This impact story is part of a series featuring companies that are members of One Planet Business for Biodiversity (OP2B)/WBCSD. Through these stories, we aim to showcase our members’ commitment to driving the transition to regenerative agricultural practices, the impact on farmers, and the role OP2B plays in supporting this transformation. 

Griffith Foods, a family-owned food ingredients company operating in more than 30 countries, has placed regenerative agriculture at the centre of its sustainability strategy. With an ambitious target to transform one million acres (roughly the size of Rhode Island) and positively impact 25,000 farmers by 2030, the Illinois-based manufacturer is seeking to scale farmer-led solutions through global pilots and partnerships. In a recent conversation with Greg Metschke, Global Vice President of purchasing and sustainable sourcing, and Juliana Meneses, Global Director of sustainable sourcing, we discussed Griffith Foods’s ambitious approach to regenerative agriculture, the lessons from its pilot projects, and the challenges of scaling impact worldwide.

A framework for change 

Regenerative agriculture encompassed everything we wanted to achieve, both environmentally and socially.

– Greg Metschke, Global Vice President

Regenerative agriculture plays a key role in supporting Griffith’s net-zero target by 2040. “Our regenerative agricultural commitments would ultimately contribute to that net zero commitment,” he explains, highlighting the importance of soil sequestration and biodiversity outcomes. 

For Meneses, the social and economic dimension is just as critical as the environmental one. “The social and economic conditions are foundational principles for our work. We always bring environmental and agronomic practices in conjunction with social and economic investment in farmers.” 

From pilots to impact on the ground 

Griffith Foods’s regenerative agriculture initiatives are context-based and designed to scale. The company is running pilots across multiple continents: from wheat in Canada, corn in Brazil, and tapioca in Thailand to composting initiatives in Colombia. Each pilot adapts practices to local realities while maintaining a common principle of farmer support backed by technical expertise and financial incentives. 

We understand how ambitious our million-acre goal is. We need to be catalysts, growing projects that go above and beyond our direct footprint.

– Greg Metschke, Global Vice President

Ontario wheat: a collaborative path to regeneration 

Ontario’s wheat programme, launched in 2023 with partners including Parrish & Heimbecker and the Ontario Soil and Crop Improvement Association, exemplifies this approach. It grew from 4,000 acres in its first year to more than 10,000 today, with expectations of significant growth next season.  

“The programme promotes three practices: split nitrogen application, nitrogen stabilisers, and cover cropping after harvest. “It’s about nitrogen and it’s about soil health,” Metschke explains. All these practices support improving soil health and contribute to increased carbon sequestration, enhancing the environmental benefits of the initiatives.” The program also focuses on providing financial incentives to farmers as well as peer-to-peer learning and technical assistance.  

For Jason Pronk, owner of Triero Farms in Arthur, Ontario, the pilot validates practices he had already started adopting. “We had some experience with these practices, so Griffith Foods wanted people like us to help teach and motivate others,” he recalls. Farmer participation has surged: “The first year, there might have been 15 or 20 farmers. At our recent meeting on our farm, there were 55.” 

Reducing risk for farmers 

Griffith Foods’s role is to reduce risk and create an enabling environment. “We usually incentivise by practice, primarily by acre, and bear some of the costs,” Metschke says. Twice-yearly events bring experts and farmers together to exchange insights. Pronk values this approach: “They bring in people with decades of experience to explain new practices, their successes and challenges. For farmers, having that expertise available at no cost makes it easier to learn and adopt change.” 

The on-farm results are tangible. “With a cover crop after wheat, we’re planting corn earlier the next year. Our land dries out quicker in spring, which is huge in a short growing season,” Pronk explains. For nature, the benefits are equally clear: “It’s all about reducing nitrogen losses and recycling nutrients to keep them in the soil.” 

Adoption is not without hurdles. “Most guys put nitrogen on once. The programme requires two applications, and not everyone has the equipment,” Pronk notes. “That’s where Griffith comes into play: they pay for that extra expense so that you do it.” Cover crops, he adds, remain the hardest practice to embed: “It’s more labour-intensive and the return is less immediate. But it’s probably the most important piece of the puzzle.” 

After nearly a decade of experimenting, Pronk is convinced. “After eight years, we know it works. Everything becomes more efficient: sunshine, water, nutrients. And what’s good for the planet is good for us.” 

OP2B supports collaboration and peer learning 

Griffith Foods’ ambition is to replicate its pilot projects and expand regenerative practices through partnerships, data-driven measurement, and funding innovation. “We try to bring supplier partners, business partners, or even government grants along so that projects become viable beyond the first year,” says Metschke. 

Membership in OP2B is part of this effort. “We felt OP2B would be a great place to make connections and get key learnings, so we are not doing something in isolation,” he explains. Meneses adds that one of the most important questions is how long companies need to support farmers before practices become self-sustaining. “We need to find mechanisms to measure and to know when the right time is to exit,” she says. 

For Griffith Foods, being part of the coalition is less about leading global advocacy than about learning from peers and ensuring investments ultimately reach farmers. As Metschke puts it: “The only way we can really scale regenerative agriculture is if the farmer is seeing the benefit of all the commitments companies have made.” 

Regenerative agriculture is a critical solution to transform the way we produce food, feed and fibre, benefiting the climate, nature, and people. Over the next years, the OP2B coalition will focus on unlocking three strategic key levers to scale up regenerative agriculture: harmonising measurement, fostering collaborations to support farmers’ transition, advocating for supportive policies to create an enabling environment.