Breakfast cereal maker helps wheat growers adopt regen farming

Breakfast cereal manufacturer Nestlé Cereals has launched an initiative to help cereal growers adopt regenerative farming practices.

Working with the Landscape Enterprise Networks (LEN) scheme and the company’s wheat farmers, Nestlé aims to reduce the impact of modern farming and help drive sustainable wheat sourcing in the UK.

As part of the plan, farmers will be supported in striving to make their farming practices more sustainable. The company highlights that regenerative farming methods reduce pesticide use, carbon emissions and soil erosion, while simultaneously improving soil organic matter and biodiversity.

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The initiative will promote practices such as cover cropping which protects water quality and ensures the soil isn’t left bare and vulnerable to erosion; reduced cultivation to keep soils healthier and reduce carbon dioxide losses to the atmosphere; and planting hedgerows which creates new habitats for biodiversity, captures carbon from the atmosphere and absorbs moisture from soil in wet weather.

Already a number of farmers in the UK are taking part in the Nestlé Wheat Plan, and the company has aspirations to steadily increase this total in the coming years.

Robin Sundaram, responsible sourcing manager at Nestlé UK & Ireland, said: “By supporting our wheat farmers to transition to more regenerative farming practices, they will become more resilient in the long term, as well as reduce their environmental impact, with benefits for carbon, flood mitigation, water quality, air quality and soil health.”

Ian Matts, a Northamptonshire-based farmer growing wheat for Shredded Wheat, commented: “We’ve been using regenerative farming methods for six years and have begun to see the positive effects it has made on the farm. We are pleased to be part of the Nestlé Wheat Plan.”

To support the launch, the company has included information about the Nestlé Wheat Plan on its Shredded Wheat packaging across all major retailers. The back of the pack focuses on the “better farming, better countryside” message and directs consumers to the Nestlé Cereals website to find out more.