ST. LOUIS — Bayer and Perdue AgriBusiness are collaborating on a regenerative farming program that aims to reduce carbon emissions and create a model for a more sustainable food value chain across Perdue’s grain network.

The first-of-its-kind program under Bayer’s ForGround platform draws on the strengths and scale of both companies. The program will provide support to farmers on regenerative agriculture practices.

“The strengths of Bayer and Perdue, combined with our leading positions in agriculture, allow us to push new boundaries that can not only drive impact in our own organizations but can become scalable to others across the agricultural industry and beyond,” said Leo Bastos, head of global commercial ecosystems, Bayer CropScience.

ForGround is Bayer’s digital marketplace that helps farms make the transition to regenerative farming practices and supports businesses in the agrifood value chain in lowering their Scope 3 GHG emissions. Perdue Farms is a vertically integrated business spanning the value chain and connects its farmers and the outcome of their sustainable practices directly to consumers interested in knowing how their food is produced.

The program is focused on enrolling farmers who supply Perdue with corn or soybeans. The goal is to first understand their carbon footprint and then identify the best path to lower the greenhouse gas intensity of the grains through the adoption of regenerative farming practices — in turn, improving the sustainability of the ingredients and foods produced with those grains.

Farmers who supply grain to Perdue may be compensated for tracking their carbon footprint and gain access to all ForGround benefits, including science-based agronomic support, a free subscription to Climate FieldView Plus2, and cost savings such as equipment rebates, agronomic tools, and service discounts.

Through ForGround, Perdue grain farmers may be eligible for additional incentives tied to adopting regenerative farming practices, with tailored support.

The collaboration has the potential to take over one million tonnes of CO₂ a year out of the atmosphere and sequester it in the ground. If achieved, this would counter-balance the greenhouse gas emissions from over one billion lbs of chicken, or the equivalent of approximately 200,000 vehicle emissions.

“By taking concrete steps to decarbonize our supply chain, this collaboration with Bayer is an example of Perdue’s continued commitment to environmental sustainability,” said Perry Aulie, senior vice president of value-added products for Perdue AgriBusiness. “We’re constantly seeking additional avenues for our farmers to get credit for their hard work, and this new program offers opportunity for both incentive and impact for these important stewards of the land.”

Perdue has committed to aggressive environmental sustainability goals, including reducing greenhouse gas intensity by 30% within its own operations (Scope 1). ForGround provides a platform for Perdue to go even further, measuring, tracking, and incentivizing farmers to adopt more sustainable practices to decarbonize Perdue’s up-stream value chain (Scope 3).

“This collaboration is the first example of our ability to create a program within our ForGround platform to meet the needs of our business customers,” Bastos said. “Through our size and scale, Bayer is uniquely positioned to help companies achieve their sustainability goals — and get farmers rewarded for their sustainable farming efforts.”

Enrollment will be available for Perdue grain farmers starting this fall. Farmers may visit bayerforground.com for more information about enrollment. Companies interested in ForGround by Bayer opportunities may visit bayerforground.com/companies.