Milling wheat growers can earn a price premium by agreeing contracts with ADM Agriculture to track their carbon footprint and move towards zero carbon production.

The grain trading and processing giant is launching contracts from this harvest using a web tool from the Cool Farm Alliance to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions across the group’s supply chain.

The contracts will start off with a limited number of milling wheat growers and will offer a premium to those who opt to use the Cool Farm Alliance’s assessment tool.

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This easy-to-use online tool can be completed in 10-15 minutes by entering data such as crop type, soil type and fertiliser use to provide information on greenhouse gas emissions through the growing season.

Jonathan Lane, head of grain trading at ADM Agriculture in the UK, said the group was acutely aware of the need to understand the amount of carbon used in the production of raw materials.

“If we can gain a better understanding of that, it will help us move the dial closer to zero carbon production and, in doing so, derive tangible value for those able to demonstrate lower-emission production,” he said.

Programme expansion

The group plans to work with growers over three to five years to evaluate improvements in greenhouse gas emissions, and will expand the programme with more growers over time.

These contracts are backed by ADM’s milling business, and will help promote sustainable agricultural practices. ADM Milling is one of the UK’s biggest users of milling wheat, buying 800,000t/year and processing the grain through seven flour mills in England and Scotland.

The group recently joined the Cool Farm Alliance, which is backed by a number of big food and drink companies such as Unilever, PepsiCo and Heineken, to promote farming practices that mitigate greenhouse gas emissions.