MINNEAPOLIS, March 6, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- General Mills
today announced a strategic sourcing agreement with Gunsmoke Farms
LLC to convert 34,000 acres of conventional farmland to certified
organic acreage by 2020. The farm, located west of Pierre, South Dakota, will grow certified
organic wheat and other organic rotational crops. General Mills
will use wheat grown on the farm to make Annie's pasta products,
including its signature Mac and Cheese.
"Investing in such a big acreage transition is a first of its
kind for General Mills and is another step in growing our organic
supply chain," said John Church,
chief supply chain officer at General Mills. "We continue to seek
ways to partner with land owners to make organic ingredients more
accessible for existing and innovative new foods that our consumers
have grown to expect."
In 2016, General Mills announced a similar transition agreement
with Organic Valley, the largest organic cooperative in the U.S.,
to help dairy farms convert to organic dairy production.
Advancing Regenerative Practices
As part of this agreement, General Mills has partnered with
Midwestern Bio Ag (MBA) to provide on-the-ground mentorship for the
farm operators to advance leading regenerative soil management
practices such as no till, crop rotation and cover cropping.
Healthy soil is showing potential to sequester carbon and
regenerate the land.
In addition to healthy soil, pollinators are critical to sustain
the ecosystems on which our food and lives depend. But their
habitats are under threat. Agricultural landscaping can increase
biodiversity and help a variety of pollinators, including bumble
bees, squash bees, honey bees and butterflies. Upwards of 3,000
acres of pollinator habitat will be planted throughout Gunsmoke
Farms in cooperation with the Xerces Society. Such habitat can also
improve water quality, reduce soil erosion and protect game and
songbirds.
"We recognize that agriculture practices contribute to some of
today's most pressing sustainability challenges, and we are hopeful
that regenerative agriculture practices can provide large-scale
solutions for restoring healthy soil and a healthy ecosystem," said
Carla Vernón, president of the Annie's operating unit. "Our brands
like Annie's, Cascadian Farm and Epic are committed to improving
soil health by supporting farmers to adopt and advance regenerative
farming practices. Together with growers, we want to revive our
ecosystems, reduce levels of global greenhouse gases, and produce
food to sustain a growing population for generations to come."
MBA will also offer on-farm skills-based learning programs,
which will serve as a regional educational hub for farmers to learn
how to implement organic and regenerative agriculture practices.
Gunsmoke Farms is owned by TPG, a private global investment company
with a long-term capital approach to socially and environmentally
beneficial investments.
Healthy Soil at the Forefront
"Gunsmoke Farms is a unique property with special challenges and
opportunities for how to scale organic farming," said Gary Zimmer, founder of Midwestern BioAg and
author of The Biological Farmer. "We crafted a specific
rotation and soil-building program to allow this property to be
farmed organically at this scale. This involves tools and practices
like mixing together wheat and legume crops to build
nutrient-dense, carbon-rich soil."
Soil health is a growing focus for General Mills sustainability
efforts. General Mills has contributed more than $3 million to partners advancing soil health on
U.S. agricultural lands, such as The Nature Conservancy, the Soil
Health Institute, the Soil Health Partnership and the National
Wheat Foundation. This includes research and education
outreach on soil health practices to benefit 125,000 farmers in the
Great Plains States.
A Leading Producer of Organic Foods
General Mills has made sizeable investments to meet growing
consumer interest in natural and organic foods. Today, General
Mills is the third largest U.S. producer of natural and organic
foods with brands including Cascadian Farm, Muir Glen, Liberté and
Annie's. The company expects its natural and organic portfolio in
North America to reach
$1.5 billion in net sales by
2020.
Increasing demand for organic products continues to outpace the
supply of organic ingredients, especially in North America. In the U.S., acreage devoted to
organic agriculture is about one percent of total cropland,
according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Over the last
decade, General Mills has been working to increase the organic
acreage from which it sources ingredients by 160 percent and has
become one of the top five organic ingredient purchasers in the
North American packaged food sector.
For more information on General Mills ambitious commitment to
organic acreage and soil health, visit the company's 2017 Global
Responsibility Report and Taste of General Mills blog.
About General Mills
General Mills is a leading global food company that serves the
world by making food people love. Its brands include
Cheerios, Annie's, Yoplait, Nature
Valley, Cascadian Farm, Epic, Fiber One,
Häagen-Dazs, Betty
Crocker, Pillsbury, Old El Paso,
Wanchai Ferry, Yoki
and more. Headquartered in Minneapolis,
Minnesota, USA, General Mills generated fiscal 2017
consolidated net sales of US $15.6
billion, as well as another US $1.0
billion from its proportionate share of joint-venture net
sales.
About Midwestern Bio Ag
Midwestern BioAg helps both organic and conventional farms
improve crop yields, sustainably and profitably, through a
comprehensive, soil-centric, whole-farm management system. Our
field-proven, proprietary products feed the soil and the crop a
balanced mineral diet, stimulate soil life and enhance
nutrient-use efficiency. This focus on soil health leads to
increased yields, healthier food and better profit margins on the
farm. Our organic-transition model provides the foundation for
high-performance organic farms and returns on investment.
Using our soil sampling services, we build field-specific
programs to maximize efficiency of all crop inputs.
The Midwestern BioAg system also offers real benefits to
communities: By keeping nutrients where they belong (in the soil
microbes and in plants, food and forage), we reduce the likelihood
that excess nutrients will end up in waterways or generate
greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. Founded in 1983 and based in
Madison, Wisconsin, we have
facilities across the Midwest and sell products in 29 states and 3
Canadian provinces.
View original content with
multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/general-mills-helps-transition-34000-acres-into-organic-farmland-300608870.html
SOURCE General Mills