General Mills, ADM and Walmart expand regenerative farming across 40,000 midwest wheat acres
The companies will support farmers with funding and technical help as they work to improve soil health, water quality and carbon storage across key wheat growing regions.
USA – General Mills, ADM and Walmart have launched a joint program to support regenerative agriculture across 40,000 acres of wheat farms in the U.S. Midwest.
The initiative will focus on wheat growing areas in Illinois, Indiana and Missouri, where General Mills sources wheat from ADM for products sold through Walmart and Sam’s Club.
The companies said the program will help farmers improve soil health, water quality and carbon storage while strengthening long term supply chains. American Farmland Trust and Ducks Unlimited will provide technical support for the work.
The new effort builds on a commitment that General Mills and Walmart announced in 2023 to support regenerative agriculture across 600,000 shared acres by 2030. The companies said programs already cover more than 560,000 wheat acres in the United States. ADM has now joined the partnership, adding its experience from managing nearly five million regenerative acres around the world.
“This strategic collaboration with Walmart and ADM underscores the importance of collective action across the value chain, and we hope it inspires others to see what’s possible when companies invest together,” said Jay Watson, Senior Director of Sustainability at General Mills.
“By focusing on the wheat growing regions that support our shared business, we aim to strengthen the resilience of ingredients for our beloved brands like Pillsbury, Betty Crocker and Totino’s, while supporting farmer livelihoods and the health of our planet.”
ADM will work directly with farmers by providing technical guidance and financial support for practices such as no till farming and cover crops. The companies said these measures will help more farmers take part while delivering measurable environmental results.
“The success of regenerative agriculture depends on the entire value chain. Together with General Mills and Walmart, we’re bridging the gap for farmers to increasingly adopt and expand regenerative practices,” said Katherine Pickus, Chief Sustainability Officer at ADM. “Partnerships are what power this work and help build farm resilience.”
Mikel Hancock, Senior Director of Strategic Initiatives for Sustainability at Walmart, said the partnership places farmers at the centre of the program.
“What makes this relationship and this project so unique is that we have taken a true shared value approach to it,” Hancock said. “The key component is to be able to continue to make improvements while meeting the needs of farmers and driving economic resiliency within those farms for long term supply resilience to deliver on what works for our customers and members.”
The partnership also supports broader sustainability goals. It keeps General Mills on track toward its target of advancing regenerative agriculture across one million acres by 2030.
It also contributes to Walmart’s goal, together with the Walmart Foundation, of protecting, managing more sustainably or restoring at least 50 million acres by 2030, while supporting ADM’s work with thousands of farmers across millions of acres to improve soil health.
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