General Mills: Regenerative Farming in Sweet Corn Production

General Mills is a global leader in the food industry, with more than 100 consumer brands including Nature Valley, Cheerios, Häagen-Dazs and Pillsbury.

The company has launched a new initiative to drive regenerative agriculture across its Green Giant sweet corn supply chain in south-western France.

It will be partnering with agricultural cooperative Euralis to help strengthen soil health, water stewardship and long-term resilience.

Sustainable corn supply chains

Green Giant is a trusted brand in UK households, with sales exceeding £47.7m (US$_) in 2025.

The regenerative agriculture programme covers 250 farms supplying the Green Giant production site in the Landes region of France, where the brand has been located since 1976.

The farms included in the project are all located within 200km of the site, forming a closely integrated supply chain to ensure consistent quality and security of sweet corn supply.

Benjamin Duché, EU Regenerative Agriculture Lead at General Mills, says: “Our approach puts producers at the centre, supported by local expertise and robust measurement of progress.

“By working closely with partners on the ground, we are focused on delivering practical change that supports both environmental outcomes and long-term productivity.”

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Partnering across the supply chain

General Mills’s initiative relies on the collaboration between Green Giant and Euralis.

Euralis offers advisory services to farmers, operating across several business areas including agriculture, seeds and food products.

This programme focuses on scaling agroecological practices which are designed to improve soil fertility, protect water resources and strengthen the resilience of sweet corn production.

General Mills is providing targeted technical and financial support to farmers, including co-financing the use of cover crops to help protect and regenerate soils.

All agronomist technicians at the Green Giant site will complete an 18-month training programme focused on field-level support tailored to local soil conditions and water management challenges as part of the project.

The aim of the initiative is for all of Green Giant’s sweet corn acreage involved in the programme to be transitioning towards regenerative agriculture practices by the end of 2027.

Cédric Brana, Head of the Fruit and Vegetable Producers’ Organisation at Euralis, says: “As a leader in regenerative agriculture practices in its territories, Euralis is committed to deploying Opti’Ag (the comprehensive advisory programme for sustainable farming) across all its contract crops.

“This initiative naturally includes 250 Green Giant sweet corn producers.

“The advisory services provided by our agronomists are based on three pillars: soil diagnostics, the use of cover crops and water management. Opti’Ag meets the CSR expectations of our partner Green Giant and reflects our own CSR strategy.”

How does this reflect General Mills’s sustainability goals?

The Green Giant initiative supports General Mills’s commitment to advance regenerative agriculture across 400,000 hectares of farmland worldwide by 2030.

The company defines regenerative agriculture as a “principles-based, holistic approach to farming” that builds resilience in ecosystems and the community.

This involves practices like minimising soil disturbance, increasing crop diversity and maintaining soil cover.

It aims to advance scientific understanding of regenerative agriculture outcomes and increase adoption of regenerative farming practices.

General Mills has already implemented similar pilot programmes across key European supply chains, including dairy farms supplying Häagen-Dazs in northern France.

Jeff Harmening, Chairman & CEO of General Mills, says: “For nearly 160 years, General Mills has been making the food the world loves.

“We know it’s more than what’s on a plate – it’s the farmers who grow it and the communities our plants support; it’s about putting food safety and quality first; it’s about accessible and affordable nutrition; and it’s about providing families with taste, joy and choice.

“By partnering with farmers and local organisations, we have engaged more than 600,000 acres in programming designed to advance regenerative agriculture in our key sourcing regions.”