KANSAS CITY — Many consumers continue to seek sustainably sourced products. Farmers often want to follow sustainable practices such as water conservation and regenerative agriculture but may need financial assistance to do so. That’s where ingredient suppliers and food companies are stepping in.
Proprietary research from Ardent Mills, Denver, found that consumers are becoming aware of sustainability practices and terms such as water conservation (53%), soil health (51%), ethical ingredient sourcing (50%), carbon neutrality (45%), regenerative agriculture (38%) and Fair Trade (34%), said Matthew Schueller, director of marketing insights and analytics for Ardent Mills.
“Additionally, 32% of consumers now associate sustainability with the fair treatment of workers,” he said. “Consumers increasingly want to see the ‘place and face’ behind the products they buy, highlighting the growing importance of the people in the food system. What’s clear is that consumers want to keep learning — 57% say they need more information to make confident, sustainable purchasing decisions. Food manufacturers, nonprofits and farmers all have a role to play in providing that information, as only 16% of consumers prefer to figure it out on their own.”
A survey conducted by YouGov, a global provider of analysis and data, contacted 1,023 US adults between the ages of 18 and 27 (Generation Z) online from Aug. 30 to Sept. 6 on behalf of Whole Foods Market. Seventy percent said they support climate-smart agricultural practices, with 55% saying they would pay more for environmentally sustainable products.
Farmer partners
A Farmer Voice survey supported by Bayer gathered insights from over 2,000 growers across Australia, Brazil, China, Germany, India, Kenya, Ukraine and the United States. Kynetec, which is involved in data, analytics and insights in agriculture, animal health and nutrition, conducted the survey in June and July of this year. The top regenerative agriculture practices used were crop rotation (cited by 76% of farmers polled), soil fertility maintenance via the addition of all necessary nutrients (69%) and soil health monitoring/testing (57%).
When farmers were asked whether they expected regenerative agriculture to provide benefits, 29% said increased yield and improved productivity, 28% said enhanced soil health and 21% said an improved livelihood.
The biggest barrier to switching to regenerative agriculture practices was required monetary investment at 52%, according to the farmers surveyed. Coming in at 37% were three issues: lack of incentives to implement regenerative agriculture practices, uncertainty/risks for crop outcome and lack of knowledge of regenerative agriculture practices.
“We hear from farmers that they have the biggest needs in the sustainability space around education and technical assistance, sharing best practices with peers, and connecting with innovation and research around novel soil health practices such as intercropping, and new climate resilient crop varieties,” said Julia Person, sustainability manager for Bob’s Red Mill, Milwaukie, Ore.
Bob’s Red Mill is investing in a regenerative services match program for its growers, made possible in part by the USDA Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities.
“Farmers will receive technical assistance, direct funding for regenerative practices that build soil health, such as cover cropping, composting, and low-tillage and monitoring and verification,” Person said. “We also support farmers by bringing to market climate-friendly varietals, such as our new single-ingredient Protein Rolled Oats that generate 48% fewer carbon emissions by naturally shedding their hulls during harvest, leading to less processing and waste.”
The Land Institute, Salina, Kan., a nonprofit research organization dedicated to developing perennial grain crops, in October launched the Perennial Percent label, which encourages food and beverage companies to incorporate small percentages of perennial grains such as Kernza into their product lines. Perennials are planted once and then harvested for multiple years, which helps keep soil in place and reduces carbon emissions, according to The Land Institute.
Any food or beverage product that contains at least 1% Kernza may use the Perennial Percent label. Minnesota-based Sturdiwheat includes a Perennial Percent label in its line of baking mixes.
Source: The Land InstitutePrograms in place
Farmers Business Network and Chicago-based ADM this year launched a joint venture called Gradable that expands the Gradable technology platform for grains produced using sustainable and regenerative practices.
First introduced in 2020, Gradable provides farm-level data to grain buyers. More than 20,000 farmers in North America across more than 12 million acres use Gradable. Partners for Gradable include ADM, POET and Attebury Grain, LLC.
ADM also operates a regenerative agriculture program.
“We exceeded our goal (in 2023) and engaged more than 2.8 million acres and partnered with more than 28,000 growers,” said Michelle French, senior director of global sustainability programs for ADM. “We aim to engage 3.5 million acres globally in 2024 and have increased our 2025 ambition from 4 million acres to 5 million.”
In 2023, ADM’s regenerative agriculture work helped reduce the company’s greenhouse gas emission Scope 3 footprint by 310,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide, and models showed another 236,700 tonnes of carbon dioxide sequestered, French said. ADM’s HarvestEdge Gold wheat flour and sorghum are sourced from farmers implementing regenerative agriculture practices.
Minneapolis-based Cargill since 2020 has partnered with farmers to implement practices like cover crops, reduced tillage and optimized nutrient management on about 1 million acres of North American farmland, said Julie Robey, customer sustainability lead for food solutions, America, at Cargill. Through Cargill’s RegenConnect, US farmers receive $35 per tonne of carbon sequested per acre.
“We have trained 6.4 million farmers on sustainable agricultural practices since 2017,” Robey said. “This includes efforts like our 1000 Farmers Endless Prosperity program in Turkey. Now in its fifth year, the program has grown well beyond its name, engaging thousands of corn, sunflower and canola farmers, and covering more than 50,000 hectares (123,000 acres).
“The program equips farmers with training, digital agriculture tools and consultancy services focused on regenerative agriculture. Farmers are employing practices that improve climate resiliency and have also seen their yields increase by up to 20%.”
Ardent Mills’ Nourish: Intention and Impact includes programs tied to regenerative agriculture, renewable energy, setting science-based targets and reducing greenhouse gas emissions, said Phoenix Dugger, senior manager of environmental social governance (ESG). Ardent Mills aims to enroll 2.5 million acres in its regenerative agriculture program by 2030. Nearly 600,000 acres already are enrolled in the United States and Canada.
“Farmers are natural stewards of the land and, at the same time, want to adopt practices that offer a strong return on investment,” said Shrene White, vice president of ESG and grower relations at Ardent Mills. “Many are already transitioning to methods like no-till farming and crop rotations that improve soil biodiversity while also exploring new markets that support these sustainable practices.”
Ardent Mills offers a per-acre premium to farmers enrolled in the program, White said.
“Farmers are deeply invested in sustainability and are curious about engaging in new opportunities,” she said. “Still, a primary focus for them is balancing these practices while maintaining autonomy and efficiency in their operations. A key concern we hear from growers is the increasing amount of data and disclosure being asked of them to meet sustainability requirements. Farmers want to ensure they can continue managing their farms efficiently, as they have for generations, while complying with these new expectations.”
