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General Mills, ADM and Walmart have announced a strategic collaboration to accelerate regenerative agriculture across 40,000 acres of wheat-growing land in the US Midwest.
The programme will focus on key growing regions in Illinois, Indiana and Missouri, where General Mills sources wheat from ADM for products sold through Walmart and Sam’s Club.
The initiative aims to improve soil health, water quality and carbon sequestration while supporting farmer livelihoods and strengthening the resilience of the shared food supply chain.
Facilitated on the ground by ADM, the programme will offer farmers technical assistance and financial incentives to adopt regenerative practices including no-till farming and cover crops.
American Farmland Trust and Ducks Unlimited will provide technical assistance to the initial projects, which are intended to deliver measurable environmental improvements and demonstrate the potential of cross-sector collaboration.
Katherine Pickus, chief sustainability officer at ADM, said: “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. Partnerships are what power this work and help build farm resilience.”
The collaboration builds on a 2023 commitment from General Mills and Walmart to advance regenerative agriculture across 600,000 shared acres by 2030. According to the companies, programmes are already underway across more than 560,000 wheat acres in the US.
ADM, which manages nearly five million regenerative acres globally, has now joined the effort to accelerate progress across the shared wheat supply chain.
Jay Watson, senior director of sustainability at General Mills, said: “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.”
The programme also supports General Mills’ goal of advancing regenerative agriculture across one million acres by 2030. It contributes to Walmart’s target, in collaboration with the Walmart Foundation, to protect, more sustainably manage or restore at least 50 million acres by 2030.
Mikel Hancock senior director, strategic initiatives, sustainability at Walmart, said: “What makes this relationship and this project so unique is that we have taken a true shared value approach to it. The key component is to be able to continue to make improvements while meeting the needs of the farmers and driving economic resiliency within those farms for long-term supply resilience.”
The companies said the initiative demonstrates how collaboration across the food and agriculture value chain can support wider adoption of regenerative practices while helping to build a more resilient food system.