McCain Foods USA was awarded $6.9 million in funding through the US Department of Agriculture (USDA)'s Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP), which will be used as part of an "Improving Soil Health in Potato Supply Chains" project.
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Under that project, McCain Foods USA and its partners, Campbell Soup Company and the Soil Health Institute (SHI), will help potato farmers implement soil health and climate-smart agriculture practices and systems on more than 6,000 acres in Wisconsin and Maine. McCain and Campbell both have corporate programs to help growers in their supply chains adopt regenerative agriculture practices and help fight climate change.
The project will use the USDA funding to scale up an existing soil health technical assistance partnership, supporting sustainable farming that prioritizes soil health through residue and tillage management, cover cropping, nutrient management, soil carbon amendment, and pest management. Growers participating in the program will form peer coaching cohorts to build their conservation plans with support from SHI. McCain has successfully piloted this model with SHI and growers in other regions.
In 2021, McCain Foods established its Regenerative Agriculture Framework, designed to support farmers in their progression to a more regenerative farming model for potatoes. The framework was developed in consultation with farmer representatives, university academics, scientific organizations, customers, and non-profit organizations. McCain's RCPP project is the latest in a series of initiatives McCain has undergone to implement its regenerative agriculture framework since it was established.
This partnership will also contribute to Campbell's ongoing potato sustainability program, including other initiatives launched this year to support its growers to adopt and measure the impact of regenerative agriculture practices.
