PepsiCo is paying farmers in Saskatchewan and Manitoba for their use of specific regenerative agriculture practices.
The program is being run through the South East Research Farm at Redvers.
Lana Shaw, the Executive Director of the research farm was one of the speakers Wednesday at the Convergence Conference in Regina organized by Aberhart Group.
Talking about the regenerative ag program with Kevin Hursh, the Chief Agricultural Editor of SaskAgToday.com, Shaw said the deal with PepsiCo started in 2023 and involves canola and oat crops.
"So Quaker Oats, which they own, and the oil, which is primarily going into the Frito-Lay type products. So they are sourcing large volumes of both of those crops out of Western Canada and are investing dollars to help support farmers to adapt to the changing environment and reduce their environmental footprint of those two crops." Shaw told Hursh, adding producers need to be Quaker Oat contract holders to be part of the oat side of the program.
However, she said any farmer who grows canola, regardless of acreage, can join.
"We're talking to everybody." Shaw said.
Different types of tillage and various types of nitrogen application – from sectional control, variable rate, and split applications – are some of the practices farmers are doing to be part of the program, she said.
Asked what kind of dollars per acre are involved in the program, Shaw said farmers using basic practices are paid 15 dollars per acre with an additional premium of eight dollars per acre if they are using complicated practices such as manure application, cover cropping or inter-cropping.
Hundreds of thousands of acres are being utilized and it's going to scale upward toward 2030, she added.
More information is available on their website serfsk.ca.
