With a focus on farmers and the end-to-end supply chain, ADM is revolutionizing the way regenerative agriculture is implemented across the industry. ADM’s Director of Global Sustainability Programs, Michelle French, shares how these efforts are taking root and transforming agriculture practices for the better.
As one of the world’s largest agricultural supply chain managers and processors, ADM recognizes our role within the global food system. With that comes an opportunity to protect our planet. ADM has committed to direct actions that enhance the sustainability of the supply chains in which we operate. A foundational aspect of this work is regenerative agriculture, which can increase the sustainability and resilience of our food and agricultural systems.
ADM’s regenerative agriculture efforts are grounded in five principles: Minimizing soil disturbance; maintaining living roots in soil; continuously covering bare soil; maximizing diversity with an emphasis on crops, soil microbes, and pollinators; and responsibly managing inputs, including nutrients and pesticides. The principles of regenerative agriculture practices as based on Indigenous ways of land management that are adaptive to local physical conditions and culture.
ADM is working to implement and scale regenerative agriculture practices, with a goal of reaching 4 million acres by 2025. And it all starts at the ground level, with unparalleled support of the farmers who tend to the land.
Listening to farmers and finding what works
ADM’s regenerative agriculture programs are differentiated by the level of care and attention toward the growers. From working with a network of hundreds of thousands of farmers globally, ADM knows farmers want to do what’s right, and that farmers believe in regenerative agriculture practices as a sustainable solution to secure the future of their businesses and our planet. From those conversations, ADM has shaped its regenerative agriculture programs to focus on empowering farmers in the ways that work best for them and their land. The end goal: To ensure the longevity of farms and of the world we share.
Successful implementation of ADM’s programs involves not only flexible financial support, but also ease of entry and technical support.
It all starts with financial incentives for farmers. ADM has established practice-based programs, with rewards of up to $25 per acre for practices such as planting cover crops, double cropping to prevent bare or fallow soil, and implementing no-till or strip till practices. ADM also offers outcomes-based programs that incentivize farmers for results; growers can pick the practices that are most feasible and impactful for their operations, earning rewards for the results of those practices, such as achieving a carbon-intensity score lower than the regional benchmark.
Underpinning this all is trust. ADM’s 120-plus year history provides farmers with comfort and confidence. Farmers know that ADM will follow through when we say we’ll pay and support them for implementing regenerative agriculture practices.
How ADM provides holistic support to farmers
Successful implementation of ADM’s programs involves not only flexible financial support, but also ease of entry and technical support. ADM has prioritized the development of a farmer-facing program that is easy to understand and sign up for, followed by a streamlined data gathering process. In the United States, ADM offers farmers access to Farmers Business Network’s Gradable digital farm business management platform, which assists with data collection, quality control, monitoring and verification, metrics calculation and report development. The platform ensures that growers can accurately and efficiently manage and share data on their regenerative acres, with an intuitive enrollment process and smooth but thorough data collection – leading to quick, easy payments.
ADM also works closely with third-party experts to provide technical assistance to growers in the form of education and resources on regenerative agriculture practices, peer networks, and data collection assistance. These third parties bring knowledge and experience to ensure that we meet growers where they live, and all have a shared dedication to furthering sustainable and regenerative agriculture practices.
Measuring impact
Regenerative agriculture programs are a win for all involved – but especially farmers. ADM established focus groups with growers and learned that many had the same definition of sustainability: being able to pass their farm on to the next generation. Regenerative agriculture programs help meet this goal by improving soil resiliency, increasing biodiversity, enhancing water quality, and reducing nutrient loss. And, because regenerative agriculture practices can lead to improved yields over time, ADM is helping place farmers in a position to pass down their work to the next generation.
Already, these programs are having a demonstrated impact on the world we share. By partnering and implementing regenerative agriculture practices, ADM, farmers and downstream customers are helping decarbonize food systems by reducing Scope 3 emissions. In 2022, ADM helped farmers enroll over one million acres across North America in regenerative agriculture programs, leading to an estimated reduction of 253,000 metric tons of CO
2 and sequestration of 115,500 metric tons of CO
2 emissions.
In the United States, ADM has partnered with Nestlé to help bring regenerative agriculture practices to wheat farms within its DIGIORNO® supply chain; thus far, efforts have helped farmers sequester over 3,800 metric tons of CO
2 emissions – akin to removing nearly 850 gas-powered cars off the road for one year.
1 Meanwhile, participating farms also saw higher crop yields as compared to weighted state averages.
ADM has also partnered with PepsiCo as part of a 7.5-year agreement that aims to reach 2 million regenerative acres by 2030. In 2022, the program enrolled 232,000 cover crop acres across corn, soybean, and wheat farms – leading to an estimated sequestration of 116,084 metric tons of CO
2 emissions. Crop yields were also demonstrably higher than weighted state benchmarks across wheat and soy, yet another example where fields implementing regenerative agriculture practices saw increased productivity.
These programs are only the start. ADM is committed to scaling and expanding efforts – both in the United States and globally – to implement regenerative agriculture programs. And, most importantly, ADM is continuing to dedicate support to farmers. We know growers hold great power in their hands as stewards of the land – and we are fully committed to supporting them in their efforts to nourish the world.
