USA- Nestlé U.S. recently announced plans to invest in helping bring regenerative agriculture practices to wheat farms within its DiGiorno pizza brand supply chain, partnering with ADM and Ardent Mills on the initiative.
According to a press release by the company, the giant food processor is helping wheat farmers employ regenerative agriculture practices in their fields through a combination of financial support and technical resources.
These practices include planting cover crops, eliminating or reducing tillage, and reducing the use of pesticides, which could help improve soil health and fertility, protect water resources, and enhance biodiversity.
The company believes this initiative will bring regenerative agriculture practices to over 40,000 hectares of farmland- nearly double the land needed to grow the wheat used to process its DiGiorno pizzas.
Today, nearly two-thirds of Nestlé’s global greenhouse gas emissions come from sourcing ingredients, a process rooted in agriculture.
As part of its detailed roadmap to achieve net zero emissions by 2050, the company aims to source 20% of its key ingredients through regenerative agricultural methods by 2025 and 50% by 2030.
Through partnerships with ADM and Ardent Mills – two primary wheat flour suppliers for DiGiorno – Nestlé’s investment will benefit wheat farms across Kansas, North Dakota, Indiana, and Missouri, helping the company accelerate the transition to regenerative agriculture in its supply chains.
“At Nestlé, we aim to help leave the world better than we found it, and as the world’s largest food and beverage company, we have a tremendous opportunity to help create a regenerative, healthy food system while also working with the local farming communities that employ it,” said Steve Presley, CEO, Nestlé Zone North America.
Presley emphasized the need to develop solutions that create shared value throughout the ecosystem.
“This investment in wheat producers is just one example of how we are bringing this commitment to life across our supply chain,” Presley added.
According to a recent report by ADM, the wheat farms that used cover crops or living roots in 2022 helped to sequester more than 3 800 metric tonnes of CO2 emissions.
Scott Stroberg of Stroberg Farm in Hutchinson, Kansas, who has been growing wheat for ADM over the last decade, has implemented regenerative agriculture practices on his farm, including replacing synthetic fertilizers with natural alternatives, and is now introducing cover crops with the support of ADM and Nestlé.
“Our family introduced regenerative agriculture practices on our farm after noticing a decline in our yields and deterioration of the health of our soil. These methods have not only been good for our land and the environment, but we’ve also seen a financial benefit as we are spending less on inputs like synthetic chemicals,” Stroberg said.
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