Mars, Incorporated announced plans to provide financial incentives to farmers in its pet food supply chain as they implement regenerative agriculture practices in North America.
These partnerships aim to encourage wheat, corn and rice farmers in select regions of North America to implement regenerative agriculture practices, contributing to scope 3 carbon reductions as part of the Mars Net Zero Roadmap. Multiyear partnerships have begun with partners and suppliers including ADM, The Andersons, Inc., Riceland Foods and Soil and Water Outcomes Fund, led by Royal Canin USA and Mars Petcare US, Inc.
Key agricultural regions covered are Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, Michigan and Ontario, Canada.
"At Mars, we recognize that an important part of achieving our climate goals is addressing the environmental footprint of our ingredients,” says Jon Peattie, senior vice president, commercial, Mars Petcare US, Inc. “Our commitment to regenerative agriculture is a key component of our broader sustainability strategy. These partnerships reflect our dedication to reducing our environmental impact, supporting farmer livelihoods, and helping to ensure a resilient supply chain for the long term.”
Through these partnerships, farmers are supported in implementing regenerative agriculture practices including cover crops, reduced tillage and extended crop rotations, with an aim to deliver benefits such as increased yields, lower greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions through reduction and carbon sequestration, improved water quality, enhanced soil health and greater biodiversity in the implementation regions. The results of the programs will be tracked using measurement, monitoring, reporting and verification systems.
"Royal Canin is committed to offering pet owners sustainable choices when feeding their pets, and that starts, in part, with how their food is grown," says Racquel White, vice president corporate affairs, Royal Canin. "We are committed to working with suppliers and partners to help farmers implement agriculture practices to help reduce our carbon footprint and support the resilience of the people throughout our supply chains."
Mars Partners
ADM Partnership with Royal Canin USA and Mars Petcare US, Inc.: ADM has a broad approach to regenerative agriculture, bringing together partners to support outcome-based farming that promotes soil health as well as farming business development. The partnership will work toward identifying and accounting for environmental benefits, including improved water quality, soil health and biodiversity. The initiative aims to promote practices such as reduced tillage and cover crops on more than 100,000 acres in 2024, supporting outcomes such as reduced fertilizer use and an improved carbon footprint.
The Andersons Partnership: The Andersons’ corn procurement program will support farmers across a large region including Nebraska, Ohio, Michigan and Ontario, Canada. Investments from Mars Petcare US, Inc. will assist in enrolling farmers in the program, providing technical support and reporting on key metrics. The estimated annual coverage starts with 30,000 acres across these regions in 2024.
Riceland Foods Partnership with Royal Canin USA and Mars Petcare US, Inc.: The collaboration with Riceland Carbon Ready program launched in 2022. In partnership with Arva Intelligence, the program supports the cooperative's farmer-members as they implement and maintain sustainable on-farm practices. With the growing demand to achieve climate goals, this program helps position Riceland farmer-members as industry leaders and instills a sense of pride and accomplishment as they work towards climate-smart solutions throughout the agriculture supply chain. The estimated annual coverage is more than 10,000 acres across the regions in 2024.
Soil and Water Outcomes Fund Partnership with Royal Canin USA: This partnership provides financial incentives directly to farmers who begin or expand on-farm conservation practices that yield positive environmental outcomes such as carbon sequestration, emission reductions and water quality improvement. These voluntary, climate-smart practices include reduced tillage, cover crop implementation, extended crop rotations and fertilization management. The growing partnership has a strong start with a 10,000-acre pilot in 2024.
