Regenerative Agriculture Partnerships
General Mills is Working with Walmart for a Greener Future
Colin Smith — June 12, 2024In a significant move towards sustainable agriculture, General Mills and Walmart have announced a collaboration aimed at promoting regenerative agriculture practices. The partnership is set to advance these practices across 600,000 acres in the United States by the year 2030. This area corresponds to the amount of space from which General Mills sources key ingredients for its products retailed through both Walmart and Sam’s Club. The initiative is supported by grants from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF), focusing on a variety of crops, notably wheat, in both the Northern and Southern Great Plains. The collaboration is designed to support farmers in adopting agricultural practices that enhance soil health, water quality, and carbon sequestration, thereby contributing positively to the shared value chain of the involved corporations.
The targeted regions for this regenerative agriculture endeavor include seven U.S. states: North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, Colorado, and Minnesota, where General Mills is headquartered. Financial assistance for local organizations will be facilitated through NFWF, providing the necessary education and coaching resources to expedite the transition to regenerative agriculture. The overarching goals of this program are to foster systemic change in U.S. agriculture production and to bolster the resilience of crop yields for farmers. This is expected to be achieved through improved soil health, watershed management, biodiversity, climate change mitigation, and economic resilience for farmers.