A partnership between McDonald’s and Syngenta, which will start in the U.S., will pay beef producers to use corn expected to improve the feed efficiency of cattle.
Syngenta’s Enogen trait produces corn that contains more alpha-amylase enzyme, creating more efficient breakdown of starch to sugars. Enogen corn feed is about five per cent more feed efficient than corn without the trait.
Many other programs that reward farmers for greenhouse gas-related improvements don’t include direct payments.
Read Also
Countdown begins for traceability
Canadian cattle producers are awaiting new federal traceability regulations following a two-year consultation process.
Reducing the need for feed means fewer methane emissions, which is attractive to companies like McDonald’s that aim to show they’re reducing carbon emissions in their supply chains.
Although the program will start in the United States, Dan Wright, who leads the Enogen business in North America and seeds in Canada for Syngenta, says bringing the Feed Forward program to Canada is a priority.
“There’s a lot of beef and dairy in Canada and expanding the Feed Forward program into Canada is something we’re really active on to make happen.”
Farmers will receive a direct payment from Syngenta of four cents per head per day for each animal on the feed. In return,McDonald’s owns the carbon intensity offset asset.
Producers also have to commit to feeding Enogen corn as 50 per cent of the starch in the ration on a dry matter basis. The corn can be in any form usually fed, including silage, high moisture corn or grain corn.
Enogen is approved for food and feed use in North America, but it is kept out of the food stream because the extra alpha amylase can affect how it works in processed foods. It’s also used in ethanol.
To qualify for the payment, farmers have to file a feeding report, a closeout report and an invoice that shows proof of purchase for seed, all managed by a stewardship contract. There’s also a verification requirement.
Wright says trials have been underway for three years to fine-tune reporting and operational requirements.
“I think we’ve got to a pretty good space,” he says.
The data provided to Syngenta is aggregated and anonymous when sent to McDonald’s and the payment is made directly from Syngenta to the farm. Avoiding more players in the process and keeping it efficient was part of the testing period and a priority, says Wright.
McDonald’s, which also has its U.S. meat processor Lopez Foods in the project as a partner, says that for 1,000 head of beef cattle on feed, it expects per year:
- 178 tonnes CO2e in greenhouse gas reduction
- a 69-acre reduction in land use for growing feed
- a reduction of 22 million litres of water used
- 231,000 kilowatt-hours in energy savings
The partnership with McDonald’s runs to 2030, says Wright, and he expects it to grow. McDonald’s has set a target of offsetting 64,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent per year.
He says there are ongoing discussions with other consumer packaged goods companies. To start, the payments only cover beef and dairy beef production, but there could be dairy opportunities in the future.
