General Mills partners with Euralis to accelerate regenerative agriculture in sweetcorn production

General Mills and French agricultural cooperative Euralis have joined forces to accelerate regenerative agriculture across Green Giant sweetcorn crops.

The move will see 250 Euralis producers in southwest France adopt agroecological practices designed to improve soil health, protect water resources and strengthen farm resilience. Their farms sit less than 200km from the Green Giant sweetcorn cannery in the Landes region, which has operated since 1976.

At the heart of the work is Euralis’s Opti’Ag environmental initiative, now being rolled out across its grower network. General Mills is backing the shift with financial support, including co-funding cover crops between corn rotations to boost soil protection and biodiversity.

Agronomist technicians at the Green Giant production site will take part in an 18-month training programme with Icosystème, working closely with Euralis’s specialist advisory teams. They will provide tailored support based on local soil conditions and water management pressures.

The shared ambition is to transition 100 percent of the participating Green Giant sweetcorn crops to regenerative agriculture practices by the end of 2027.

Scaling regenerative agriculture across global supply chains

The work also supports General Mills’ wider target to advance regenerative agriculture across 400,000 hectares globally by 2030.

Benjamin Duché, EU Regenerative Agriculture Lead at General Mills, said:

Our approach is based on three pillars.

We put the producer at the centre of the process with personalised action plans and on-farm support. We rely on the expertise of local organisations that have a deep understanding of the local context. Finally, we measure progress using monitoring indicators to ensure the effectiveness of our programs.”

General Mills defines regenerative agriculture as a holistic, principles-led approach that strengthens ecosystems, builds community resilience and supports more life on farms and beyond. Key principles include minimising disturbance, maximising diversity and maintaining soil cover.

Similar pilot work is already underway in other supply chains, including partnerships with dairy farms supplying the Häagen-Dazs brand in Hauts-de-France.

Cédric Brana, Head of the Fruit and Vegetable Producers’ Organization at Euralis, said:

As a leader in regenerative agriculture practices in its territories, Euralis is committed to deploying Opti’Ag across all its contract crops.

This initiative naturally includes the 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.”