Changing the game with Regenerative ag
McCain’s continued effort for sustainability
(Sponsored) Working to implement Regenerative agriculture practices across 100% of their potato acreage worldwide, McCain continues to partner with farmers to improve resilience, yield and overall soil quality. Farmers often face existential challenges, including climate change, regulatory uncertainty and dynamic input costs. With the help of McCain and the use of Regenerative agriculture, farmers can enhance biodiversity, improve soil health and more.
At the heart of its purpose, McCain values sustainability the most. By growing food responsibly, reducing carbon footprints and supporting communities, McCain can help farmers produce delicious, planet-friendly food.
Third-generation farmer and President of Skone & Connors Produce in Warden, Washington, Bart Connors, has continually worked with McCain to produce fresh and high-quality potatoes.
“Regenerative agriculture gives us the ability to be more efficient with our fertilizer use and allows for some return on investment,” Connors said. “To be sustainable in the future, we need to be looking at alternatives to traditional fertility and farming techniques. Regenerative agriculture is one of those alternatives.”
McCain has made great progress in their smart and sustainable farming practices. Some of those achievements include:
- Technical training for Regenerative agriculture underway across priority regions
- 6% increase in the number of technologies transferred to farmers. More than 21,000 hours of grower training in 2021.
- 2.4% reduction in water-use intensity (m3/tonne) in water-stressed regions since 2020.
Connors believes farmers will have the best success rate if they are confident and patient with the process.
“You have to be confident when using Regenerative agriculture techniques on a larger scale. Focus on how to increase the efficiency of inputs and apply this through your Regenerative journey,” Connors said.
McCain implements its Regenerative Agriculture Framework to guide farmers in their progression through measurable targets. This framework supports farmers in any stage of the regenerative model which includes onboarding, beginners, masters and experts. As farmers improve with Regenerative practices, they will move up the continuum. McCain measures progress based on crop diversity, soil disturbance, reduced toxicity and more.
While McCain continues to lay down the foundations toward sustainable farming, their main focus is increasing their global grower base and further accelerating Regenerative agriculture knowledge to communities.
© 2023 McCain To learn more about McCain visit www.mccain.com/sustainability/smart-sustainable-farming.
