Industry giants team up for new regen ag program

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Industry giants team up for new regen ag program

22 Jul 2026

Mari Rydings

Mari Rydings is a versatile content creator, editor and marketer with experience developing dynamic, results-driven materials for B2B and B2C audiences. As the editorial director for Avant Food Media, she leads the day-to-day editorial operations for the company’s print and digital magazines, newsletters and social media platforms. Outside of work, she loves reading, hiking, putting together jigsaw puzzles and spending time with her husband and their twin daughters.

MINNEAPOLIS — Strengthening supply chain resilience and farming communities are the goals behind a strategic collaboration between General Mills, ADM and Walmart. To achieve those goals, the trio has pledged to accelerate regenerative agriculture across 40,000 acres of wheat in the Midwest.

“This strategic collaboration with Walmart and ADM underscores the importance of collective action across the value chain, and we hope it inspires others to see what’s possible when companies invest together,” said Jay Watson, senior director of sustainability at General Mills. “By focusing on the wheat-growing regions that support our shared business, we aim to strengthen the resilience of ingredients for our brands like Pillsbury, Betty Crocker and Totino’s, while supporting farmer livelihoods and the health of our planet.”

The program focuses on regions from which General Mills sources wheat from ADM for products sold through Walmart and Sam’s Club. It will offer farmers in those areas technical assistance and financial incentives to adopt and incorporate sustainable practices like no-till and cover crops.

The new program also addresses early barriers to adoption, encourages broader participation, and supports measurable environmental outcomes such as improved soil health, water quality and carbon sequestration. It is expected to serve as a model for cross-sector collaboration.

“The success of regenerative agriculture depends on the entire value chain,” said Katherine Pickus, chief sustainability officer, at ADM. “Together with General Mills and Walmart, we’re bridging the gap for farmers to increasingly adopt and expand regenerative practices. Partnerships are what power this work and help build farm resilience.”

“This strategic collaboration underscores the importance of collective action across the value chain.” — Jay Watson | senior director of sustainability | General Mills

The effort builds on each company’s existing commitments. It helps put General Mills on pace to achieve its goal of advancing regenerative agriculture on 1 million acres by 2030; contributes to Walmart’s goal to protect, more sustainably manage or restore at least 50 million acres by 2030; and bolsters ADM’s efforts to directly empower thousands of farmers on millions of acres to safeguard soil health for the future of agriculture.

“What makes this relationship and this project so unique is that we have taken a true shared value approach to it,” said Mikel Hancock, senior director, strategic initiatives, sustainability at Walmart. “The key component is to make improvements while meeting the needs of farmers and driving economic resiliency within those farms for long-term supply resilience to deliver on what works for our customers and members.”

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