotton) and improve ease and access to enrollment via mobile devices.
Cargill RegenConnect™ has not only received positive feedback from growers and customers but has also been recognized by the prestigious 2023 Edison Awards™ for its innovative approach to creating a more resilient and secure food system.
Its expansion demonstrates Cargill’s commitment to helping farmers adopt sustainable agricultural practices across its global supply chain, rooted in the firm belief that change starts where the food system begins – at the farm.
“Companies like Cargill are helping to make it economically feasible for farmers to implement sustainable practices around the world. It is how agriculture and farmers can be part of the climate solution, helping to reduce emissions, improve water quality and use, increase yields and build up the resilience of our soils for the next generation. Our vision is to make regenerative agriculture commonplace across our global supply chain, enabling farmers to produce food more sustainably while increasing their profitability and resiliency,” said Chantelle Donahue, North America Agriculture Supply Chain Vice President, from Cargill.
“Cargill RegenConnect’s success to date demonstrates how making sustainable, regenerative agriculture financially viable for farmers can help nature-positive production practices scale more quickly and become standard. It is one of the many ways we plan to meet our goal to reduce emissions in our supply chain and will impact every area of our business – from sourcing wheat and corn for our starches, and sweeteners to growing rapeseed oil for our salmon feed,” she added.
Cargill RegenConnectTM is a voluntary, market-based regenerative agriculture program which helps farmers improve soil health and decarbonize the agriculture supply chain.
Farmers enrolled in the program can choose the practices that are best suited to their operation’s unique growing conditions, which includes planting cover crops and implementing reduced- or no-till farming.
These practices help sequester carbon in the ground, build soil resilience and improve water quality.
In addition to providing technical support and resources to enable farmer success, the program offers an environmental market opportunity for participants, who are then able to connect with some of the world’s largest companies actively seeking to reduce their environmental footprint while supporting regenerative agriculture.
Eligible farmers in North America are invited to enroll now through Sept. 15, 2023.
Eligible farmers in participating EU countries are invited to enroll beginning June 1 through July 15, 2023.
Photo courtesy of Cargill.