General Mills and Organic Valley have entered into a sourcing partnership that will help about 20 dairy farms add around 3,000 acres to organic dairy production over the next three years.
The program will drive more acres in the U.S. into the organic certification process and builds upon General Mills’ commitment to double the organic acreage from which it sources ingredients by 2019.
General Mills has transformed its portfolio in recent years and is now the number three maker of natural and organic foods with nine brands including Cascadian Farm, Muir Glen, LÄRABAR, Liberté, Mountain High, Food Should Taste Good, Immaculate Baking, Annie’s and EPIC Provisions.
The partnership will build General Mills’ relationships with the organic farmers who will be supporting its yogurt operating unit in the US, which includes brands like Yoplait, Annie’s, Liberté and Mountain High.
Earlier this year the company introduced the Annie’s brand to the US yogurt category with a new line of certified organic whole milk yogurt.
In addition, it is transitioning its Liberté yogurt brand in the US to US Department of Agriculture (USDA) certified organic, which will roll out nationwide this summer.
“To ensure we are able to deliver great tasting organic yogurt offerings to our consumers we are committed to supporting a framework in partnership with Organic Valley that will not only ensure a consistent supply chain, but also make it easier for dairy farmers to successfully manage through the transition to organic,” said David Clark, president of the General Mills yogurt Operating Unit.
While demand for organic food is increasing in the US, supply has not been able to keep up.
In the US, acreage devoted to organic agriculture is about 1% of total cropland, according to the USDA.
General Mills has made sizeable investments to meet growing consumer interest in natural and organic foods, which is expected to drive double-digit industry sales growth over the next five years.
“We recognize that one of the biggest challenges to accelerating organic supply is enabling farmers to bridge the three-year period required to attain certified organic status under USDA rules,” said John Foraker, president of Annie’s.
Since 2009, General Mills has increased the organic acreage it supports by 120% and is now among the top five organic ingredient purchasers — and the second largest buyer of organic fruits and vegetables — in the North American packaged food sector.
By the year 2020, the company aims to source 100% of its US fluid milk directly from producing regions that demonstrate continuous improvement as measured by the Dairy Sustainability Framework in the US and other comparative environmental metrics globally.
