In an era where environmental consciousness is paramount, McDonald’s Canada and McCain have joined forces to pioneer the Future of Potato Farming Fund, a groundbreaking partnership investing in the adoption of regenerative practices among potato growers. With a commitment of CAD1m, the initiative aims to fortify agricultural resilience in the face of climate change.

As we delve into this exclusive interview with Audrey Leduc, Director Planet-Friendly Practices NA, McCain, discover the tangible impacts witnessed in the inaugural year and gain insights into how potato farmers can shape a sustainable future. Representatives from McDonald’s Canada were also eager to share their insights on this joint program, and their input will be highlighted below. Read on to explore what regenerative agriculture is all about, from innovative practices on Canadian farms to the exciting prospects of Year 2 applications.

Can you share some insights into the impact of the Future of Potato Farming Fund in its inaugural year? What positive changes or outcomes have you observed among the participating potato growers?

In October 2022, McDonald’s Canada and McCain Foods Limited announced the creation of the Future of Potato Farming Fund, a CAD1m investment in education, demonstration, and cost-sharing grants to support potato farmer adoption of regenerative practices and technology.

The Fund’s objective is to build soil health and farm resilience as climate change continues to impact crop yield and quality as well as our potato growing communities. The first round of grants was open to more than 130 Canadian farmers, representing more than 76,000 acres of potato farmland. Growers applied to the Fund for cost-sharing from a list of priority regenerative practices and technologies, such as cover crop seed, flower strip seed, lower intensity tillage equipment, decision support systems, organic soil amendments, and more.

In our inaugural year, McDonald’s and McCain funded 24 applications distributed across our 3 Canadian growing regions (21% from Manitoba, 42% from Alberta and 37% from NB). No one knows the land as well as the growers so the idea behind the Fund is to allow flexibility for them to decide where they wish to invest for optimal returns on soil health. A wide variety of projects were funded: 38% on tillage, 8% on compost, 8% on fertilizer optimization and 46% on cover crops and soil mapping.

Over the course of the summer, McCain employees received a lot of positive feedback about the Fund, its accessibility, ease to apply and robust selection process, applications numbers for year 2 are already on the rise.

Could you elaborate on some specific regenerative agricultural practices that were adopted by the potato growers with the support of the fund? How do these practices contribute to building farm resilience, particularly in the context of potato farming for McDonald’s?

McDonald’s: McDonald’s Canada proudly sources 100% Canadian potatoes for the World Famous Fries our guests know and love. Potato farmers across Canada play a critical role in our ability to live up to our purpose of feeding and fostering communities across the country. With more than 1,400 restaurants across Canada, we prioritize sourcing to ensure we are continuing to support Canadian farmers from coast to coast. Recognizing the increasing hardship our suppliers and growers are facing means we must contribute to solutions that can support productivity, build resiliency to a changing climate and conserve the ecosystems we all depend on. If we can get it right, we can continue serving our guests their favourite menu items, made from the high-quality ingredients Canadian farmers work so hard to produce.

Could you provide more detailed case studies or success stories from these or other participating farms to illustrate the impact of the fund?

Perry Produce leveraged the Future of Potato Farming Fund to purchase a Coulter Seed Drill which has a cart with individual tanks that are calibrated to meter the different species of seed independently. This way, seeding rates of multispecies blends are optimized and, by using multispecies blends, we increase biodiversity and soil health through various root exudates, root depths and flowering periods.

The coulter drill allows for fertilizer banding, an efficient placement strategy that can reduce target rates application rates by at least 20% and to eliminate the tillage pass to incorporate the fertilizer. In addition, a banded fertilizer has less surface area and the interactions with the soil are reduced. All these points will be key to increase fertilizer use efficiencies.

Finally, a coulter drill is commonly used in a no-till or reduced tillage system. This drill will replace the hoe drill and reduce soil disturbance. We have observed that the hoe drill disturbs the soil too much and leaves soil exposed to erosion. By using a coulter drill, the coulters cut through the soil without any soil disturbance and the seed is placed right behind it before it is packed in by the following packer wheels.

Beaver Creek received funding for a strip tiller. Strip tilling will reduce the amount of soil disturbing passes they will have to make, reducing soil compaction and reducing fuel usage. Furthermore, placing the fertilizer strategically underground should increase uptake and reduce losses, reducing emissions from fertilizer and soil disturbance. 

Stephenson Farms received funding for a Lemken Karat 10 strip cultivator. Newer tillage equipment means minimal disturbance of the soil and leaves residue on the top surface. This would help with erosion between the tillage and planting operations in the spring. By switching from fall traditional ploughing to spring high speed tillage, this will ensure more ground cover in the winter months. 

As the Future of Potato Farming Fund opens for Year 2 applicants, what are the key criteria for potato growers to be eligible for the fund? Are there any changes or updates from the previous year?

The perfect fry starts with healthy soil and Canada’s dedicated potato farmers. In light of this, we kept the criteria for participation very simple: the growers must be based in Canada and supply potatoes to McDonald’s. The Fund’s objective is to improve soil health in Canada for the benefit of our growers as part of our movement towards regenerative agriculture. The functioning remains unchanged: McDonald’s and McCain are offering joint funding through grants to move towards new techniques and programs that will improve soil health and enhance crop quality in Canada. We only brought one slight modification to the application to emphasize projects with an incidence on decarbonization, CO2 reduction or avoidance in line with McDonald’s Net Zero objectives.

Could you walk us through the application process for potato growers interested in applying for Year 2 of the fund? Are there any tips or advice for a successful application?

The Fund is available to all McCain potato growers based in Canada and the application is available online and via the McCain Grower portal. Growers can complete multiple forms if they have more than one project ideas. McCain regional field representatives are equipped to answer any questions growers may have and provide guidance as applications are being submitted. The deadline to submit an application is January 30^th 2024 and the selection committee including representation from McDonald’s, McCain, the Soil health Institute and representation from Canadian Potato Associations will get together to allocate the grants shortly after.

A successful application will include a clear description of how the funding will be used and an explanation of the impact on soil health, carbon and overall sustainability. All questions must be answered.

What are the long-term goals or vision that McDonald’s Canada and McCain have for the Future of Potato Farming Fund? How do you see this initiative evolving in the coming years?

The inaugural Fund partnership between McCain and McDonald’s covered a 2-year period and we intend on building on the success of these first 2 years to continue to maximize impact. Keeping in mind McDonald’s priority to decarbonize their supply chain, it is likely that the Fund in year 3 and 4 will continue to focus on supporting soil health, partnering in a tangible financial way with our growers and also focus more intensively on decarbonization and tackling CO2 emissions. This direct funding scheme for regenerative agriculture was a first for potato growers and McCain is proud to continue pioneering alongside McDonald’s. Stay tuned to see what will be announced in this exciting space in the near future.

McDonald’s: We want to ensure that farmers are being recognized for the work they do to protect and ensure healthy soil systems. At McDonald’s Canada, our long-term goal is to be able to continue feeding our guests foods sourced from Canadian farms. To do this, we have to continue adapting how we show up and support Canadian farmers, based on feedback and insights direct from those on the ground. Today’s challenges faced by farmers and growers are unique, so our ambition with the Future of Potato Farming Fund is to jumpstart innovation and knowledge sharing to equip farmers to face those challenges head on.

How does the Future of Potato Farming Fund address or mitigate the challenges posed by climate change for potato growers?

Climate challenges create volatility when it comes to Canadian crops. These vary by growing regions. For example in Alberta, we are experiencing an increase in the frequency and intensity of storms and the number of wet days. This kind of environmental conditions pre-harvest can lead to quality deterioration of the raw potato and a wet harvest. This can be mitigated with the use of cover crops to build soil structure and reduce erosion.

In Manitoba, we are seeing a change in disease occurrence and severity, there has also been an increase in the frequency and intensity of storms which – similarly to Alberta can lead to deterioration of the raw potato and storage challenges. One appropriate solution could be reducing tillage intensity to build beneficial soil structure and enhance water infiltration. This will have for effect of reducing the disease incidences through water draining and increase the soil ecosystem health.

In NB, droughts are made more problematic by the lack of irrigation infrastructure. This can translates into yield and quality challenges which could be solutioned by expanding the rotation to include grasses and legumes and enhancing soil structure and ecosystem.

In short, research & data shows that Canadian crops would benefit most from healthier soils to counter existing climate challenges. The benefits of regenerative agriculture are clear and the Future of Potato Farming Fund offers expertise and financial support towards agriculture of the future.

How closely does McCain work with McDonald’s Canada in managing and implementing the fund? Are there specific areas of collaboration that have been particularly successful?

McDonald’s and McCain work hand in hand in the allocation of the funding and both participate actively in the selection committee. This partnership has been a success because both major partner are equally vested in accelerating regenerative agriculture to rethink how we grow the potatoes that make the iconic McDonald’s fry.

McDonald’s: McDonald’s Canada works closely with McCain, our long-term partner, to identify opportunities to support Canadian farmers. Any funding decisions along with projects being funded are managed across the companies before it is deployed to the growers. The goal of the McDonald’s McCain Future of Potato Farming Fund is to put leadership and decision-making power in the hands of the farmers. We want farmer’s feedback to continue to inform how this fund develops going forward. Beyond that, we truly value the opportunity to hear feedback directly from the farmers participating in this fund to ensure we are accurately communicating to our guests the hard work potato farmers in Canada do every day.

How does McCain measure the success of the Future of Potato Farming Fund? Are there specific metrics or indicators that you use to assess the effectiveness of the program?

To measure success, we will be leveraging the expertise of our partner the Soil Health Institute. Three key performance indicators will be scrutinized:1- increased soil organic carbon & total nitrogen, 2- increased bulk density and aggregate stability and 3- more plant available water and better draining capacity. An improvement in overall soil health through these three KPIs will mitigate the impact of the climate challenges our growers are facing across the various Canadian regions.

Looking ahead, what are the future plans or initiatives that McCain has in the realm of sustainable and regenerative agriculture, beyond the Future of Potato Farming Fund?

McCain is committed to Implementing regenerative agriculture practices on 100% of our potato acreage by 2030. To achieve this, we are partnering with growers in multiple ways:

• Regenerative agriculture is about addressing productivity loss in soil, increased input cost for growers and changing weather patterns. The practices and innovative technologies that McCain introduced at Farm of the Future and in our Innovation hubs in each growing regions aim to address these challenges. Innovation Hubs are effectively McCain + Grower joint ventures focused on working together to solve common challenges with regenerative adoption.
• We continue to recognize the financial barriers associated with the transition towards regenerative agriculture which is why McCain launched a first-of-its-kind initiative in Canada through Farm credit Canada supporting McCain potato farmers who are at the onboarding level or higher on McCain’s Regenerative Agriculture Framework.