McCain Foods and Farm Credit Canada (FCC) have teamed up to create a new solution that will help potato producers who are switching to sustainable farming practices overcome financial obstacles.

McCain’s dedication to regenerative agriculture serves as the foundation for the company’s efforts to become more ecologically conscientious. This new solution will help McCain move closer to its objective of implementing regenerative farming methods on all of its contracted potato lands worldwide by 2030. Nevertheless, farmers frequently need to make upfront expenditures in new machinery and techniques to make the switch to more sustainable farming methods.

With this groundbreaking program, McCain potato producers that have reached the onboarding level or higher on the McCain Regenerative Agriculture Framework will get financial incentives. For the duration of the initiative, an annual incentive will be given to farmers using a mix of money from McCain and the FCC’s Sustainability Incentive Program.

“We are proud to both reward McCain potato farmers who are leading the way on regenerative agriculture and reduce financial barriers for those who are starting their journey. We are working together with our growers, customers, and key stakeholders to launch a range of programs that reduce the barriers to adopting regenerative practices and ultimately build resilience on Canadian farms,” Daniel Metheringham, VP of Agriculture at McCain, said.

McCain will match USD2 for every dollar received from FCC

McCain suppliers that are FCC customers may be eligible to earn a payment as an incentive for their farm sustainability initiatives through McCain’s Sustainability Incentive Program. Up to a maximum payment of USD2,000 per year, the calculation will be based on a fraction of their total debt for qualified loans with FCC. The FCC AgExpert farm management software will be accessible without charge for a full year to participating McCain potato growers.

“Canadian agriculture producers care about their operations and are continuously evolving their production practices to ensure the long-term sustainability of their farms. FCC is committed to joining them on that journey and we are working with others in the industry to find ways to support them,” Curtis Grainger, FCC’s Director of Lending Products and Sustainability Programs, added.

Through this offer, McCain will add to the FCC incentive paid to its potato farmers, based on where the farmers are in their journey on McCain’s Regenerative Agricultural Framework. Farmers at the “Onboarding” level of the Framework will receive matching funds. For farmers at the “Beginner” level, McCain will match USD2 for every dollar received from FCC. The incentive from McCain increases as farmers progress through the framework to the Master and Expert levels. The incentive offered at these levels is roughly equal to interest-free financing (assuming up to USD400,000 at 4%) to a maximum payment of USD14,000 from McCain and USD2,000 from FCC.

“We are excited to see this new offer between McCain and FCC that rewards Canadian potato growers for their sustainable practices and provides an incentive to advance. The ability for expert and master regenerative farmers to receive a significant incentive reduces barriers to farm investment in an era of rising rates, increasing complexity, and escalating climate variability,” Matt Hemphill, Executive Director of New Brunswick Potatoes mentioned.

Regenerative agriculture is an ecosystem-based method of farming that focuses on restoring soil health, promoting biodiversity, and minimizing the use of synthetic inputs. It attempts to increase farmer resilience, yield, and quality.

With its Farms of the Future project, the first of which is situated in McCain’s hometown of Florenceville, New Brunswick, McCain is testing regenerative agriculture’s practices and principles and experimenting with new machinery and technology to ensure that it is both technically feasible and economically viable for farmers.