Bayer & ADM: Cutting Carbon Emissions on Europe's Farms

Bayer and ADM have announced an extension of their collaboration, working with farmers in a bid to drive the further adoption of regenerative agricultural practices in Europe.

Last year, they embarked on a feasibility study, assessing the impact of regenerative agriculture practices in curbing carbon emissions, increasing biodiversity and improving soil health.

Carbon cuts are feasible

In the study, Bayer and ADM worked with oilseed rape farmers covering 9,000 hectares in Poland.

They carried out an in-depth on-farm risk assessment to evaluate carbon emissions reduction potential.

At the same time, they built grower-specific roadmaps for the transition to regenerative agriculture.

A joint press release said: “This preliminary assessment showed that carbon emissions from those hectares relying on at least one regenerative agricultural practice were 15% lower than those of conventional farms.

“The analysis suggests that emissions reductions could be up to 40% for farmers comprehensively adopting regenerative agriculture practices.”

The next stage

As part of the next stage of the collaboration, the programme will expand into a broader range of crops, including corn, wheat and barley, and geographically across Eastern Europe.

They said farmers will be provided with “financial and technical support to implement qualifying regenerative agriculture practices”, including:

• Minimum tillage
• Cover crops
• Companion crops
• Nutrient management
• Use of organic matter/manure
• Crop rotation.

Alongside this, ADM will compensate participating farmers for each qualifying hectare, measured and verified using Bayer’s digital capabilities in collaboration with Trinity Agtech’s Sandy platform.

They said: “The Sandy platform is a recognised solution backed by science that complies to the highest standards available in the market, with an easy-to-use tool for growers.”

Participating farmers also receive agronomic guidance from specialist professionals, including on-farm assessments, where agronomists visit fields and together with farmers design development plans tailored for each farm.

From the farmers

Bayer and ADM said the feasibility programme was “critical to shaping a larger-scale effort.

“Listening to the perspectives of growers was important to ensure all factors specific to the local region were considered.

“Primary data collection for greenhouse gas emission calculations and soil analysis with carbon sequestration measurement allowed the growers, ADM and Bayer to gain valuable insight into current environmental impacts and potential emission reduction opportunities as the programme expands.”

It has gone down well with the farmers.

Karol Pietnoczka, a farmer from West Pomerania, said: “We have been practising regenerative agriculture for 15 years. We are constantly improving things.

“We tested first on a smaller area and based on the results, we decided to implement it on a larger area. Thanks to these activities, our carbon footprint is lower.”

Piotr Hulanicki, a farmer from Warmia-Masuria, said: “We conduct regenerative agriculture practices on the farm because it is profitable for us.

“However, they must be well balanced with other agronomic practices to achieve farm-wide success.”

An exciting step

Candy Siekmann, director of Climate Smart Agriculture Origination at ADM, said: “Regenerative agriculture is foundational to our leadership in sustainability and decarbonisation, and rolling out a regenerative agriculture program in Poland is an exciting next step in our efforts.”

He added: “Our own research shows that a significant majority of consumers would be more likely to trust and purchase from retailers and brands that implement regenerative agriculture practices, and by coming together with great partners like Bayer, we’re helping farmers – who are at the heart of our business – meet that demand.”

Clients to get the best

Lionnel Alexandre, Carbon Business Lead, EMEA for Bayer, said: “Developing a project with ADM in Europe on regenerative agriculture has a strong meaning for us as it showcases the importance of building a robust and committed value chain approach, where all players work for a common goal.

“Bayer’s solution combines digital, advanced science and agronomy capabilities, while leveraging the best experts and partners across Europe.

“This brings to our clients, such as ADM, the best assets to support first-in-class projects around regenerative agriculture.”

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