The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)’s Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP) has granted McCain Foods USA USD6.9m in funding. This money will be utilized for the project “Improving Soil Health in Potato Supply Chains.”

On more than 2,400 hectares in Wisconsin and Maine, potato growers will receive assistance from McCain Foods USA, Campbell Soup Company, and the Soil Health Institute (SHI) in implementing soil health and climate-smart agriculture practices and systems. Both McCain and Campbell have business initiatives in place to assist producers inside their supply chains in implementing regenerative agriculture techniques to combat climate change.

“As potato growers face increasing challenges from climate change and variable weather, shifting towards smart and sustainable farming practices is vital. We are profoundly grateful that USDA has invested nearly USD7m in our soil health project, which will advance our work with McCain growers and customers to re-imagine the way potatoes are grown. The funding award is an important step toward meeting McCain’s bold commitment to implement regenerative agricultural practices across 100 percent of our potato acreage worldwide by the end of 2030,” Dan Metheringham, McCain Foods’ Vice President of Agriculture North America, mentioned.

To support sustainable farming that prioritizes soil health through residue and tillage control, cover cropping, nutrient management, soil carbon amendment, and pest management, the project will leverage the USDA money to expand an already-existing collaboration for soil health technical assistance. Participating growers will create peer coaching cohorts to work with SHI to develop their conservation plans. McCain has successfully tested this concept in various places with growers and SHI.

“Potatoes are a key ingredient in many of our products including soup and chips, so we need to support our partner growers in adopting and increasing sustainable agricultural practices. We are grateful for the USDA’s support and look forward to partnering to advance soil health and climate-smart agriculture practices in our supply chain,” Stewart Lindsay, Campbell’s Vice President of Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability, added.

McCain Foods launched its Regenerative Agriculture Framework in 2021 to assist farmers in transitioning to a more regenerative approach to potato cultivation. Representatives of farmers, academics from universities, scientific associations, consumers, and non-profit groups were consulted during the development of the framework. Since its founding, McCain has undertaken several projects to put its regenerative agriculture concept into practice. The RCPP project is the most recent of them.

This collaboration will also help Campbell’s sustainability program for potatoes, which is still in progress. This year, the company announced additional programs to assist its producers in implementing and assessing the effects of regenerative agriculture practices.