`Farmers understand the important role regenerative agriculture plays in securing the future’

`UK experience gives us confidence as we seek to scale up this initiative globally’

As enrollment for ADM’s (NYSE: ADM) regenerative agriculture programme in the UK opens for the 2025 growing season, the initiative is off to a strong start, exceeding initial goals thanks to solid support from farmers across the country.

ADM’s regenerative agriculture programme has enrolled more than 260 farmers since its launch in the UK just over a year ago. The initiative, which focuses first on oilseed crops and milling wheat, is growing to capture more farmers, supporting them to implement practices that help to improve soil health and water quality, promote biodiversity and curb carbon emissions.

Realising the potential of regenerative agriculture depends on giving farmers the financial and technical support they need to implement these practices. UK producers who enroll in ADM’s programme receive incentive payments for each hectare farmed using regenerative farming methods and technical support on how best to implement these practices on their farm, such as planting cover crops to support soil health and store more carbon in the soil.

“Farmers understand the important role regenerative agriculture plays in securing the future of their businesses and the planet,” says Jonathan Lane, managing director of ADM Agriculture. “ADM is committed to supporting farmers in our effort to create a more sustainable and resilient food system, and our UK experience gives us confidence as we seek to continue to scale up our efforts globally.”

ADM, which connects thousands of farmers to a range of customers spanning the food, feed, fuel, industrial and consumer sectors, defines regenerative agriculture as an outcome-based farming approach that protects and improves soil health, biodiversity, climate and water resources while supporting farming business development. After expanding from North America to Europe last year, ADM’s global regenerative agriculture programme is targeting 3.5 million acres in 2024 as the company advances toward its new goal of 5 million acres in 2025.

ADM’s regenerative agriculture initiatives in 2023 reduced the company’s Scope 3 GHG footprint and delivered modeled CO₂ sequestration that, in total, was equivalent to removing more than 135,000 cars from the road for a year. Today the company is looking to build on the impact this work is already having and expand in regions including Europe and Latin America.

ADM works with key implementation partners offering remote data collection and validation to give farmers a deeper understanding of their carbon footprint and sustainability performance. The UK programme was designed with Map of Agriculture Ltd., an agricultural data platform. That analysis also gives ADM customers crucial insights into the environmental impact of their supply chains, whilst novel practice verification techniques, such as remote sensing, enables scalable solutions.

UK farmers who are interested in learning more about ADM’s regenerative agriculture programme and how they can enroll, should speak to their ADM farm trader or email ClimateSmartuk@adm.com.

Commercial bakeries are among the sectors aiming to support the transition to regenerative agriculture across their grower base as they work to address the challenge of reducing their Scope 3 emissions, particularly from the agricultural products they source. In response, ADM’s regenerative agriculture programme promotes the adoption of regenerative practices across our UK grower supply base, which supports our six flour mills across the UK. Our presence throughout the wheat value chain allows us to provide unique solutions for customers seeking more sustainable options.

The initiative follows the introduction in 2021 of ADM’s Sustainable Wheat Project, which brings UK farmers together to map their carbon footprints over three years and to identify ways to lower emissions.

At the same time, consumers concerned about climate change are increasingly checking labels for sustainability claims and supply-chain details. Research shows almost half of UK consumers agree that the easiest way they can help address climate change is through their food and drink choices.

“Farmers, downstream customers and consumers are aligned in their support for regenerative agriculture,” ADM’s Lane says. “Few companies touch every part of the value chain the way ADM does, and we plan to use our position to help drive sustainability and reduce the carbon footprint of the food and agricultural sectors.”