ST. LOUIS — To support environmental stewardship within its grains supply chain, Nestlé Purina PetCare announced Nov. 13 a commitment to implement conservation management technology that would help farmers benchmark and work to improve their sustainability and profitability.

The platform, Truterra™ Insights Engine™, will be made available to farmers spanning 50,000 acres in the US that are a part of Purina’s supply chain. The use of this technology is expected to improve the sustainability and environmental stewardship of the next two years — or 9 million bushels worth — for these grain farmers.

"Nestlé Purina is proud to support farmers' leadership on sustainability and we are pleased to launch this major new initiative to bolster stewardship, in a quantifiable way, on farms where we source ingredients for our high-quality dog and cat food products," said Jack Scott, vice president of sustainability and responsible sourcing for Nestlé Purina.

"By utilizing the Truterra Insights Engine to help support sustainable farming, we can help protect the environment for future generations and support their livelihood – a critical driver for the rural economy across America," Scott added.

Nestlé Purina will work alongside the sustainable business arm of Land O’Lakes Inc., SUSTAIN, in this effort. It is also collaborating with local farming associations and organizations, currently working with Innovative Ag Services (IAS) in Davenport and Clinton, Iowa, to offer Truterra Insights Engine to farmers in the area.

"This initiative unlocks new capacity for farmers and their trusted ag retail advisors to quantify the benefits of current practices on the farm, and identify potential improvements that balance both environmental benefits and farm economics," said Matt Carstens, senior vice president of Land O'Lakes SUSTAIN.

Truterra Insights Engine measures nitrogen efficiency, erosion, soil quality, GHG emissions and carbon sequestration to determine stewardship outcomes and predict long-term conservation solutions that are expected to have a positive impact on productivity as well.

"In support of our commitments to climate action and OP2B [One Planet Business for Biodiversity], it's critical that we support the farmers in our supply chain with the latest tools and technology to make a scalable difference, and this new collaboration with Land O'Lakes SUSTAIN is a crucial step to helping us achieve that goal," Scott added.

Read more about sustainability in the pet food and treat supply chain.