Riceland Foods launches ‘Ingrain Good’ sustainability initiative
Riceland Foods announced Monday (June 1) its new Ingrain Good initiative focused on creating value through sustainability across the farmer-owned cooperative.
Riceland Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Ben Noble said the new initiative is the key to the cooperative’s future in becoming a leader in sustainable practices to better serve its farmer members, customers and consumers across the supply chain.
“As consumer demand shifts, we have to change. Consumers want their food to be sustainably grown. Our job is to make that happen from farm to table,” said Noble. “Ingrain Good is our way of telling the story of our farmers’ sustainable practices on their family farms and our cooperative’s dedication to making sustainability a priority across all areas of our business.”
The mission of Ingrain Good is to create value for Riceland’s members, employees, customers and consumers by prioritizing the education and adoption of sustainable practices. Riceland will focus improvement efforts on reducing its carbon footprint, maximizing efficiencies, reducing consumption of natural resources and optimizing the safety and well-being for all people associated with the cooperative.
“As demand for sustainably produced food increases across the food supply chain, the need to ‘tell our story’ through data rings louder than ever before,” said Adam Shea, Riceland’s director of sustainability. “As a farmer owned cooperative, we believe we are uniquely positioned to capitalize on the growing needs and demands of the supply chain to share our story.”
For the past several years, Riceland has been actively involved in the agriculture industry’s sustainability efforts, working alongside groups like Field to Market, the National Council of Farmer Cooperatives and USA Rice Federation.
The Ingrain Good initiative will combine Riceland’s operational data with farm level data to help USA Rice meet and exceed the goals outlined in its 2030 Sustainability Goals.