Mars Inc. on Monday announced a new program through its partnership with Fonterra, one of the world’s largest dairy suppliers.
Backed by a five-year, $27 million investment, the Farmer Forward Program aims to empower dairy farmers to embrace climate-smart agriculture practices as Mars strives to slash greenhouse gas emissions 50% by 2030 against a 2015 baseline.
Approximately half of the investment will be allocated to providing funding for on-farm tools and technology to around 2,000 Fonterra dairy farmers. The remaining funds will go into the pockets of about 165 farmers each year who make the most progress against sustainability goals in amounts of up to $15,000, on average, per farmer annually.
The Farmer Forward Program stretches across 26,000 hectares of farmland — equivalent to approximately 50,000 football fields. The dairy production involved in this new program could theoretically produce enough milk to make 20 billion Snickers bars every year.
Through the program with Fonterra, Mars aims to cut a projected 150,000 metric tons of its scope 3 emissions from dairy by 2030 compared to 2015.
This strategic program is a cornerstone of the conglomerate’s Moo’ving Dairy Forward initiative, a multimillion-dollar platform launched last year to drive investment in new technologies and partnerships to slash GHG emissions across the Mars global dairy supply chain.
“Dairy farmers are on the front line of advancing climate-smart agriculture, which is why we’re putting them first through the launch of our Farmer Forward program,” said Amanda Davies, chief R&D, procurement and sustainability officer at Mars Snacking. “Through this initiative, we're investing roughly $27 million in Fonterra farming families over the next five years to deliver critical financial support and significant emissions reductions. It’s a true win-win, because we know making dairy more sustainable takes real effort and real investment.”
