General Mills and Walmart partner on regenerative agri initiative

Walmart Inc. and General Mills recently announced a collaboration on a sustainability initiative that aims to support farmers in their supply chains with soil improvement, water quality and carbon sequestration.

Walmart, Sam’s Club and General Mills said they will help accelerate the adoption of regenerative agriculture on 600,000 U.S. acres by 2030. This represents the approximate number of acres General Mills uses to grow key ingredients for its products sold through Walmart and Sam’s Club.

The companies said the initial projects will be supported through grants administered by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) and seek to advance regenerative agriculture outcomes across a variety of crops, including wheat, in the Northern and Southern Great Plains.

“Through this partnership, we will work hand-in-hand with Walmart and Sam’s Club to help regenerate the acres of land in the key regions where we source ingredients for our shared business,” said Jon Nudi, group president of North America Retail at General Mills. “We are excited by the opportunity to bring our products, including Pillsbury refrigerated dough and Blue Buffalo pet food and treats, to Walmart shelves more sustainably, with the help of our merchants and farmer partners.”

Their efforts will target North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, Colorado and Minnesota, home of General Mills’ global headquarters. The financial assistance from NFWF will go toward building out the education and coaching resources needed to help accelerate regenerative agriculture.

The objective is to support the transition to regenerative agriculture production in the U.S. through systems change and elevate the potential for more resilient yields for farmers through efforts that will help improve soil health, watersheds, biodiversity, climate change and farmer economic resilience, according to the companies.