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PepsiCo, Yara to slash fertilizer emissions in Europe
A new partnership between PepsiCo Europe and fertilizer manufacturer Yara will provide farmers with lower-carbon crop nutrition products and digital tools to help drive the adoption of regenerative agriculture practices.
Yara plans to deliver up to 165,000 tons of fertilizer per year to PepsiCo. The fertilizers will be mostly part of Yara Climate Choice line, which includes inputs made from either renewable ammonia or low-carbon ammonia via carbon capture, according to a release.
By 2030, Yara hopes its Climate Choice fertilizer will solely be used in the partnership as production scales and technologies mature.
The collaboration will include approximately 1,000 farms, covering 128,000 hectares — or 316,000 acres — across the European Union and the UK. The effort will start with potatoes before expanding to other crops such as oats and corn.
Additionally, farmers will be able to access digital tools from Yara and PepsiCo that allow them to enhance nutrient decision-making by monitoring crop and soil data.
“Providing our farmers with fertilizers that have a lower carbon footprint and supporting them to improve crop nutrition end-to-end will allow us to make a significant step towards our target of achieving net zero by 2040,” Archana Jagannathan, chief sustainability officer at PepsiCo Europe, said in a statement.
Cargill invests in research to reduce cattle methane emissions
A Colorado State University program researching sustainable livestock agriculture nabbed a $1 million investment from Cargill to address methane emissions in cattle.
The funding will be used to study how certain ingredients and additives could impact enteric methane emissions, or the greenhouse gasses associated with cow burps, according to a release. Researchers with CSU’s AgNext program plan to conduct experiments over the next two years to determine the effects of different feeding strategies on methane emissions, such as grain processing combined with other feed additives.
“The knowledge generated from this innovative research will pave the way for testing new technologies in cattle feeding and continue to improve the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in the beef supply chain,” Eliza Clark, Cargill’s protein and salt sustainability leader, said in a statement.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimated 37% of methane emissions from human activity are tied to livestock and agricultural practices. Although methane emissions do not stay in the environment for as long as carbon dioxide, they are far more potent and have a greater warming impact.
Syngenta, Ginkgo Bioworks to accelerate biologicals development
Seed and pesticide giant Syngenta is tapping biotech firm Ginkgo Bioworks to speed up the launch of new biologicals, which are sustainable alternatives to crop inputs.
The collaboration will have Ginkgo develop a microbial strain that could optimize production of a molecule that Syngetna has identified as a “pioneering biological solution,” according to a release.
Syngenta and Ginkgo have previously collaborated on next-generation seed technology.
“At Syngenta, we are committed to providing farmers with greater complementary product and technology choices that promote sustainable agricultural practices,” Camilla Corsi, Syngenta Crop Protection global head of research, said in a statement. “We are excited to work with Ginkgo, and are confident that their distinctive capabilities will enable us to achieve our productivity goals for our targeted molecule, expediting our time to market.”