PepsiCo, Cargill team up with local NGO for regenerative corn in US

Agribusiness firms PepsiCo and Cargill have teamed up with an Iowa NGO to provide training and financial incentives to US corn farmers to transition to regenerative agriculture.

The two companies aim to expand regenerative agriculture practices across 240,000 acres of corn farms in Iowa by 2030. To achieve this, they are partnering with local nonprofit Practical Farmers of Iowa (PFI) to provide farmers with tailored advice and recommendations based on their region and planted crops.

"By working with farmers to understand what's best for their farms and partnering across the supply chain we can accelerate the adoption of regenerative agriculture practices that can result in healthier soil, reduced emissions, and improved crop yields and livelihoods for farmers," said Jim Andrew, PepsiCo’s Chief Sustainability Officer. "This collaboration among PepsiCo, Cargill, and Practical Farmers of Iowa creates shared value and long-term sustainability that we believe will strengthen our business today and in the future."

Farmer-focused programme

PFI will lead the programme’s implementation with farmers, managing enrollment and overseeing measurement, reporting, and verification to ensure credible, science-based outcomes.

Farmers participating in the scheme will receive agronomic guidance, incentive payments to help reduce the risk of adopting new practices, and access to technical resources to support their transition to regenerative practices – which are proven to improve soil health and productivity.

Transforming the food supply chain

Iowa is the US' largest producer of corn, contributing to more than 15% of the country’s supply in 2024 – and is a crucial state for PepsiCo’s ingredients sourcing, with Cargill as a key raw materials supplier.

By collaborating on this initiative, the two companies – which share similar regenerative agriculture goals – aim to deepen supply chain resilience and support positive outcomes for farming communities.

"This partnership is about delivering practical, measurable results – starting on the farm, where the food system begins," said Pilar Cruz, Chief Sustainability Officer at Cargill. "By coming together across the value chain, we can help create the conditions for regenerative agriculture to take root and grow. The collaboration offers a model for how we can drive meaningful impact at scale."

PepsiCo climate targets and regenerative agriculture

PepsiCo recently announced a number of adjustments to its climate targets, which include delaying its net zero goal by 10 years and expanding regenerative agriculture ambitions from 7 million acres to 10 million acres used to grow food within its supply chain by 2030.

Similarly, Cargill has a goal to advance regenerative agriculture on 10 million acres of North American farmland by 2030.

PepsiCo has also moved its net zero target from 2040 to 2050, as well as refining interim targets – splitting Scope 3 emissions goals into separate ‘energy and industrial’ (E&I) and forests, land and agriculture (FLAG) targets.