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McCain Foods is expanding its network of ‘Innovation Hub’ farms across North America, partnering with four additional farms across three growing regions.

The company’s Innovation Hub concept was developed as a local, regionally accessible extension of its Farms of the Future project in New Brunswick, Canada. Farms of the Future aims to enable a better understanding of regenerative agriculture practices and their impact, costs and benefits.

McCain is working with farming partners to reimagine how to grow a potato that is better for both the farm and the planet. At its Innovation Hubs, trials and learnings are applied at a commercial scale to address environmental challenges that are unique to each local region.

This year, new Innovation Hub farms will be established on potato farms in Alberta, Wisconsin and Maine, alongside an onion farm in Idaho. The new farms will join established research hubs in Idaho, Washington and Manitoba.

Each Innovation Hub farm will address different agriculture issues and challenges, such as soil erosion, water insecurity, nutrient management and pesticide toxicity. Collectively, they aim to showcase best practices and applications of regenerative agriculture practices, like cover cropping, crop diversity, irrigation innovations, advanced machinery and nature-based solutions.

Dan Metheringham, North America vice president of agriculture and sustainability at McCain Foods, said: “Farmers are conducting commercial-scale trials so we can learn fast – and fail fast – with new practices and new varieties, then share that knowledge with local growers”.

He added: “The early signs are positive: a significant percentage of growers who visit our Innovation Hubs express their intent to implement new practices on their own farms”.

The expansion supports progress towards McCain’s commitment to implement regenerative agriculture practices across 100% of its global potato acreage by the end of 2030.

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