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Oct 16, 2024

Mars partners to advance regenerative agriculture in North American pet food supply chain | PetfoodIndustry

Globally, Mars is working to scale climate-smart agriculture in its value chain, which will help to deliver more than one million acres of regenerative agriculture practices by 2030 across the globe.

Globally, Mars is working to scale climate-smart agriculture in its value chain, which will help to deliver more than one million acres of regenerative agriculture practices by 2030 across the globe.

Mars has announced partnerships to provide financial incentives for wheat, corn and rice farmers in North America to adopt regenerative agriculture practices, supporting scope 3 carbon reductions under the Mars Net Zero Roadmap.

Multiyear partnerships have begun with partners and suppliers including ADM, The Andersons, Riceland Foods, and Soil and Water Outcomes Fund, led by Royal Canin USA and Mars Petcare US. 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," said Jon Peattie, senior vice president, Commercial, Mars Petcare US. "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," said 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."

ADM: ADM collaborates with Royal Canin USA and Mars Petcare to promote regenerative farming on 100,000+ acres in 2024, focusing on reduced tillage, cover crops, improved soil health, and biodiversity.

The Andersons: Mars Petcare supports The Andersons' corn procurement program across 30,000 acres in Nebraska, Ohio, Michigan, and Ontario, providing technical assistance and reducing carbon footprints.

Riceland Foods: The Riceland Carbon Ready program, in partnership with Arva Intelligence, helps farmer-members adopt sustainable practices across 10,000-plus acres, positioning them as climate-smart leaders.

Soil and Water Outcomes Fund: Royal Canin USA provides financial incentives for farmers to adopt conservation practices like reduced tillage and cover crops, starting with a 10,000-acre pilot in 2024.

Recently, Mars released the 2023 Mars Sustainable in a Generation Report, announcing record 8% GHG emissions reduction, doubling its total GHG reduction to 16% reduction across its full value chain and delivering its largest single year reduction in GHG emissions against its 2015 baseline. With almost 60% of the company's value chain GHG footprint coming from agricultural ingredients, Mars is scaling up new climate-smart agriculture initiatives to drive continued decarbonization.

According to Petfood Industry’s top companies database, Mars Petcare’s annual revenue in 2023 reached US$20 billion. Mars Petcare is one of the top pet food companies. Its nearly 50 pet food brands include several billion-dollar brands.

Adapted from a press release.