Regenerative Agriculture Practices Credited for
Transition of Historically Rugged Farmland; Annie’s Sources Organic
Wheat from Gunsmoke Farms for Its Iconic Mac & Cheese
General Mills today announced Gunsmoke Farms has received
organic certification by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s
National Organics Program. Gunsmoke, a 34,000-acre farm outside of
Pierre, South Dakota, had been managed conventionally for more than
three decades before its transition to organic over the last three
years using regenerative agriculture practices. The combination of
cover crops, a diverse crop rotation, keeping a living root in the
ground year round and minimizing tillage were instrumental in
restoring the land to a holistic farming system that now grows
spring wheat, winter wheat, alfalfa, oats, peas and Kernza.
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Gunsmoke Farms organic wheat harvest,
2020. (Photo: Business Wire)
“General Mills has been on our soil health journey since 2016
and working with Gunsmoke Farms solidified our belief that
regenerative agriculture can be a transformative lever for farmers
to be a part of the climate solution,” said Mary Jane Melendez,
chief sustainability and social impact officer for General Mills.
“This type of long-term, direct contracting is unprecedented for
General Mills and the industry. If we truly aim to be a force for
good, our role is to give farmers the tools to be more resilient –
both environmentally and financially.”
Strategic Sourcing Enables Holistic Farm Management
In 2018, General Mills engaged in a strategic sourcing
arrangement to transition the land to organic. The agreement stated
the company would partner with Gunsmoke Farms to invest in the
transition and then source organic wheat from 10,000 acres for its
Annie’s Mac & Cheese pasta products. The process of certifying
the land as organic involved a three-year prohibition on the use of
synthetic fertilizers and pesticides, a detailed plan for how the
land will be used in the future. The farm is now certified as
organic by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Organics
Program.
“General Mills has made an important commitment to fight climate
change, protect our ecosystem and foster good soil health by
elevating the importance of agriculture and working with farmers to
incorporate more organic practices. Their work with Gunsmoke Farms
in South Dakota to convert thousands of acres of conventional
farmland to certified organic acreage is an example of that
commitment,” said Laura Batcha, CEO and Executive Director of the
Organic Trade Association. “We applaud General Mills for being good
stewards of our environment and congratulate them on this
successful initiative.”
Healthy Soil at Core of Regenerative Agriculture
Soil health is the foundation of General Mills’ sustainability
efforts. The company believes healthy soil has the potential to
sequester carbon and the ability to regenerate the land to a more
holistic state -- one that is more environmentally and financially
resilient for farmers.
For more than three decades, Gunsmoke Farms was farmed with no
diversity and experienced declining soil health. General Mills has
learned about the importance of crop rotations, minimizing tillage,
incorporating biodiversity, and maintaining cover crops through its
work with The Nature Conservancy, the Soil Health Institute, the
Soil Health Partnership and many other collaborators all focused on
improving the soil quality of our agricultural working lands.
In the future, the farm managers will work to develop plans for
3,000 acres of pollinator habitat to encourage thriving above and
below ground biodiversity. Well-planned pollinator habitat can
invite beneficial insects to agricultural landscapes and help a
variety of species, including bumble bees, squash bees, honeybees
and butterflies. Such habitat can also improve water quality,
reduce soil erosion and protect game and songbirds.
General Mills has contributed more than $5.5 million to partners
advancing soil health research and education on U.S. agricultural
lands, including The Nature Conservancy, the Soil Health Institute,
the Soil Health Partnership, the National Wheat and National Corn
Growers Foundations, Grain Millers, the University of Minnesota’s
Forever Green initiative and Kiss the Ground.
A Leading Organic Food Producer for Two Decades
Since 2000, General Mills has steadily expanded its natural and
organic business, including through brand acquisitions, to meet
growing consumer demand but still only one percent of total
cropland in the U.S. is farmed organically. Today, one of out of
every six products in the company’s North American portfolio is
certified organic or made with organic ingredients and General
Mills is the second largest U.S. producer of natural and organic
foods with brands including Annie’s, Cascadian Farm, EPIC, Muir
Glen, and Liberté . In fiscal 2020, the company’s natural and
organic portfolio in North America was more than $1 billion in net
sales.
“Annie’s was founded on a commitment to better the world and
today, we’re focused on advancing organic and sustainable farming,”
said Emily Thomas, vice president, managing director of natural and
organic at General Mills. “Later this year, through the purchase of
our Annie’s Mac & Cheese pastas, consumers will enjoy organic
wheat grown at Gunsmoke Farms, support local farmers and contribute
to the health of our planet through regenerative agriculture
practices like soil health and biodiversity.”
For more information on General Mills ambitious commitment to
advance regenerative agriculture on 1 million acres of farmland by
2030 and long-standing support to advance soil health, visit the
company’s 2020 Global Responsibility Report and Taste of General
Mills blog.
About General Mills
General Mills is a leading global food company whose purpose is
to make food the world loves. Its brands include Cheerios, Annie's,
Yoplait, Nature Valley, Häagen-Dazs, Betty Crocker, Pillsbury, Old
El Paso, Wanchai Ferry, Yoki, BLUE and more. Headquartered in
Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA, General Mills generated fiscal 2020
net sales of U.S. $17.6 billion. In addition, General Mills’ share
of non-consolidated joint venture net sales totaled U.S. $1.0
billion.
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Mollie Wulff / Media.line@genmills.com
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