Natural pet food brand NUTRO, part of the Mars family of brands, has announced the recipients of this year's Soil Growth Grants totaling $300,000. As part of the Greater Ground initiative, Soil Growth Grants help select farmers within the NUTRO supply network with the transition costs needed to implement healthy soil practices.
The 2024 recipients will use their funds to purchase equipment and/or cover crop seed that will help them implement healthy soil practices on their farms.
- Bishop Farms: Bishop will use her grant to fund the purchase of cover crop seed and a broadcast spreader – a versatile tool that can distribute cover crop seeds into current crops or after the harvest of the cash crop. By integrating cover crops, Bishop is supporting soil health, including the ability of the soil to help absorb and retain carbon.
- Harborview Farms: Hill plans to purchase a 60-foot roller crimper to help manage cover crop residue, which when left on the field, can help suppress weeds, conserve moisture, and in turn, help improve soil structure. Hill is an advocate for soil health, using his farm to demonstrate ways to successfully introduce cover crops.
- Zimmerman Farms: As a supporter of soil health for the past 10 years, Zimmerman will invest in a roller crimper and cover crop seed, which will allow him to scale up cover crop implementation and more efficiently terminate the cover crop and prepare the soil for subsequent crops. Zimmerman follows the cover crop with polycropping, a method of planting multiple crops together, mimicking natural ecosystems by introducing diversity into a field.
The Greater Ground initiative, launched by the NUTRO brand on World Soil Day in 2022, aims to raise awareness about the importance of healthy soil and encourage select farmers to adopt healthy soil practices. A $5 million commitment was made through the program to provide farmers within the NUTRO supply network with training, support and funding to help with the implementation of healthy soil practices through 2027.
Each year, the program offers financial support through Soil Growth Grants to help selected farmers within their supply network with the transition costs needed to implement healthy soil practices. In 2023, the NUTRO brand awarded the inaugural Soil Growth Grant to Schiff Farms Inc. in the amount of $150,000. The grant funded the purchase of an inter-seeder, an innovative tool that helps plant cover crops among their cash crops, which has benefited their own operations as well as some of the neighboring farmers. Views of their animated short fable, Tail of Two Farms, launched in 2023, drove the increase of the amount of Soil Growth Grants offered in 2024 to $300,000.
NUTRO said it believes working with their suppliers is key to encouraging farmers to adopt healthy soil practices and are collaborating with two suppliers participating in the Greater Ground Soil Scholarship trainings and on-farm data collection. This effort, with Healthy Food Ingredients, LLC (HFI), a key supplier of barley for NUTRO products, and Anchor Ingredients, a strategic partner supplying some of the peas, oats, barley and flax for NUTRO, will help us better understand the status of soil health on farms in their networks.
Additionally, the NUTRO brand partners with Understanding Ag to facilitate training and mentorship for GREATER GROUND Soil Scholarships. By the end of 2024, 108 individual farmers will have received training through the program. This year alone, 51 hours of one-on-one consultations and workshops were conducted, helping farmers to begin or continue implementing healthy soil practices in their operations.
Megan Bishop with Bishop FarmsNUTRO
Megan Bishop, Bishop Farms
Bishop is on a mission to promote soil health not only on her own family farm, but beyond. As a second-generation farmer in Delaware, she is responsible for planting and harvesting her family's crops and operating her own custom applicator business. Her 2024 Soil Growth Grant will fund the purchase of cover crop seed and a broadcast spreader – a versatile tool that can distribute cover crop seeds into current crops or after the harvest of the cash crop. By integrating cover crops, Bishop is supporting soil health, including the ability of the soil to help absorb and retain carbon. The broadcast spreader will allow for more efficient cover crop application, helping to scale the healthy soil practices on her own farm, as well as the farms of those who use her services.
Trey Hill with Harborview FarmsNUTRO
Trey Hill, Harborview Farms
Hill blends his roots in traditional agriculture with a commitment to healthy soil practices. With funds from his 2024 Soil Growth Grant, he will purchase a 60-foot roller crimper to help manage cover crop residue. This residue, when left on the field, can help suppress weeds, conserve moisture, and in turn, help improve soil structure. A roller crimper is specifically designed to flatten cover crops, creating a protective layer of plant residue on the soil surface. Hill is an advocate for soil health, using his farm to demonstrate ways to successfully introduce cover crops. He is optimistic that this equipment will create lasting benefits for his farm and community.
Tyler Zimmerman with Zimmerman FarmsNUTRO
Tyler Zimmerman, Zimmerman Farms
Zimmerman has been supporting soil health for 10 years, sharing his expertise and resources to advance healthy soil practices across his and neighboring North Dakota farms. His 2024 Soil Growth Grant will fund the purchase of a roller crimper and cover crop seed, which will allow him to scale up cover crop implementation. He practices polycropping, a method of planting multiple crops together, mimicking natural ecosystems by introducing diversity into a field. Zimmerman also helps host field days at his farm to share soil health practices with his peers, creating a supportive community of learning for those beginning their soil health journeys.
According to Petfood Industry’s top companies database, Mars Petcare’s annual revenue in 2023 reached US$20 billion. Mars Petcare is one of the top pet food companies. Its nearly 50 pet food brands include several billion-dollar brands.
Adapted from a press release.
