2021 Impact Report

Overview

PepsiCo, Cargill, and Bayer partnered in fall 2020 to implement a program designed to offer incentives for increased planting of summer and fall cover crops and reduced fertilizer use in sourcing regions in eastern Nebraska. Practical Farmers of Iowa (PFI) provides implementation capacity through farmer engagement, data collection, and analysis of project impact.

Goals

The project aims to increase conservation practice adoption, leading to increased farmer resilience, greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reductions and sequestration, better water quality, and improved farm economics by providing farmers with economic analyses and cost share as incentives for their initial use of cover crops, reduced tillage, and nutrient management.

Approach

• Cargill identifies farmers in the supply shed of its facility in Blair, Nebraska, who might be interested in the cost share program and connects them with PFI.
• PFI provides farmers with a cost share of $10 per acre of fall cover crops planted for up to 200 acres or $15 per acre of summer cover crops planted for up to 100 acres with an option to receive an additional $10 per acre if farmers reduce their nitrogen use by 40 pounds per acre.
• PFI offers technical assistance to farmers on cover crop selection and planting, fertilizer management, termination management, and other practice implementation concerns.
• PFI aggregates field-level data to analyze environmental impacts, prepares total project impact reports, and engages with farmers about the results.

Discover the impacts of Eastern Nebraska Full Supply Chain Collaboration in our 2021 Impact Report →

Overview

Unilever and PepsiCo have partnered with Practical Farmers of Iowa (PFI) since 2018 to implement a regenerative agriculture cover crop cost share program. Cargill joined the program formally in 2021. The Iowa program is offered to farmers producing soybeans within Unilever’s Hellman’s mayonnaise supply chain and farmer’s producing corn and soy oil for PepsiCo’s supply chain.

Goals

The project aims to increase conservation practice adoption, leading to increased farmer resilience, greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reductions and sequestration, better water quality, and improved farm economics by providing farmers with economic analyses and cost share as incentives for their initial use of cover crops, reduced tillage, and nutrient management.

Approach

There are five primary components to the program:

• Cost sharing for farmers planting cover crops.
• Providing technical assistance for farmers on cover crops, advanced nutrient management, reduced tillage, and diverse rotations.
• Supporting on-farm research trials and peer-to-peer learning opportunities for farmers.
• Monitoring environmental indicators to track the program’s success in reaching corporate goals.
• Developing the business case for adopting regenerative farming practices for different stakeholders in the value chain.

Farmers receive $10 per acre to plant cover crops on up to either 160 acres or 10% of their total farmland. Since 2019, the program has also included an increased incentive for first-time adopters—farmers new to the practice are eligible to receive $40 per acre for up to 40 acres. Both programs have grown significantly since their launch. In 2022, the partners will introduce unlimited acres of cost share for either $5 or $10 per acre to recognize the importance of supporting farmer leaders who were early pioneers and continuing to support farmers who keep cover crops in the ground even as accounting rules lean towards promoting first-time adopters.

Discover the impacts of the Iowa Regenerative Agriculture Cover Crop Program in our 2021 Impact Report →

Overview

The Kellogg Company and The Nature Conservancy’s Supporting U.S. Farmers project provides funding and technical assistance to engage farmers in five key states in the adoption of conservation practices. The project focuses on crops of rice in Arkansas, corn and soybeans in Illinois, corn in Indiana and Nebraska, and wheat in Michigan. The project stands out for the inclusion of edge-of-field practices like vegetative buffers and wetland restoration, and is also unique for its focus across multiple geographies and the array of lessons resulting from this diverse suite of work.

Goals

The project aims to reduce costs, risks, and knowledge barriers to scale the adoption of conservation practices and demonstrate that agriculture contributes to improved environmental outcomes including increased soil health, improved water quality, and expanded aquatic habitat in streams and wetlands.

Approach

• Farmer outreach and education, practice adoption, and measurement and documentation of continuous improvement.
• The specific conservation practices included in this project vary by state:
  • In Arkansas, farmers are provided with irrigation pump timers to manage irrigation efficiently and conserve water from the Mississippi River Valley Alluvial Aquifer.
  • In Illinois and Indiana, targeted grants and technical advice benefit farmers using practices that support Illinois’s Nutrient Loss Reduction Strategy through the Saving Tomorrow’s Agriculture Resources (STAR) initiative.
  • In Michigan’s Saginaw Bay watershed, soil health practices and water quality are improved through the expansion of a pay-for-performance incentive program.
  • In Nebraska, a public-private partnership supports farmers to improve soil health through interseeding cover crops.
• The Nature Conservancy (TNC) staff managed project implementation including farmer engagement and data collection at a state level and the Kellogg Company’s staff provided advice and support. Each project also engaged local partners who contributed to farmer engagement, project implementation, and data collection.

Discover the impacts of Supporting U.S. Farmers in our 2021 Impact Report →

Overview

PepsiCo and Cargill support Illinois Corn Grower’s Precision Conservation Management (PCM) program in east-central Illinois to provide farmers with economic analysis and resources to adopt a range of conservation practices including nutrient management, reduced tillage, cover crops, and diverse rotations.

Goals

Through its partnership with PCM, PepsiCo aims to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, improve soil carbon, increase biodiversity, decrease water and nutrient runoff, and improve farm profitability in its corn and vegetable oil supply chains within the region.

Approach

• PepsiCo partners with its regional suppliers to recruit farmers to the program. Illinois Corn Growers Association’s PCM program specialists work with PepsiCo originators or suppliers in different geographies to bring farmers into the program.
• PCM program specialists enroll farmers in the program and analyze the economics of a range of potential regenerative agricultural practices. PCM program specialists then produce a report on field-by-field performance with environmental metrics and include cover crop and cost share advice through the program.
• In addition to advisory support, Illinois Corn Growers Association administers a cost share program and provides overall tracking and GHG emissions reporting.

Discover the impacts of Precision Management in Eastern Illinois in our 2021 Impact Report →

Overview

Starting in late 2020, Nutrien and PepsiCo began a partnership with Ingredion and the Soil and Water Outcomes Fund to increase corn grower adoption of carbon reduction practices such as cover crops, no-till, and nutrient management by providing financial incentives and agronomic advisory.

Goals

The goal of this project is to catalyze farmer adoption of practices that generate measurable carbon reductions. Reduction targets are:

• 0.5 – 0.9 metric tons carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) sequestration per acre per year.
• 15 – 18 pounds nitrogen reduction per acre per year.
• 1.1 – 1.5 pounds phosphorus reduction per acre per year.

Approach

Soil and Water Outcomes Fund identifies and engages with farmers in priority locations around core regenerative agriculture practices. Once recruited and enrolled into the program, farmers are paid to implement regenerative practices that improve water quality and sequester carbon. Payment to the farmer is tied to the volume of outcomes produced, and the resulting environmental outcomes are independently quantified, monitored, and verified. Environmental attributes are sold to customers after they have been produced.

Discover the impacts of Verified Outcomes in Illinois for PepsiCo and Nutrien in our 2021 Impact Report →

Overview

The U.S. Oats for Oatly program began in 2019 and aims to help producers diversify their production beyond corn-only or corn-soybean rotations by providing agronomic coaching and a market to farmers planting oats, as well as providing incentives and coaching for planting cover crops and strategically reducing the use of fertilizers. Practical Farmers of Iowa (PFI) leads project implementation with growers and provides technical assistance, peer coaching networks, and cost share administration. Sustainable Food Lab (SFL) supports PFI with program planning and strategy, as well as data analysis.

Goals

This program aims to provide a stable market and support for growers in southern Minnesota and northern Iowa to diversify the typical corn-soybean rotation by growing milling oats with a legume cover crop and provide support and incentives for growers to reduce fertilizer use given the biological nitrogen gained from the legume cover crop. Oatly also hopes to learn from growers what support and incentives or risk mitigation mechanisms are needed for growers to stick with an extended rotation system.

Approach

The Oatly program provides farmers cost share to grow oats with a cover crop, a price floor for oats, and a facilitated market for oats that do not meet program specifications. Practical Farmers of Iowa provides technical support and peer network learning opportunities. Program enrollment includes PFI membership and requires growers attend a PFI learning event and complete a wrap-up survey.

PFI collects farm production data such as oat yield, test weight, and farm management practices. This is used to populate the Cool Farm Tool and Fieldprint® Calculator to track environmental impacts (e.g., GHG emissions, water quality) as well as explore farmer risks and incentive needs. The program also offers support for Oatly growers to test their tile lines to monitor water quality on their farm.

Discover the impacts of U.S. Oats for Oatly in our 2021 Impact Report →

Overview

In 2021, Bayer administered surveys to growers and certified crop advisors (CCAs) to help better understand their information needs. To reach growers, CCAs, ag retailers, district conservationists, and other trusted advisers, Bayer partnered with Field to Market and Saving Tomorrow’s Agricultural Resources (STAR) to administer the survey and engage their grower and crop advisor networks. Developed in collaboration with key partners, research findings provide insights into growers’ communication preferences, as well as what information trusted advisers are sharing about conservation practices.

Goals

The surveys aimed to determine growers’ preferred communication styles and understand the conversations and resources growers have with their crop advisers.

Approach

Bayer led the collaborative effort to develop a survey to better understand identities, motivations, and behaviors of farmers and landowners who are the potential audience for STAR and other conservation programs. They reached growers through the following platforms:

• Illinois Soybean Association email and social media
• Soil and Water Conservation District outreach
• Illinois Sustainability Ag Partnership ISAP Aggregate Newsletter
• Farm Progress Show
• Association of Illinois Soil and Water Conservation Districts committee and website

A variety of approaches were deployed to survey the CCA community:

• An online Qualtrics survey of trusted advisers assessed their certifications, utilization of existing sustainability education resources, and needs for continuing education.
• Nine articles were prepared for Crops and Soils, including quizzes that CCAs submitted for continuing education units. The articles focused on ways CCAs can support growers in achieving better environmental outcomes on their farms. Four articles were published in 2021 and five are slated for 2022.
• Two advertorials were published in The Scoop, a trade magazine for agricultural retailers.
• Partners virtually attended the American Society for Agronomy’s and Sustainable Agronomy’s annual conference to connect with field agronomists.
• Partners attended the annual Sustainable Agriculture Summit in-person.
• Partners exhibited at the annual conference and expo of the Agricultural Retailers Association.

Discover the impacts of the Understanding the Information Needs of Farmers and Trusted Advisors in our 2021 Impact Report →

Overview

The Midwest Row Crop Collaborative’s theory of change embraces a systems focus to understand how companies can best contribute to the growth of regenerative agriculture. For MRCC members to effectively pursue systems change, deep engagement of key stakeholders within companies is required to demonstrate, communicate, and realize the value that regenerative agriculture can bring to the value chain. To understand and address this critical link, Sustainable Food Lab (SFL) and the Midwest Row Crop Collaborative partnered to create Scale Lab.

While the traditional approach that companies take when driving regenerative agriculture frequently looks like new checklists and data collection requests added to farmers’ supply-chain requirements, this standard assumes that supporting new practice adoption could be realized through a combination of training and peer-to-peer engagement. However, this approach does little to help farmers, or ensure the long-term future of their croplands.

What would it take to empower more farmers to adopt these practices, which can make fields more resilient to climate change and potentially at least as profitable as the current system, especially over the long term?

Approach

In 2021, the project began by enlisting the participation of key leaders in agribusiness to map the agricultural system and identify leverage points that would help extend the influence of supply-shed programs. Program participants created stories of climate risk and regenerative agriculture to use within each company for identifying internal champions and creating cross-functional alignment, executive buy-in, and more efficient allocation of resources. By interviewing farmer network leaders, organizers were able to identify the investments needed to increase the capabilities and reach of implementing partners.

Discover the impacts of Scale Lab in our 2021 Impact Report →