Food and beverage giant PepsiCo and multinational food, ingredients and agriculture company Cargill announced the launch of a new strategic collaboration to advance regenerative agriculture practices across their shared corn supply chain in Iowa.
Regenerative agriculture practices are aimed at addressing the environmental impact of the sector, and include techniques to improve and restore ecosystems, build soil health and fertility, reduce emissions, enhance watershed management, increase biodiversity, and improve farmers’ livelihoods.
Under the new collaboration, the companies are targeting the expansion of regenerative agricultural practices across 240,000 acres of farmland by 2030, as they aim to deepen supply chain resilience, support farming communities in the implementation of regenerative practices, and unlock opportunities for scaling sustainable agriculture.
According to PepsiCo, the creation of a more resilient agricultural system is critical to its business, as the company sources 35 crops and ingredients from more than 60 countries for its food and beverages. The company recently announced a new goal to drive the adoption of regenerative agriculture, restorative, or protective practices across 10 million acres of land used to grow crops and ingredients for its products by 2030.
Iowa contributed more than 15% of the US’ supply of corn last year. As such, efforts will be led on the ground by nonprofit organization Practical Farmers of Iowa, which will provide tailored agronomic advice, technical guidance and incentive payments to help farmers transition to regenerative practices, as well as enrollment and verification services.
Participating farmers will receive support to adopt techniques such as cover cropping, reduced tillage, and nutrient management.
Jim Andrew, PepsiCo’s Chief Sustainability Officer, said:
“By working with farmers to understand what’s best for their farms and partnering across the supply chain we can accelerate the adoption of regenerative agriculture practices that can result in healthier soil, reduced emissions, and improved crop yields and livelihoods for farmers. This collaboration among PepsiCo, Cargill, and Practical Farmers of Iowa creates shared value and long-term sustainability that we believe will strengthen our business today and in the future.”
Cargill has said that this collaboration will support its commitment to advance regenerative agriculture on 10 million acres of North American farmland and provide training on sustainable agriculture practices and improve access to markets for 10 million farmers by 2030.
Pilar Cruz, Chief Sustainability Officer at Cargill, said:
“This partnership is about delivering practical, measurable results – starting on the farm, where the food system begins. By coming together across the value chain, we can help create the conditions for regenerative agriculture to take root and grow. The collaboration offers a model for how we can drive meaningful impact at scale.”
