Case study: Regenerative agriculture — A leading company's implementation and lessons learned

Major food and beverage companies have committed to converting over 15 million acres to regenerative agriculture by 2030, representing one of the largest coordinated shifts in agricultural practice in decades. PepsiCo alone has already transitioned 3.5 million acres while reducing on-farm greenhouse gas emissions by 1.6 million metric tons annually. These corporate programs offer critical lessons for organizations seeking to decarbonize agricultural supply chains while maintaining yield stability and farmer profitability.

Why It Matters

Agriculture accounts for approximately 10-12% of global greenhouse gas emissions, with cropland and pasture management representing the largest opportunities for carbon sequestration outside of forests. For companies with significant agricultural supply chains, Scope 3 emissions from farming operations often represent 60-80% of their total carbon footprint. Regenerative agriculture offers a pathway to address these emissions while simultaneously improving soil health, water retention, and long-term farm resilience.

The business case has strengthened considerably. Research from McKinsey in 2024 found that farms using no-till and cover cropping maintained 95% or more of typical yields during drought conditions, compared to just 33% for conventional operations. This climate resilience translates directly to supply chain stability—a growing priority as extreme weather events increase in frequency and severity.

Beyond risk mitigation, regenerative practices can reduce input costs significantly. The European Association for Regenerative Agriculture documented that pioneering farmers achieved comparable yields while using 62% less synthetic nitrogen fertilizer and 76% fewer pesticides. These input savings help offset any transition-period yield adjustments and improve farm economics over time.

Key Concepts

Regenerative Principles

Regenerative agriculture moves beyond sustainability—which aims to maintain current conditions—toward actively restoring ecosystem function. The core principles include minimizing soil disturbance through reduced or no-till practices, maintaining continuous living root systems via cover crops and diverse rotations, integrating livestock where feasible, and eliminating bare soil exposure.

These practices work synergistically to rebuild soil organic matter, enhance water infiltration, support beneficial microbial communities, and sequester atmospheric carbon in stable soil structures.

Soil Health Metrics

Effective programs require measurement frameworks that track soil organic carbon, aggregate stability, water infiltration rates, and biological activity. Leading implementations use standardized tools like the Cool Farm Tool for greenhouse gas assessment and proprietary platforms for practice verification.

Carbon sequestration rates vary considerably by practice and context. Standard regenerative practices (cover crops, no-till) typically sequester 0.5-0.8 metric tons of CO₂ per acre annually. More intensive approaches, including adaptive multi-paddock grazing, can achieve 4-5 tons CO₂ per acre per year, though these rates depend heavily on baseline soil conditions, climate, and implementation quality.

Carbon Credit Integration

Many corporate programs now connect regenerative practice adoption to carbon market payments, providing farmers with additional revenue streams. However, credit generation requires rigorous measurement, reporting, and verification (MRV) systems. The Ecosystem Services Market Consortium (ESMC) has emerged as a key facilitator, helping companies like General Mills structure programs that compensate farmers for verified carbon outcomes.

What's Working and What Isn't

What's Working

Long-term partnerships with defined farmer incentives have proven essential. Programs that offer multi-year commitments, technical assistance, and financial support during transition periods show higher adoption rates and practice persistence. PepsiCo's partnership with Soil Capital in Europe demonstrated 36-38% improvements in farm-level GHG balance by combining measurement platforms with direct farmer payments.

Retail and brand collaboration amplifies impact. General Mills' partnership with Ahold Delhaize (Food Lion, Giant Food, Stop & Shop) to transition 70,000 acres of wheat and oats demonstrates how value chain coordination can accelerate adoption. By connecting regenerative sourcing to specific product lines, companies create market pull that reinforces farmer incentives.

Regional customization matters significantly. Practices that work in Kansas wheat systems differ from those appropriate for Australian canola or Vietnamese potatoes. Successful programs invest in agronomist networks and localized technical support rather than mandating uniform practice adoption.

Drought resilience benefits are increasingly visible. The 2024 growing season in the U.S. Corn Belt provided real-world validation that farms with established regenerative practices weathered moisture stress substantially better than conventional neighbors—a powerful demonstration effect for farmer recruitment.

What Isn't Working

Transition-period economics remain challenging. Cover crop seed, specialized equipment, and potential short-term yield adjustments create financial pressure during years one through three. Without adequate support, farmers may abandon practices before benefits materialize.

Measurement complexity slows program scaling. Soil sampling protocols, baseline establishment, and practice verification require expertise that many supply chain teams lack. The absence of universally accepted regenerative agriculture definitions also creates confusion about what practices qualify.

Soil carbon saturation limits are often overlooked. Soils can only accumulate additional carbon for a finite period—typically 10-30 years depending on management history—after which sequestration rates decline. Programs must plan for this reality rather than assuming permanent sequestration trajectories.

Methane and nitrous oxide offsets complicate dairy and livestock applications. While soil carbon gains are valuable, they may not fully compensate for enteric methane emissions in animal agriculture contexts. Danone's program, despite sequestering over 54,000 tons of carbon cumulatively, faces ongoing scrutiny about net climate impact when full life-cycle emissions are considered.

Examples

General Mills Regenerative Wheat Program

General Mills set a target of one million acres under regenerative management by 2030 and has reached 600,000 acres as of 2025. The company's Kansas wheat initiative, launched in 2020 with the Ecosystem Services Market Consortium, enrolled 10,000 initial acres and demonstrated the viability of combining practice payments with carbon credit generation.

The program expanded significantly through a 2023 partnership with Walmart, committing to 600,000 acres across multiple crops by 2030 through the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. Key lessons include the importance of working through established farmer networks, investing in agronomist support before expecting practice changes, and using carbon market revenues to supplement direct company payments.

General Mills invested $3 million specifically in Kansas wheat grower support, recognizing that upfront investment accelerates adoption more effectively than outcome-based payments alone during early program phases.

PepsiCo Positive Agriculture

PepsiCo's pep+ (PepsiCo Positive) framework represents the most aggressive corporate regenerative commitment, targeting 10 million acres by 2030 with 3.5 million already achieved across approximately 20,000 farmers globally. The program has documented 1.6 million metric tons of net GHG reductions on-farm, including soil carbon sequestration.

The company's $120 million joint investment with Walmart (2023-2030) focuses on two million acres in the U.S. and Canada, with an expected four million metric tons of GHG reductions by decade's end. PepsiCo also issued a $1.25 billion green bond in 2023 specifically to fund regenerative agriculture and sustainability projects.

Critical success factors include their iCrop precision agriculture platform, which improved water-use accuracy from 48% to 93% in Spanish field trials, and their regional partnership model with organizations like Soil Capital that provide localized measurement and farmer support.

Danone Regenerative Dairy

Danone North America operates the most comprehensive regenerative agriculture program in the U.S. dairy industry, covering nearly 145,000 acres and 75% of the company's dairy milk volume (2.4 billion pounds annually). Since program inception, farms have sequestered over 54,000 tons of carbon and prevented 480,000 tons of soil erosion.

The program achieved 69% cover crop adoption among participating farms versus a 5% national average, and 63% reduced or no-till implementation compared to 33% nationally. Farmers have realized $7.3 million in fertilizer cost avoidance through optimized manure management—applying over 370,000 tons of natural fertilizer that would otherwise require synthetic replacement.

Danone's partnership with Sustainable Environmental Consultants provides the EcoPractices® platform for measurement and the R3™ ROI Tool that helps farmers forecast returns on practice investments. This combination of digital infrastructure and economic modeling has proven essential for farmer engagement.

Action Checklist

• Assess Scope 3 agricultural emissions to identify priority crops, regions, and supplier relationships for initial regenerative program focus
• Partner with established intermediaries (ESMC, Soil Capital, or similar) rather than building measurement and verification infrastructure internally
• Design multi-year farmer agreements with transition-period financial support covering cover crop costs, technical assistance, and potential yield risk
• Invest in agronomist networks and regional customization—avoid prescriptive practice mandates that ignore local conditions
• Connect regenerative sourcing to specific product lines and retail partnerships to create market differentiation and consumer-facing sustainability claims
• Establish clear measurement protocols with baseline soil sampling before practice changes begin
• Plan for soil carbon saturation timelines and develop long-term program evolution strategies beyond initial sequestration gains

FAQ

Q: How long does it take for regenerative practices to show measurable soil carbon increases?

A: Most programs detect statistically significant soil organic carbon increases within three to five years of consistent practice implementation. However, the rate and magnitude depend heavily on baseline soil conditions, climate, and practice intensity. Farms with historically degraded soils often show faster initial gains, while already-healthy soils may accumulate carbon more slowly. Danone's program documented measurable carbon sequestration results by year five, with cumulative benefits continuing to grow.

Q: Do regenerative practices reduce crop yields?

A: Research increasingly shows minimal yield impact when practices are properly implemented. The European Association for Regenerative Agriculture found approximately 1% lower yields on average, but with substantially reduced input costs. More significantly, regenerative farms demonstrate superior drought resilience—maintaining 95% or more of typical yields during moisture stress compared to 33% for conventional operations. USDA long-term studies show that complex rotations can actually increase yields, particularly under challenging growing conditions.

Q: How do companies verify farmer practice adoption and carbon outcomes?

A: Leading programs combine satellite imagery, on-farm data collection (often via mobile apps), periodic soil sampling, and third-party audits. Platforms like EcoPractices® and the Cool Farm Tool provide standardized calculation methodologies. The Ecosystem Services Market Consortium facilitates independent verification for carbon credit generation. Companies typically require multi-year enrollment to smooth annual variability and ensure practice persistence rather than one-time adoption.

Q: What is the cost per acre to support farmer transition to regenerative practices?

A: Transition support costs vary by region and practice intensity, but typically range from $15-50 per acre annually during the three-to-five year transition period. This includes cover crop seed subsidies, technical assistance, and sometimes yield risk sharing. General Mills invested approximately $300 per acre over multiple years in their Kansas wheat program. These costs often decrease as farmers gain experience and input savings materialize, and can be partially offset by carbon credit revenues once verification systems are established.

Sources

• General Mills. "Ahold Delhaize USA and General Mills Collaborate to Decrease Value Chain Emissions." Press Release, September 2024. https://www.generalmills.com/news/press-releases/ahold-delhaize-usa-and-general-mills-collaborate-to-decrease-value-chain-emissions
• PepsiCo. "Positive Agriculture." ESG Summary, 2024. https://www.pepsico.com/our-impact/sustainability/esg-summary/pepsico-positive-pillars/positive-agriculture
• Danone North America. "Regenerative Agriculture Program Progress Report." November 2022. https://www.danonenorthamerica.com/newsroom/
• McKinsey & Company. "Revitalizing fields through regenerative agriculture practices." 2024. https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/agriculture/our-insights/revitalizing-fields-and-balance-sheets-through-regenerative-farming
• European Association for Regenerative Agriculture. "Regenerative Agriculture Trends and Impacts Study." 2024. https://earth.org/regenerative-agriculture-trends-and-impacts/
• Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems. "Quantifying soil carbon sequestration from regenerative agricultural practices." 2023. https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/sustainable-food-systems/articles/10.3389/fsufs.2023.1234108/full
• Walmart Corporate. "General Mills and Walmart Join Forces to Advance Regenerative Agriculture." October 2023. https://corporate.walmart.com/news/2023/10/17/general-mills-and-walmart-join-forces-to-advance-regenerative-agriculture-across-600000-acres-by-2030