How McVitie’s and Frontier Use Regenerative Farming Methods

For more than 10 years, pladis, the company behind household names like McVitie’s, Jacob’s and Carr’s, has supported UK wheat farmers to improve how they grow crops.

It has now expanded this commitment through a new partnership with Frontier Agriculture, extending its Back to Farm wheat programme to reach more growers and improve sustainable food production.

The initiative aims to encourage and support farmers as they adopt regenerative farming methods.

These methods focus on soil health, improved biodiversity and long-term food system resilience, helping address climate change and carbon emissions.

Growing wheat the regenerative way

pladis has launched this new phase of its Back to Farm programme by targeting 4,000 hectares of land in its first year.

The goal is to grow 36,000 tonnes of sustainably sourced grain, enough to make all of the UK’s McVitie’s Original Digestives, which amounts to more than 50 million packets of biscuits.

Longer term, pladis wants to cover enough land to supply wheat for the full McVitie’s product range.

The programme will operate alongside existing pladis schemes and will see farmers supported by Frontier’s sustainable crop production team.

This group provides technical advice and helps each grower implement practices tailored to their land, with a focus on nutrient management, soil quality and ecological balance.

"Helping farmers to produce crops profitably, whilst also taking care to manage their soils and the wider farmed environment, is the key to building long-term, sustainable supply chains," says Jim Knightbraid, Sustainability Manager for Frontier.

"We're delighted to be working with pladis and McVitie's to expand their Back to Farm programme, working with our network of UK growers to implement more sustainable and regenerative farming practices.

"Through this programme we can track, evidence and report on the positive environmental outcomes of farm practices, whilst rewarding farmers for their role in bringing those outcomes about."

Supporting farmers facing change

With climate volatility becoming more common, many growers are already considering sustainable methods.

But with traditional subsidies being reduced, adopting regenerative techniques often requires additional help.

That’s where programmes like this one from pladis come in.

Jennifer Parise, Director Of Procurement And Sustainability for pladis UK&I, says: "Building a sustainable future is a shared responsibility for us all. We know growers are looking at regenerative farming, but it's a big ask for them to transition without additional support, especially given ongoing reductions in subsidies for farmers.

"By expanding our successful Back to Farm programme we hope that we'll be able to continue building partnerships with growers to better understand and help them address the challenges they face, as we all seek to make food production more sustainable."

Growers like Will Waterer, who grows wheat on his family farm in Essex, see practical benefits from schemes like this.

"We've been looking at sustainable farming methods for a while, as many farmers have," he says.

"This programme gives us the confidence to expand our activity and the flexibility to experiment more on farm with more regenerative farming practices. Without these types of support from companies like pladis I think many farmers will struggle as the volatility in weather continues to impact harvests."

Why private sector schemes matter

According to Frontier, private sector programmes are now essential for building a more secure and climate-resilient food system.

Positioned within the arable supply chain, Frontier helps ensure schemes like this meet both environmental and commercial aims.

Jim explains: "For the farmers we work with, it’s also about de-risking crop production, improving the resilience of their farming systems to safeguard productivity and profitability.

"All of that is vital if we are to secure the future of farming and sustainable food production. Support from businesses like pladis to help achieve this is hugely welcomed."

Regenerative farming techniques adopted through this initiative contribute directly to pladis’ global Net Zero target for 2050.