The latest news, trends, analysis, interviews and podcasts from the global food and beverage industry

Kellogg’s is to extend financial and agronomic support for British wheat farmers through a new five-year regenerative agriculture programme covering 100% of its UK wheat supply on a mass-balance basis.

The programme will see Kellogg’s work with agricultural specialist Soil Capital and 25 wheat growers farming almost 4,000 hectares across the UK.

Kellogg’s sources more than 20,000 tonnes of British wheat annually for use in its cereal portfolio, including Special K. The new initiative is intended to encourage the adoption of farming practices focused on soil health, water management and biodiversity, while improving the resilience of the company's agricultural supply chain.

Under the partnership, participating growers will receive guidance and financial incentives to adopt regenerative farming practices. Soil Capital and Kellogg’s will also provide access to digital tools combining field data, soil measurements and satellite monitoring.

The intention is to give farmers a clearer picture of how changes in farming practices are affecting selected indicators over time, while providing a commercial incentive for making those changes.

Kellogg’s says agriculture accounts for approximately two-thirds of its Scope 3 greenhouse gas emissions, putting farming practices and agricultural sourcing at the centre of its efforts to reduce value-chain emissions.

The company says investment in on-farm practices will contribute to emissions reductions within its agricultural supply chain while supporting farmers in adopting more sustainable production methods.

Initial data from the 2025 harvest suggests participating farmers are already increasing adoption of some regenerative practices.

Direct drilling, the process of establishing crops with minimal soil disturbance, rose by 13.84% across the participating farms' total cultivated area. On the wheat area specifically, adoption increased by 56.06%.

The programme's participants have also reported benefits from changing input and soil-management practices.

West Oxfordshire wheat farmer Nick August said the financial support had helped him assess changes suited to the particular conditions of his farm, while making improvements more commercially viable.

For Kellogg’s, the approach reflects an attempt to balance environmental objectives with the practical realities facing farmers, rather than imposing a uniform production model across its supply base.

The partnership comes as UK farmers contend with increasingly unpredictable weather alongside pressure to maintain productivity and manage input costs.

That combination presents a challenge for food manufacturers reliant on domestic agricultural commodities. Disruptions to yields, soil degradation and weather-related volatility can ultimately translate into greater procurement risks and costs further along the supply chain.

Kellogg’s has worked with UK wheat growers for more than a decade. The latest initiative builds on that relationship by linking procurement with measurable on-farm practices.

Dean O'Brien, UK General Manager at Kellogg’s, said supporting growers to improve the resilience of their farms was particularly important given the challenges facing British agriculture.

The company has also highlighted the connection between domestic farming and its manufacturing operations. At its Wrexham factory, around two million bowls of Special K are produced every hour, with UK wheat forming part of the cereal's supply chain.

The partnership with Soil Capital reflects a wider shift in corporate sustainability programmes from commitments and targets towards mechanisms designed to change farming practices at field level.

Chuck de Liedekerke, CEO and co-founder of Soil Capital, said the organisation's role was to combine agronomic insight and measurement with financial incentives for farmers.

Kellogg’s says progress under the programme will be monitored through agreed data and indicators, with its climate-related objectives informing the approach.