Spudman January 2024 - 29

Regenerative Agriculture
with McCain
Onion Agronomist for McCain
Jeff Michael
How McCain supports potato and onion growers
With sustainability at the heart of McCain Foods'
operations to strengthen food and agricultural practices,
committing to regenerative agriculture is crucial. McCain
works closely with potato and onion growers alike -
building farmer resilience, enhancing soil health and
increasing yields. McCain also drives innovation by
providing technical and financial support to farming
partners to best implement regenerative
agriculture practices.
Growers across the globe face increasing challenges
such as rising input costs, climate change and regulatory
uncertainty. To combat these uncertainties, McCain is
partnering with growers to build soil health and is
committed to implementing regenerative agriculture
practices across 100 percent of its potato acreage
worldwide by 2030.
Regenerative Agriculture is defined by McCain as " an
ecosystem-based approach to farming that aims to
improve farmer resilience, yield and quality by
improving soil health, enhancing biodiversity and
reducing the impact of synthetic inputs. "
McCain's Regenerative Agriculture Framework is a
flexible guide for potato farmers to support their
transition to regen ag. Providing measurement criteria
for achievement, including different levels like
Onboarding, Beginner, Master and Expert, the
framework measures progress based on seven
indicators. These indicators include armored soils,
minimized soil disturbance, enhanced crop diversity,
reduced toxicity of pesticides, enhanced farm and
ecosystem diversity, reduced agrochemical impact and
optimized water use and increased soil organic matter.
Jeff Michael, an Onion Agronomist for McCain in
Fruitland, Idaho, understands how difficult, yet
rewarding, implementing regenerative agriculture
techniques can be. McCain's Onion Team is currently
working to develop a similar regenerative agriculture
framework for onions focused on the same seven
principles of soil health.
" Onions and potatoes have similar strengths and
challenges when it comes to regenerative agriculture, "
Michael said. " Both are root crops with some level of
required soil disturbance and often require some
fumigation for a quality yield. As with potatoes, we will
be consulting with our growers and standing up
research projects to help address these challenges and
build resilience. "
According to Michael, McCain's upcoming onion
Regenerative Framework will be a first step toward telling
the sustainable onion grower story to consumers while
building soil health and resilience. Flexibility is key.
Regenerative agriculture is different for every grower and
their farm - it is important to tailor each program to the
appropriate potato-growing and onion-growing regions.
Michael believes the upcoming onion Regenerative
Framework will offer this flexibility for his grower base.
" There's not a better group of people to work with than
the growers producing our food. It makes my job so
much easier and enjoyable to work with guys who are
headed down the same road already, " Michael said. " I've
seen the programs in action and observed over this past
growing season with great results - it's McCain's job to
help accelerate the journey in partnership. "
McCain produces a wide variety of foods, including a
range of appetizers such as onion rings, cheese sticks,
jalapeño poppers, pickle chips and spears, breaded
mushrooms and, of course, french fries and sweet potato
fries. As Michael notes, " We are eager to transfer the
learnings from our potato sustainability work to our
other critical root crops, like onions. Stay tuned! "
To learn more about McCain, visit www.mccain.com.
ADVERTISEMENT | © 2023 McCain Foods Limited
2024
http://www.mccain.com
Spudman January 2024

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