Bob Betoger, 74, a fifth-generation farmer in Fairmont, Nebraska, said: In the bright red state, most farmers believe that the climate will change naturally no matter what you do. “
Nonetheless, Mr. Betoger, who retired from active farming last year but wants to protect wildlife near his fields, enrolled 240 of his 1,500 acres of land in a regenerative agriculture program. Will hold for the next few years.
“If you want to see change, farmers must have financial incentives,” he said.
“New risk”
After overcoming pandemics, labor shortages, and shortages in various supply chains of key ingredients, big foods in recent months have had to face new challenges, inflation.
Companies are already raising prices for grains, chips and cookies to cover the increased costs of corn, soybeans and wheat to help make them.
Currently, they are looking at ways to reach their sustainability goals, so little is said about paying even higher prices for crops grown in a sustainable way.Some people Survey published earlier this year According to the International Food Information Council, a non-profit organization funded by the food and beverage industry, the majority of consumers are willing to pay more for food grown using regenerative agriculture technology. rice field. Instead, much of the focus is on convincing farmers that the practice of regenerative agriculture will benefit them over time.
Last year, food and beverage giant PepsiCo made an ambitious setting goal.. By 2030, 7 million acres (agricultural footprint worldwide) will be using regenerative agriculture technology. To achieve that, PepsiCo, which made a profit of $ 7.6 billion last year, offered to share the cost of several pilot programs. If a farmer adopts climate-friendly technology on a few acres of farmland, PepsiCo will pay $ 10 to $ 40 per acre per year. In the first year, PepsiCo enrolled 345,000 acres in various programs and believes that growth may have an “exponential curve” over the next few years.
