WASHINGTON, – Today, US Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced $9.7 million in grants to 62 community-based and non-profit organizations, and educational institutions to conduct training, outreach and technical assistance for socially disadvantaged (including tribal) and veteran farmers and ranchers. These awards are distributed through the Outreach and Assistance to Socially Disadvantaged Farmers and Ranchers and Veteran Farmers and Ranchers Program, also known as the ” 2501 Program”.

“Our nation’s farmers and ranchers are diverse in experience, background and knowledge, giving us the tools we need to build a resilient agricultural system,” said Secretary Vilsack. “Today’s announcement is part of our ongoing commitment to identify, recruit and train a vibrant next generation of farmers and ranchers who can carry American agriculture into the future. It is also part of our pledge to assist military veterans find economic opportunity as they return to civilian life.”

Secretary Vilsack made today’s announcement at the 2014 White House Tribal Nations Conference, a gathering of leaders from the country’s 566 federally recognized Tribes. The 2501 Program primarily partners with Historically Black Land Grant Universities ( 1890 Land Grant Institutions), Native American Land Grant Tribal Colleges and Universities ( 1994 Land Grant Institutions), Hispanic-Serving Institutions of higher education, and community-based and non-profit organizations that work with minority and veteran farmers and ranchers.

The 2501 Program has distributed more than $66 million to 250 partners since 2010. The 2014 Farm Bill reauthorized the program and expanded assistance to include military veterans. The program is administered by the USDA’s Office of Advocacy and Outreach.

Of today’s announced grants, 31 (50 percent) will support efforts in states participating in USDA’s StrikeForce for Rural Growth and Opportunity Initiative, an effort to direct USDA support and services to underserved rural areas experiencing chronic poverty. Twenty-five (39 percent) of the grants will go to partnerships directly targeting veterans interested in farming and are part of USDA’s enhanced commitment to expanding services to veterans in agriculture. Twelve grants (20 percent) will directly benefit tribal and native communities.

This year’s awards will be distributed in 34 states, Puerto Rico and the Federated States of Micronesia and are part of USDA’s efforts to support new and beginning farmers.

During his remarks at the Tribal Nations Conference, the Secretary announced additional support to Native communities including:

A $5.4 million loan to upgrade broadband service for residents of New Mexico’s Mescalero Apache Reservation. This is the first telecommunications loan USDA has made under the Substantially Underserved Trust Area (SUTA) provision of the 2008 Farm Bill. Congress implemented SUTA to help USDA’s Rural Utilities Service (RUS) improve Tribal infrastructure including offering Tribal borrowers lower interest rates and extended payment terms for RUS loans. It also waives some requirements that applicants provide matching funds for approved projects.
28 loans and grants totaling $4.1 million to 1994 Land Grant Tribal Colleges through USDA Rural Development’s Community Facilities program. This program provides loans and grants to construct, enlarge or improve community facilities for health care, public safety and public services.
Partnerships between USDA and three Tribal Colleges (Oglala Lakota College, Kyle, S.D.; Institute of American Indian Arts, Santa Fe, N.M.; United Tribes Technical College, Bismarck, N.D.) to provide grant writing assistance and other services to help traditionally underserved communities access federal resources as appropriate.
USDA has made significant investments in economic development, housing and infrastructure projects benefiting American Indians and Alaska Natives. More information is available at www.usda.gov/tribalrelations.

Today’s 2501 announcement was made possible by the 2014 Farm Bill. The 2014 Farm Bill builds on historic economic gains in rural America over the past five years, while achieving meaningful reform and billions of dollars in savings for taxpayers. Since enactment, USDA has made significant progress to implement each provision of this critical legislation, including providing disaster relief to farmers and ranchers; strengthening risk management tools; expanding access to rural credit; funding critical research; establishing innovative public-private conservation partnerships; developing new markets for rural-made products; and investing in infrastructure, housing and community facilities to help improve quality of life.

WASHINGTON, – The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) today announced continued progress in implementing provisions of the 2014 Farm Bill that will strengthen and expand insurance coverage options for farmers and ranchers. The new Supplemental Coverage Option (SCO), available through the federal crop insurance program and set to begin with the 2015 crop year, is designed to help protect producers from yield and market volatility.

“America’s agricultural producers work hard to produce a sufficient amount of safe and nutritious food for the country,” said Secretary Tom Vilsack. “It’s critical that they have crop insurance options to effectively manage risks and ensure that they do not lose everything due to events beyond their control. Following the 2014 Farm Bill signing, USDA has made it a priority to ensure the Supplemental Coverage Option was available to help farmers in this upcoming crop year.”

The 2014 Farm Bill strengthens and expands crop insurance by providing more risk management options for farmers and ranchers and by making crop insurance more affordable for beginning farmers. SCO, which is administered by the Risk Management Agency (RMA), further strengthens the farm safety net.

SCO will be available for corn, cotton, grain sorghum, rice, soybeans, spring barley, spring wheat, and winter wheat in selected counties for the 2015 crop year. Producers should contact their crop insurance agents to discuss eligibility in time to sign up for winter wheat coverage. RMA plans to make SCO more widely available by adding more counties and crops. Information on SCO for 2015 winter and spring wheat is available on the RMA website at www.rma.usda.gov. Selected counties for other commodities will be released later this summer.

SCO is a county-level policy endorsement that is in addition to an underlying crop insurance policy, and covers a portion of losses not covered by the same crop’s underlying policy. Producers who elect to participate in Agricultural Risk Coverage (ARC), which is offered by the Farm Service Agency (FSA), are not eligible for SCO for the crop and farm participating in ARC.

Producers applying for SCO for the 2015 winter wheat crop may withdraw coverage on any farm where they have elected, or where they intend to elect, ARC for winter wheat by the earlier of their acreage reporting date or Dec. 15, without penalty. This allows producers additional time to make an informed decision related to whether to elect to participate in either the ARC or Price Loss Coverage (PLC) programs for their winter wheat. If producers withdraw SCO coverage for a farm by the earlier of their acreage reporting date or Dec. 15, they will not be charged a crop insurance premium. In order to withdraw coverage without penalty, producers must notify their agents of their intended election for ARC by the earlier of their winter wheat acreage reporting date or Dec. 15.

Today’s announcement was made possible by the 2014 Farm Bill. The Farm Bill builds on historic economic gains in rural America over the past five years, while achieving meaningful reform and billions of dollars in savings for taxpayers. Since enactment, USDA has made significant progress to implement each provision of this critical legislation, including providing disaster relief to farmers and ranchers; strengthening risk management tools; expanding access to rural credit; funding critical research; establishing innovative public-private conservation partnerships; developing new markets for rural-made products; and investing in infrastructure, housing and community facilities to help improve quality of life in rural America. For more information, visit www.usda.gov/farmbill.

MILAN,– DuPont joined public and private sector leaders today at Expo Milan 2015 to share examples of rural and urban innovations that address the global food security challenge. During the event, the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) unveiled the results of the DuPont-sponsored 2015 Global Food Security Index, which showed continued improvement in global food security – but also challenges in Central and Eastern Europe due to political unrest and rapid urbanization.

DuPont Executive Vice President James C. Borel headlined the forum, which kicked off the company’s engagement at the USA Pavilion. Borel challenged those engaged in the discussion to extend the conversation beyond Expo Milan and leverage the findings of the Global Food Security Index to develop new, targeted solutions to global hunger.

“As the global population increases, becomes more urbanized and the middle class expands, we must properly focus resources to strengthen food systems and their resiliency,” said Borel. “We have to look at the underlying issues – the key drivers that influence a person’s ability to eat. This is the power of the Global Food Security Index.”

Borel went on to highlight four key areas that warrant proper resource investment: innovation for farmer productivity, enhancing nutrition of food, creation of fair and open trade policies and reduction of food waste.

Finding New Solutions to Global Food Security Challenges

The event also featured a diverse selection of leaders from the U.S. Department of State, Ford Motor Company and global not-for-profits who shared their insights on how the world population’s food demands are changing and how their organizations are evolving meet those new demands.

For example, Rikin Gandhi of Digital Green presented on how his team is utilizing mobile technologies to teach rural farmers in India improved management techniques. CARE International Secretary General and CEO Wolfgang Jamann shared how the organization has worked with smallholder farmers in Haiti to improve soil nutrition and how it has made their food system more resilient in times of crisis.

The EIU also unveiled a white paper at the forum on “The Role of Innovation in Meeting Food Security Challenges” that identifies and defines the challenges, key players and technology solutions related to global food security. The paper focused on three key opportunity areas to increase the accessibility of quality food globally – the utilization of biotechnology, support for smallholder farmers, and rise of urban agriculture.

EIU 2015 Global Food Security Index Reveals Overall Improvement, Challenges in Europe

The EIU presented the new findings from the 2015 Global Food Security Index to inform the discussion around food and agriculture solutions. The 2015 Index measures 109 countries against 28 food security indicators that monitor the ongoing impact of agriculture investments, collaborations and policies around the world.

While the Index revealed that globally food security increased – with two-thirds of the countries registering year-over-year improvements – the EIU reported that Eastern Europe was the only region to experience food security deterioration in 2014. Political instability in parts of Eastern and Central Europe – and a lower urban absorption capacity across the region – how much a country’s GDP growth rate outpaces its urbanization rate – led to lower scores in 85 percent of European nations included in the Index.

“This year’s findings underscore the importance of continued investment in agriculture research and infrastructure in Europe to ensure all of the region’s people have access to safe and affordable food,” said Borel. “Europe has been a leader in food security and we must ensure that portions of the region are not left behind due to a lack of investment and support for farmers and new agricultural technologies.”

DuPont has invested significantly in Eastern Europe – particularly Ukraine and Russia – which has highly productive arable land that has been underutilized for decades. Through its seed business, DuPont Pioneer, the company has recently invested more than $50 million in Ukraine to build research and production facilities, and expects to engage with more than 9,500 Ukrainian farmers this year through customer field days and training.

For more information on the interactive Global Food Security Index, including definitions of the 28 global indicators, impact of changing food prices, multi-country comparisons and more, visit: http://foodsecurityindex.eiu.com/.

DuPont is committed to driving food security efforts locally, sustainably and collaboratively; visit foodsecurity.dupont.com or follow the conversation on Twitter at #foodsecurity to learn more.

DuPont (NYSE: DD) has been bringing world-class science and engineering to the global marketplace in the form of innovative products, materials, and services since 1802. The company believes that by collaborating with customers, governments, NGOs, and thought leaders we can help find solutions to such global challenges as providing enough healthy food for people everywhere, decreasing dependence on fossil fuels, and protecting life and the environment. For additional information about DuPont and its commitment to inclusive innovation, please visit http://www.dupont.com.

CHICAGO, – Archer Daniels Midland Company (NYSE: ADM) today announced an agreement to purchase several assets of Eaststarch C.V., ADM’s 50-50 joint venture with Tate & Lyle (LSE: TATE). Under the terms of the agreement, ADM will take full ownership of corn wet mills in Bulgaria and Turkey, and will own a 50 percent stake in a wet mill in Hungary. Tate & Lyle will receive a cash consideration of €240 million, subject to customary closing adjustments, including for net cash and working capital, and take full ownership of the Eaststarch facility in Slovakia.

“Our Corn business is creating shareholder value through geographic expansion and the increasing diversification of our product portfolio,” said Chris Cuddy, president of ADM’s Corn Processing business unit. “With the coming end of sugar production quotas in the EU, the artificial cap on cereal-based sweeteners will be lifted. There will be tremendous opportunities in the new European sweetener market, including a particularly strong opening in Eastern Europe, where there is less sugar production. By acquiring a greater ownership share in these corn assets, ADM will be able to better serve our customers as they meet this expanding European demand for sweeteners. At the same time, we are improving our capabilities to meet customer needs in the growing market for starch in Europe.”

The Bulgaria, Turkey and Hungary facilities have a combined daily grind capacity of approximately 200,000 bushels. They produce primarily sweeteners and starches; the Hungary facility also produces ethanol for fuel, beverage and industrial uses. This will increase ADM’s global grind capacity for corn 7.5 percent, to approximately 3 million bushels per day.

“The value of this transaction reflects the anticipated decline in EU sugar prices,” Cuddy added. “We expect this deal to meet our returns objectives.”

As part of the transaction, ADM will supply Tate & Lyle with crystalline fructose from the Turkey facility. In addition, Tate & Lyle will appoint ADM as the exclusive agent for the sale of liquid sweeteners and industrial starches produced by its EU plants.

Eaststarch, a 50-50 joint venture between ADM and Tate & Lyle, was formed in 1992. It owns three corn wet mills—one in Slovakia, one in Bulgaria and one in Turkey—and 50 percent of a mill in Hungary. The venture deals primarily in corn sweeteners and starches.

The transaction is subject to regulatory approval in some jurisdictions. ADM is targeting closing the deal this summer.

About ADM
For more than a century, the people of Archer Daniels Midland Company (NYSE: ADM) have transformed crops into products that serve the vital needs of a growing world. Today, we’re one of the world’s largest agricultural processors and food ingredient providers, with more than 33,000 employees serving customers in more than 140 countries. With a global value chain that includes more than 460 crop procurement locations, 300 ingredient manufacturing facilities, 40 innovation centers and the world’s premier crop transportation network, we connect the harvest to the home, making products for food, animal feed, chemical and energy uses. Learn more at www.adm.com.

CHICAGO, —Archer Daniels Midland Company (NYSE: ADM) announced today that it had completed the sale of its sugarcane ethanol operations in Limeira do Oeste, in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais.

“ADM’s Corn business is delivering on its strategy of diversifying our portfolio and expanding our global footprint, while addressing underperforming businesses,” said Chris Cuddy, president of ADM’s corn processing business unit. “Last November, we completed our purchase of former Eaststarch assets in Europe. Earlier this year, we announced the purchase of a sweetener facility in Morocco. And now, we’ve completed the sale of our sugarcane ethanol operations in Brazil, which we determined were unlikely to meet our long-term returns objectives. We are continuing to take strategic action to drive results and deliver healthy returns for our shareholders.”

About ADM in Brazil
ADM is one of the largest agribusiness companies in Brazil. With about 3,300 employees, the company processes soybeans in five facilities and sunflower at another, and markets the bottled oil brands Concórdia, Corcovado and Vitaliv. The company also operates the largest biodiesel plant in Brazil, and more than 40 elevators across the country. ADM is a joint owner of an export terminal in Barcarena, and has a concession to operate a terminal at the Port of Santos. ADM is also building a soy protein production complex next to the company’s existing soybean plant in Campo Grande, Mato Grosso do Sul.

About ADM
For more than a century, the people of Archer Daniels Midland Company (NYSE: ADM) have transformed crops into products that serve the vital needs of a growing world. Today, we’re one of the world’s largest agricultural processors and food ingredient providers, with more than 32,300 employees serving customers in more than 160 countries. With a global value chain that includes 428 crop procurement locations, 280 ingredient manufacturing facilities, 39 innovation centers and the world’s premier crop transportation network, we connect the harvest to the home, making products for food, animal feed, industrial and energy uses. Learn more at www.adm.com.

DECATUR, Ill. and LA JOLLA, Calif., – Archer Daniels Midland Company (NYSE: ADM) and Synthetic Genomics, Inc. announced today that the two companies have entered into a long-term agreement to commercialize Omega-3 Docosahexaenoic Acid (DHA) from algae. As part of the agreement, Omega-3 DHA will be produced and marketed throughout the world by ADM’s Foods & Wellness and Animal Nutrition groups.

DHA is a long-chain Omega-3 fatty acid that has been studied for its role in brain, heart and eye health. While it is typically found in fish and seafood products, extracting DHA directly from algae grown in fermentation tanks yields a highly purified form of DHA, which can then be used as a dietary supplement for humans and in animal feed.

“This partnership is an important example of ADM’s ongoing efforts to enhance returns by strengthening our portfolio of higher-margin products,” said Greg Dodson, general manager, ADM Foods & Wellness. “There is significant demand for Omega-3 DHA products. We are impressed with the leading-edge technologies that SGI uses to quickly turn commercial opportunities into realities, and we look forward to working with them to use those capabilities to further enhance our current portfolio of nutritional ingredients.”

“We are pleased to be working with ADM, a global leader in human and animal health and nutrition,” said J. Craig Venter, Founder and CEO, SGI. “This agreement is a major accomplishment for SGI as it represents commercial validation of our science and technology. We are eager to continue to work with ADM to develop other unique and nutritionally sound food and nutraceutical ingredients.”

“The ADM partnership with SGI will prove beneficial for both companies by capitalizing on the strengths of SGI’s technologies and know how, while using ADM’s significant scale and production capabilities to commercialize important products demanded by our customers,” said Brent Fenton, president, ADM Animal Nutrition. “The end result will be an improved animal nutrition portfolio, which will deliver value both to our customers and our shareholders.”

“We are excited to have this partnership with ADM that will allow them to provide a real alternative to what had been a very short list of plant-derived DHA ingredients,” said Jon Getzinger, senior vice president at SGI. “Having a real choice in the market will provide manufacturers the opportunity for broader inclusion of this essential nutrient in food, beverage, nutraceutical and animal feed applications.”

About Synthetic Genomics, Inc.
SGI, a privately held company founded in 2005, is dedicated to developing and commercializing genomic-driven solutions to address a wide range of global challenges. The company is focused on several key research and business programs including: developing new synthetic DNA products and technologies through its subsidiary, SGI-DNA; algae biofuels; new and improved food and nutritional products; and clean water technology. SGI is also involved in synthetically derived vaccine development through Synthetic Genomic Vaccines Inc. (SGVI), a business unit co-founded with the J. Craig Venter Institute; and in developing sustainable crops such as castor and sweet sorghum and agricultural products through AgraCast, a company co-founded with Plenus S.A. de C.V. For more information, go to www.syntheticgenomics.com.

About ADM Foods & Wellness

ADM’s Foods & Wellness group offers a range of innovative specialty ingredients and products for the beverage, meat, snack, bakery, cereal, wellness and personal care markets. As a global market leader in food-grade proteins, ADM’s Foods & Wellness group also markets numerous health and nutrition products, lecithin, acidulants, hydrocolloids and polyols.

About ADM Animal Nutrition
ADM Animal Nutrition is a leading manufacturing, nutrition and marketing company, which offers a wide range of innovative products for the animal nutrition market. Known as a global leader in amino acids, ADM Animal Nutrition also offers consistent, high-quality feed products, supplements, premixes, custom ingredient blends and specialty feed ingredients designed to provide leading-edge solutions, enabling our customers to meet and optimize animal health and nutrition goals.

About ADM
For more than a century, the people of Archer Daniels Midland Company (NYSE: ADM) have transformed crops into products that serve vital needs. Today, 31,000 ADM employees around the globe convert oilseeds, corn, wheat and cocoa into products for food, animal feed, industrial and energy uses. With more than 270 processing plants, 470 crop procurement facilities, and the world’s premier crop transportation network, ADM helps connect the harvest to the home in more than 140 countries. For more information about ADM and its products, visit www.adm.com.

CHICAGO, — Archer Daniels Midland Company (NYSE: ADM) announced today that the Illinois Industrial Carbon Capture and Storage (ICCS) project, a partnership to safely and permanently store more than 1 million tons of carbon dioxide a year, has begun operations.

“We are extremely proud to be part of this important program,” said Todd Werpy, ADM chief technology officer. “The technology that we are using in Decatur can be a model for reducing industrial carbon emissions around the world. We’re pleased to be working with great partners in the U.S. Department of Energy, Richland Community College and the University of Illinois – Illinois State Geological Survey, and we’re excited to move forward as we not only reduce our carbon emissions in Decatur, but also contribute to important research that will help other companies do the same.”

“2017 is a watershed year for carbon capture in the United States. On the heels of the successful opening of Petra Nova in Texas, the Illinois Industrial facility serves as another example that large-scale CCS deployment works, is safe, and serves as a key component of a low carbon future,” said Jeff Erikson, general manager of the Americas region with the Global CCS Institute. “The Illinois Industrial CCS Facility is the 12th large-scale CCS facility operating in North America, and the first large-scale application of CCS on biofuels production in the world. With this landmark achievement, ADM will now capture and store about one million tons of CO2 per year. We applaud ADM for their vision and leadership, and acknowledge the foresight and wise investment provided by the U.S. Department of Energy.”

The project captures carbon dioxide, which is created as a byproduct at ADM’s Decatur corn processing facility, and stores it safely almost a mile and a half underground in the Mt. Simon Sandstone. With the capability to store 1.1 million tons of carbon annually, ICCS is designed to demonstrate the commercial-scale applicability of carbon capture and storage technology in a saline reservoir. The project is currently permitted to operate for five years and has the potential to store up to 5.5 million tons of carbon dioxide.

This is the second carbon capture and storage project that ADM has helped to lead. Previously, the company removed and stored approximately a million tons of carbon over three years as part of the smaller-scale Illinois Basin – Decatur Project, led by the Midwest Geological Sequestration Consortium at the University of Illinois.

“ADM is committed to successfully feeding the world while minimizing our impact on the planet,” Werpy continued. “Around the globe, across our business, from reducing waste and water usage to increasing energy efficiency to taking part in this groundbreaking carbon storage project, we are living up to our dedication to do business the right way.”

About ADM
For more than a century, the people of Archer Daniels Midland Company (NYSE: ADM) have transformed crops into products that serve the vital needs of a growing world. Today, we’re one of the world’s largest agricultural processors and food ingredient providers, with approximately 32,000 employees serving customers in more than 160 countries. With a global value chain that includes approximately 500 crop procurement locations, 250 ingredient manufacturing facilities, 38 innovation centers and the world’s premier crop transportation network, we connect the harvest to the home, making products for food, animal feed, industrial and energy uses. Learn more at www.adm.com.

CHICAGO, – Archer Daniels Midland Company (NYSE: ADM) today announced that it had completed its acquisition of Specialty Commodities Inc., a leading originator, processor and distributor of healthy ingredients, including nuts, fruits, seeds, legumes and ancient grains, for $191 million (including $95 million in working capital), subject to post-closing adjustments.

“We are continuing to expand our specialty ingredients portfolio to better serve our customers, improve returns and reduce the volatility of our earnings,” said Greg Morris, president of ADM’s WILD Flavors and Specialty Ingredients business unit. “Now that Specialty Commodities has joined ADM, we’ll be looking at ways to combine SCI’s healthy ingredients with ADM’s existing products to offer our customers a wider and fuller range of products.”

ADM also announced that Ken Campbell, formerly ADM’s vice president, North American Oilseeds, has been named president, Specialty Commodities. Kevin Andreson, Specialty Commodities’ former chief operating officer, has been appointed ADM’s vice president, Specialty Commodities. Larry Leitner, SCI’s founding partner and CEO, has stepped down from that position and will join ADM’s WILD Flavors and Specialty Ingredients business unit, bringing his extensive supply chain and industry knowledge to help support growth throughout the business unit.

“We’ve put together a Specialty Commodities leadership team that is ready to grow the business,” Morris added. “They know the importance of this moment: consumers are demanding more of the healthy ingredients that Specialty Commodities can provide, and they’re demanding those ingredients in increasingly varied forms and applications. This is the right time for this business, and we are well-positioned to take advantage of the many opportunities ahead.”

About ADM
For more than a century, the people of Archer Daniels Midland Company (NYSE: ADM) have transformed crops into products that serve the vital needs of a growing world. Today, we’re one of the world’s largest agricultural processors and food ingredient providers, with more than 33,000 employees serving customers in more than 140 countries. With a global value chain that includes more than 470 crop procurement locations, 285 ingredient manufacturing facilities, 40 innovation centers and the world’s premier crop transportation network, we connect the harvest to the home, making products for food, animal feed, chemical and energy uses. Learn more at www.adm.com.

CHICAGO, —Archer Daniels Midland Company (NYSE: ADM) announced today that it has reached an agreement to purchase a controlling stake in Harvest Innovations, an industry leader in minimally processed, expeller-pressed soy proteins, oils and gluten-free ingredients.

“More and more consumers are looking for foods that are gluten-free, that aren’t genetically modified, and that are healthy and organic, and ADM is perfectly positioned to meet those needs,” said Vince Macciocchi, president of ADM’s WILD Flavors and Specialty Ingredients business unit. “We were already the provider of choice for a wide range of healthy, clean-label ingredients, and in the last year, we’ve significantly expanded our product portfolio. Today’s addition perfectly complements our existing ingredient businesses and offers customers a full-service, one-stop shop for their ingredient needs.”

Harvest Innovations uses expeller pressing to turn grains, legumes and oilseeds into minimally-processed, non-GMO, organic, gluten-free ingredients. Products range from non-GMO soy chips, expeller-pressed soy flour and textured vegetable protein, to the industry’s only organic soy crisps, to gluten-free flours and pastas.

“We are not done growing,” Macciocchi added. “Today, we offer an unmatched range of products, a fully integrated soy protein and gluten-free supply chain, and world-class formulation and solution expertise. We’re continuing to add to our capabilities, execute our plan to grow strategically, and deliver value for our customers and our shareholders.”

Harvest Innovations is based in Indianola, Iowa, and has a second processing facility in Deshler, Ohio.

“This is a great opportunity for the Harvest business, the Harvest team and Harvest customers,” said Barry Nadler, president and co-owner of Harvest Innovations. “We’re excited to join our resources and expertise with ADM’s to grow our business, and to serve more customers with more products, more innovation, and more great customer service.”

ADM anticipates closing the transaction, which is subject to regulatory approval, in the coming months.

About WILD Foods and Specialty Ingredients
ADM’s WILD Flavors and Specialty Ingredients business unit, or WFSI, offers a comprehensive portfolio of ingredients to help customers deliver products that address taste, texture, nutrition and function. That portfolio also includes a wide range of proteins, lecithins, edible beans and related ingredients, hydrocolloids, polyols, soluble fiber products and other ingredients.

About ADM
For more than a century, the people of Archer Daniels Midland Company (NYSE: ADM) have transformed crops into products that serve the vital needs of a growing world. Today, we’re one of the world’s largest agricultural processors and food ingredient providers, with more than 32,300 employees serving customers in more than 160 countries. With a global value chain that includes 428 crop procurement locations, 280 ingredient manufacturing facilities, 39 innovation centers and the world’s premier crop transportation network, we connect the harvest to the home, making products for food, animal feed, industrial and energy uses. Learn more at www.adm.com.

CHICAGO, —Archer Daniels Midland Company (NYSE: ADM) announced today that it has reached an agreement to purchase a controlling interest in Industries Centers, an Israeli company specializing in the import and distribution of agricultural feed products.

“With this investment, we are continuing to expand and enhance our core value chain, including our ability to deliver direct to the customer,” said Joe Taets, president of ADM’s Agricultural Services business unit. “Industries Centers offers an entry point into a strong, established Israeli market. We have worked with them in the past to help us import our own products into Israel, and we know them as an experienced, capable partner.”

Industries Centers, founded in 1993, trades corn byproducts and other grain products. It has offices in the Tel Aviv area, and operates a 45,000 MT storage facility strategically located at the Port of Ashdod. The company has a significant and diversified customer base within Israel. It is privately owned.

“This is a great opportunity for us to reach new customers with a wide array of products, from soybean meal to grains to feed ingredients,” Taets continued. “It also represents a further expansion of our destination marketing capabilities, which remain a strategic priority as we work to enhance shareholder returns by extending our value chain to the end customer.”

About ADM
For more than a century, the people of Archer Daniels Midland Company (NYSE: ADM) have transformed crops into products that serve the vital needs of a growing world. Today, we’re one of the world’s largest agricultural processors and food ingredient providers, with approximately 32,000 employees serving customers in more than 160 countries. With a global value chain that includes approximately 500 crop procurement locations, 250 ingredient manufacturing facilities, 38 innovation centers and the world’s premier crop transportation network, we connect the harvest to the home, making products for food, animal feed, industrial and energy uses. Learn more at www.adm.com.

DECATUR, Ill., – Archer Daniels Midland Company (NYSE: ADM) today announced that it is acquiring WILD Flavors GmbH, giving ADM the ability to offer food and beverage companies a comprehensive suite of systems to enhance and improve their products.

In an all-cash transaction valued at approximately €2.3 billion enterprise value, ADM will pay €2.2 billion to WILD Flavors shareholders Dr. Hans-Peter Wild and funds affiliated with Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. L.P., and assume approximately €0.1 billion of net debt. The transaction is contingent on regulatory approvals and is expected to close by year end.

“This acquisition expands ADM’s ability to serve customers’ evolving needs today and well into the future,” said ADM Chairman and CEO Patricia Woertz. “Natural flavor and ingredients is one of the largest and fastest-growing consumer trends in both developed and emerging markets, and WILD Flavors is the world’s leading provider of natural flavor systems to the food and beverage industry.”

WILD Flavors, with more than 3,000 customers worldwide and estimated 2014 net revenues of about €1 billion, offers food and beverage companies full flavor and ingredient solutions—known as flavor systems—and fruit juice concentrates and blends, as well as other food and beverage ingredients, including natural flavors and extracts, mint oils and flavors, colors from natural sources, sweetening systems, seasonings, specialty ingredients, taste modifiers, and fermentation technologies.

“Together, ADM and WILD Flavors will create one of the leading flavor and specialty ingredient companies in the world, with sales approaching $2.5 billion and significant room to grow,” Woertz said. “WILD Flavors will be able to reach more customers with an expanded portfolio of innovative ingredients. And ADM, with our own sizeable specialty ingredient business, will have an enhanced platform for the commercialization of our higher-margin food and wellness ingredients.

“Together, we will be uniquely positioned to offer a broad range of customers—from the largest CPG’s to fast-growing innovators—comprehensive systems-based solutions for food, beverage and personal care products. With our combined global networks, world-class research & innovation capabilities, WILD Flavors’ natural flavor systems, and ADM’s texture, nutrition and functional solutions, we will create an unmatched capability to respond to local consumer preferences and offer complete food solutions that taste great.

“The addition of WILD Flavors balances and extends our value chain,” Woertz said. “It is consistent with our long-term strategy to diversify the crops we process and expand and diversify our product portfolio. It complements the ingredient, organic-growth investments we’ve recently made—including our Brazil protein complex and soluble-fiber expansion in China. And it is consistent with actions we’ve taken to dampen the volatility of our earnings mix and deliver on our commitment to profitable growth. The acquisition will meet our return objectives, with estimated cost and revenue synergies of €100 million by year three.”

Dr. Hans-Peter Wild, chairman of WILD Flavors GmbH, said, “I am very pleased by ADM’s acquisition of WILD Flavors and the future business we will build together. WILD Flavor’s unique natural flavors strength and total systems approach will create a very strong and positive development platform within ADM for our customers as we continue to drive innovation in the food and beverage industry. With the strong financial resources, and expanded customer base, product offering and global footprint, I am confident WILD Flavors will be well-positioned for growth.”

“We have tremendous respect for the culture and business that Dr. Wild has built,” Woertz said. “Given the strong brand WILD Flavors has with customers around the world, we intend to maintain the WILD Flavors name and grow the brand and the innovative, entrepreneurial culture that sustains it. We appreciate the difference in our business models, and will support continued success of the WILD Flavors model by establishing a new business unit called WILD Flavors and Specialty Ingredients. The new unit will include many of our specialty ingredients. We are also excited to work with the WILD Flavors team. With more than 400 scientists and applications specialists and a global sales force, they will bring exceptional expertise and new capabilities.”

Johannes Huth, member and head of KKR Europe, Africa and Middle East operations, said: “WILD Flavors represented for KKR the opportunity to partner with an innovative family entrepreneur in developing a high-quality, R&D driven, Germany-based Mittelstand business. The partnership was tailored to the family ownership and the vision of Dr. Wild to develop WILD Flavors into a globally integrated producer of flavors and flavor systems. The substantial growth and global expansion of WILD Flavors over these past years helped make the company an attractive and valuable partner for an industry-leading global company like ADM.”

Barclays is acting as financial advisor to ADM. Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP is acting as legal advisor.

Investor Call
ADM will host a conference call and audio webcast today, July 7, 2014, at 8 a.m. Central Time. A slide presentation will be available to download prior to the call.

To listen to the call via the Internet or to download the slide presentation, go to www.adm.com/webcast. To listen by telephone, dial (888) 522-5398 in the U.S. or (706) 902-2121 if calling from outside the U.S. The access code is 70905489.

Replay of the call will be available from July 8, 2014 to July 14, 2014 10:59 p.m. Central Time. To listen to the replay by telephone, dial (855) 859-2056 in the U.S. or (404) 537-3406 if calling from outside the U.S. The access code is 70905489. The replay will also be available online for an extended period of time at www.adm.com/webcast.

About ADM
For more than a century, the people of Archer Daniels Midland Company (NYSE: ADM) have transformed crops into products that serve vital needs. Today, 31,000 ADM employees around the globe convert oilseeds, corn, wheat and cocoa into products for food, animal feed, industrial and energy uses. With more than 270 processing plants, 470 crop procurement facilities, and the world’s premier crop transportation network, ADM helps connect the harvest to the home in more than 140 countries
ADM’s Foods & Wellness group offers a range of innovative specialty ingredients and products for the beverage, meat, snack, bakery, cereal, wellness and personal care markets. As a global market leader in food-grade proteins, ADM’s Foods & Wellness group also markets numerous health and nutrition products, lecithin, acidulants, hydrocolloids and polyols. Some of those products include Textura™ protein and fiber pieces, Clarisoy™ beverage protein, and Ultralec® lecithin. For more information about ADM and its products, visit www.adm.com.

About WILD Flavors GmbH
WILD Flavors GmbH is headquartered in Zug, Switzerland, and is one of the world’s leading suppliers of natural ingredients to the food and beverage industry. Its management offices with production sites are located in Heidelberg-Eppelheim, Germany (Rudolf Wild GmbH & Co. KG) and Erlanger, Kentucky, USA (WILD Flavors, Inc.). Thirteen further production sites are located in Europe, USA, Canada, China, Japan, India, Brazil, and Dubai.
The WILD Flavors product portfolio includes full flavor and ingredient solutions, known as flavor systems, fruit juice concentrates and blends as well as other food and beverage ingredients including natural flavors and extracts, mint oils and flavors, colors from natural sources, sweetening systems, seasonings, specialty ingredients, taste modifiers, and fermentation technologies. WILD Flavors GmbH provides the global beverage and dairy market as well as the baked-goods, confectionery and ice cream industry with its products. In the USA and Canada, WILD Flavors GmbH is a supplier for the cereals, snacks, and processed food markets as well. For more information about WILD, please visit: www.wildflavors.com.

About KKR
KKR is a leading global investment firm that manages investments across multiple asset classes including private equity, energy, infrastructure, real estate, credit and hedge funds. KKR aims to generate attractive investment returns by following a patient and disciplined investment approach, employing world-class people, and driving growth and value creation at the asset level. KKR invests its own capital alongside its partners’ capital and brings opportunities to others through its capital markets business. References to KKR’s investments may include the activities of its sponsored funds. For additional information about KKR & Co. L.P. (NYSE: KKR), please visit KKR’s website at www.kkr.com.

CHICAGO,— Archer Daniels Midland Company (NYSE: ADM) today announced that it has expanded its line of plant-based functional extracts to include green tea, an antioxidant blend, and acerola, a tropical fruit that is rich in Vitamin C as well as bioflavonoids and other nutritional ingredients. These products deliver a concentrated amount of naturally occurring phytonutrients that are ideal for boosting nutrition in a wide variety of food, drink and supplement applications.

“Consumer demand for products with clean labels and ingredients that serve a clear purpose continues to grow, and ADM’s functional extracts make it easier for developers to incorporate a standardized amount of naturally-occurring nutrients found in fruits, vegetables and other plants,” said Julio López, Ph.D., nutrition research and innovation manager for ADM. “Our rich heritage in natural, plant-based extraction techniques uniquely positions us to provide high-quality functional extracts that deliver consistently powerful nutrition and can easily be incorporated into great-tasting, on-trend products that consumers will love.”

Labeled as fruit, vegetable, tea or other plant-based extracts and with no discernible taste or texture, these functional extracts make it easier for customers to incorporate clean, clear, delicious and nutritionally dense products with consumer-preferred ingredients. ADM uses specific sources and techniques to ensure that each extract contains standardized amounts of phytonutrients so that developers can be confident they’re delivering the exact amount intended at each and every use. For example, ADM’s green tea extract is standardized to 90 percent polyphenols and 50 percent EGCG (Epigallocatechin Gallate) and is made from unfermented leaves, which contain a high concentration of antioxidant compounds.

ADM’s functional extracts are soluble and can be used in a variety of applications including: beverages, confections, frozen desserts, snacks, bars, baked goods, dietary supplements and more.

Customers who are looking for more information on these products may contact Julio López at 217-451-3014.

About ADM
For more than a century, the people of Archer Daniels Midland Company (NYSE: ADM) have transformed crops into products that serve the vital needs of a growing world. Today, we’re one of the world’s largest agricultural processors and food ingredient providers, with more than 32,300 employees serving customers in more than 160 countries. With a global value chain that includes 428 crop procurement locations, 280 ingredient manufacturing facilities, 39 innovation centers and the world’s premier crop transportation network, we connect the harvest to the home, making products for food, animal feed, industrial and energy uses. Learn more at www.adm.com.

ROLLE,—Archer Daniels Midland Company (NYSE: ADM) brings Nutriance®, a range of innovative wheat protein concentrates, to this year’s Fi Europe, as the latest addition to its unparalleled range of ingredients and solutions for taste, function and nutrition. Ideal for clean label solutions, Nutriance® delivers 85 percent protein and has a high glutamine content, as well as excellent digestibility, making it ideally suited to both the booming sports and senior nutrition markets.

Historically, incorporating high levels of protein and glutamine into food and beverage products has been difficult to achieve with an appealing taste and texture. With good water solubility, a neutral taste and creamy color, Nutriance® helps developers to overcome these challenges – regardless of whether they are looking to formulate for a beverage, bar, biscuit, cake or meal replacement application. Nutriance® was recognized as a ‘Protein of the Future’ at the French Innovation Awards, presented at Fi Europe 2015.

“At ADM, we are continually looking to expand our extensive ingredient toolbox, to enable our customers to create food and beverage products that will appeal to today’s increasingly discerning, health-conscious consumer,” explains Lutz Guderjahn, Managing Director, Corn, Europe at ADM.

“Nutriance® is a source of branched chain amino acids (BCAAs), which makes it the ideal solution for developers looking to reach the growing number of active or elderly consumers choosing to take a more holistic approach to their health. Whether they are following a vegetarian or vegan lifestyle, or looking for natural positioning, this hydrolyzed wheat-sourced protein concentrate ticks all the boxes and we’re extremely excited to add it to our already vast ingredient portfolio,” continued Guderjahn.

An image is available on request: ADM_Mixed_Protein_Bars_iStock.jpg
Caption: ADM presents its wheat protein concentrate, Nutriance®
Source: ADM/Mixed protein bars/iStock image (may be reprinted for free if source is cited)

About ADM
For more than a century, the people of Archer Daniels Midland Company (NYSE: ADM) have transformed crops into products that serve the vital needs of a growing world. Today, we’re one of the world’s largest agricultural processors and food ingredient providers, with approximately 32,000 employees serving customers in more than 160 countries. With a global value chain that includes approximately 500 crop procurement locations, 250 ingredient manufacturing facilities, 38 innovation centers and the world’s premier crop transportation network, we connect the harvest to the home, making products for food, animal feed, industrial and energy uses. Learn more at www.adm.com.

CHICAGO, —Archer Daniels Midland Company (NYSE: ADM) announced today that it has acquired tree nut and seed processing assets and operations in Modesto, California, from California Gold Almonds, adding critical processing capacity on top of ADM’s existing West Coast nut operations in Lodi and Stockton. Under the terms of the deal, ADM is acquiring the lease to the brand-new Modesto processing plant, and taking ownership of assets—including processing equipment—at the facility.

“This is a great addition that will help us continue to grow sales in our business,” said Vince Macciocchi, president of ADM’s WILD Flavors and Specialty Ingredients business unit. “Global demand for almonds, macadamias, pumpkin seeds, cashews and other healthy, on-trend nuts and seeds is growing, and production is projected to continue rising. Our Specialty Commodities business is a premier global supplier of healthy ingredients, including nuts, fruits, seeds, legumes and ancient grains; our customers look to us to make sure they can meet growing consumer demand, and we are committed to delivering for them. This acquisition helps ensure that we stay ahead of consumer demand trends, and continue to meet customer needs in a growing market.”

The Modesto plant is capable of steam pasteurizing, roasting, dicing, slicing, milling and packaging. Like ADM’s plants in Lodi and Stockton, the facility can process a range of nuts, including almonds, cashews, Brazil nuts, pecans, pistachios, hazelnuts, walnuts and macadamias.

Forward-Looking Statements
Some of the above statements constitute forward-looking statements. ADM’s filings with the SEC provide detailed information on such statements and risks, and should be consulted along with this release. To the extent permitted under applicable law, ADM assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements.

About ADM
For more than a century, the people of Archer Daniels Midland Company (NYSE: ADM) have transformed crops into products that serve the vital needs of a growing world. Today, we’re one of the world’s largest agricultural processors and food ingredient providers, with more than 33,000 employees serving customers in more than 140 countries. With a global value chain that includes more than 460 crop procurement locations, 300 ingredient manufacturing facilities, 40 innovation centers and the world’s premier crop transportation network, we connect the harvest to the home, making products for food, animal feed, chemical and energy uses. Learn more at www.adm.com.

Essex, UK,—ADM Milling, part of Archer Daniels Midland Company (NYSE: ADM), has extended its portfolio of flours and bakery ingredients with the launch of its new multiseed concentrate with ancient grains in the U.K. A premium quality bread mix blended from wheat flour and a variety of seeds and ancient grains, the new multiseed mix can be combined with wholemeal, white or malted flours to help bakers diversify their portfolio in line with the latest consumer trends.

ADM Milling’s multiseed concentrate with ancient grains contains five different seeds, including brown and golden linseeds; sunflower; pumpkin and poppy seeds;and four ancient grains: millet, chia seed, amaranth and quinoa. Typically perceived by consumers as being high in protein and fiber, the addition of these ingredients helps bakers create products that satisfy the demands of health-minded shoppers.

“With a growing interest in more wellness-focused lifestyles, the demand for healthier and nutrient-enriched bread varieties continues to grow,” said Peter Hayes, national sales manager, Bakery at ADM. “In particular, the trend towards preferences for more natural and wholesome products has resulted in an increase in global product launches of baking ingredients and mixes containing ancient grains. Bakers can therefore leverage these premium ingredients to create differentiation in a highly competitive market. One way of doing this is by using specialty flours and mixes that offer manufacturers a simple way to deliver ancient grain and seed blends.”

ADM Milling’s new multiseed bread mix can be easily combined with different flour varieties to create a range of delicious seeded breads, including loaves and rolls, with exceptional flavour. The blend of seeds and grains also adds texture to baked goods, giving them an authentic mouthfeel and taste. For example, ADM Milling’s multiseed concentrate with ancient grains can be combined with ADM’s harvest sun malted wheat flour for bread products with an additional source of fiber and malty taste and aroma.

For more information about ADM Milling’s wide range of flours and bakery ingredients in the U.K., visit www.4flour.co.uk or contact sales4flour@adm.com.

About ADM
For more than a century, the people of Archer Daniels Midland Company (NYSE: ADM) have transformed crops into products that serve the vital needs of a growing world. Today, we’re one of the world’s largest agricultural processors and food ingredient providers, with approximately 32,000 employees serving customers in more than 160 countries. With a global value chain that includes approximately 500 crop procurement locations, 250 ingredient manufacturing facilities, 38 innovation centers and the world’s premier crop transportation network, we connect the harvest to the home, making products for food, animal feed, industrial and energy uses. Learn more at www.adm.com.

CHICAGO, July 6, 2016 —Through a comprehensive plan to drive operational efficiencies and enhance environmental sustainability, Archer Daniels Midland Company (NYSE: ADM) has made continued progress toward the aggressive goals the company set five years ago to reduce its use of energy, water, emissions and waste per unit of production, known as intensity.

In its latest Corporate Sustainability report, now available at www.adm.com/responsibility, the company reports that it has reduced energy intensity 22 percent since 2010, and that water intensity has declined 18 percent since 2008. Both of these figures put the company ahead of its goal of achieving a 15 percent reduction in each area by the years 2020 and 2018, respectively.

Carbon emissions since 2010 have fallen 11 percent per unit of production; this progress puts the company on track to reach its goal of a 15 percent intensity reduction by 2020. ADM has also implemented pilot projects to capitalize on waste reduction and recycling opportunities.

“ADM believes that successfully feeding the world while minimizing our impact on the planet is essential to our goal of setting the competitive standard in the agribusiness and food-ingredient industries,” said Juan Luciano, ADM Chairman and CEO. “Our 32,300 ADM colleagues are dedicated to growing our business in ways that reflect our values of integrity, responsibility and respect. I am proud of our achievements to date, and I am excited about the work our teams are already doing to further our sustainability efforts.”

ADM’s 2015 Corporate Sustainability Report also details ADM’s supply chain advancements and its worldwide charitable donations, among other achievements. Highlights include:

Achieving 92.7 percent traceability of the company’s palm supply as part of the Commitment to No-Deforestation the company announced in May 2015
Donating a total of $10.7 million through ADM Cares, the company’s social investment program that strives to make a positive difference in the communities where ADM’s colleagues live and work
Improving ADM’s safety record with a 19 percent reduction in lost workday incident rate and an 18 percent reduction in the total recordable incident rate compared to 2014. 2015 was the safest year in ADM’s history with 94.1 percent of facilities reporting no lost workdays.

About ADM
For more than a century, the people of Archer Daniels Midland Company (NYSE: ADM) have transformed crops into products that serve the vital needs of a growing world. Today, we’re one of the world’s largest agricultural processors and food ingredient providers, with more than 32,300 employees serving customers in more than 160 countries. With a global value chain that includes 428 crop procurement locations, 280 ingredient manufacturing facilities, 39 innovation centers and the world’s premier crop transportation network, we connect the harvest to the home, making products for food, animal feed, industrial and energy uses. Learn more at www.adm.com.

SPYCK, Germany,—Archer Daniels Midland Company (NYSE: ADM) has successfully crushed its first non-GMO soybeans at its facility in Spyck, northwestern Germany. Located close to the Dutch border, the site was previously only used to crush rape and sunflower seeds. The new switch capacity is part of ADM’s long-term strategy to expand its network of European soy processing plants, enabling it to better service its soybean meal customers and support local farmers in increasing the region’s soybean acreage.

“The extended soybean crushing capacity in Spyck will help us meet customer demand as the European non-GMO soybean market continues to grow,” says Jon Turney, general manager, European soybean crush at ADM. “The additional flexibility that we now have also gives us the ability to quickly respond to changing market dynamics for rape, sunflower and soy in the future.”

ADM also crushes non-GMO soybeans at its facility in Straubing, Germany. In the past year, it has been working with farmers and industry accreditation bodies to create further opportunities to grow and market soybeans across northwest Europe.

“We are committed to growing the soybean industry in this region, and we are working hard to help farmers in France and along the Danube see the value of growing soybeans within their rotation,” said Rene van der Poel, commercial manager for Oilseeds in Germany at ADM.

“It is a great achievement for the team in Spyck to execute this latest step in our growth strategy, both on time and on budget. Flexible crush capacities, scale and carefully managed production costs per unit all remain key to our ongoing success in the region over the long term,” said John Grossmann, president, European crush and origination.”

For more information on ADM, visit www.adm.com.

About ADM
For more than a century, the people of Archer Daniels Midland Company (NYSE: ADM) have transformed crops into products that serve the vital needs of a growing world. Today, we’re one of the world’s largest agricultural processors and food ingredient providers, with approximately 32,000 employees serving customers in more than 160 countries. With a global value chain that includes approximately 500 crop procurement locations, 250 ingredient manufacturing facilities, 38 innovation centers and the world’s premier crop transportation network, we connect the harvest to the home, making products for food, animal feed, industrial and energy uses. Learn more at www.adm.com.

CHICAGO, —Archer Daniels Midland Company (NYSE: ADM) announced today that it has reached an agreement to sell its Crop Risk Services (CRS) business to Validus Holdings, Ltd. (Validus) (NYSE: VR) for $127.5 million, subject to certain working capital and balance sheet adjustments. The deal includes a marketing services agreement under which ADM and Validus will work together to continue to offer a full range of insurance and farmer marketing products and services to CRS customers.

“We regularly evaluate our portfolio to ensure that our businesses and assets best fit our strategy to maximize long-term returns,” said Joe Taets, president of ADM’s Agricultural Services business unit. “As a result of that ongoing process, we have identified a better strategic fit for the Crop Risk Services business. In the years since we purchased ADM CRS, that team has built it out to become a significant market participant. Equally as important, ADM CRS has become a platform through which our Grain business is able to offer our farmer partners a wide array of services that benefit both them and ADM. Now, we’re pleased to have reached an agreement that benefits ADM on two fronts: it includes a marketing services agreement that will allow ADM and Validus to work together to continue to offer customers a full array of crop insurance products as well as ADM’s grain marketing services, while the sale of the business gives us the opportunity to redeploy capital as part of our balanced capital-allocation framework. We are pleased to have found a buyer in Validus that is committed to running—and growing—the business, and we look forward to continuing to work with Validus and the CRS sales team and their customers across the country. This is a good solution for ADM, our shareholders, the CRS team, and the farmers who are the foundation of our business.”

Validus—a leading global provider of insurance, reinsurance and investment services, with over 800 employees and offices in all major regions worldwide—has committed to keeping the CRS business intact, including maintaining its operations in Decatur.

Ed Noonan, Validus’ chairman and chief executive officer, stated, “I’m very pleased to welcome CRS to Validus. CRS is a high quality crop insurance provider that has achieved excellent growth in recent years. Validus will benefit from CRS’s commitment to provide superior customer service to agents and farmers via their leading technology capabilities. The addition of CRS complements Validus’ existing agriculture book and participation in this market is a logical step as Validus continues to expand our presence in U.S. primary specialty lines. We are excited by the long-term partnership with ADM as this transaction further provides the unique opportunity of a marketing services agreement with one of the largest agricultural processors in the world.”

The sale, which is subject to regulatory review, is expected to close in the first half of 2017. Nearly all ADM CRS employees will transfer with the CRS business at closing. ADM expects to record a book gain upon closing.

About ADM Crop Risk Services
ADM Crop Risk Services (“CRS”) is a Decatur, Illinois-based primary crop insurance company. CRS was first established in 1982 as ASI AgriServe Inc. In 2010, ADM acquired 100 percent of the shares of ASI, and the company became ADM Crop Risk Services.

CRS aims to provide farmers with affordable crop income protection, superior service and utmost integrity.

Forward-Looking Statements
Some of the above statements constitute forward-looking statements. ADM’s filings with the SEC provide detailed information on such statements and risks, and should be consulted along with this release. To the extent permitted under applicable law, ADM assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements.

About ADM
For more than a century, the people of Archer Daniels Midland Company (NYSE: ADM) have transformed crops into products that serve the vital needs of a growing world. Today, we’re one of the world’s largest agricultural processors and food ingredient providers, with more than 32,300 employees serving customers in more than 160 countries. With a global value chain that includes 428 crop procurement locations, 280 ingredient manufacturing facilities, 39 innovation centers and the world’s premier crop transportation network, we connect the harvest to the home, making products for food, animal feed, industrial and energy uses. Learn more at www.adm.com.

About Validus Holding, Ltd.
Validus Holdings, Ltd. (“Validus”) is a holding company for reinsurance and insurance operating companies and investment advisors including Validus Reinsurance, Ltd. (“Validus Re”), Talbot Underwriting Ltd. (“Talbot”), Western World Insurance Group, Inc. (“Western World”) and AlphaCat Managers, Ltd. (“AlphaCat”).

Validus Re is a Bermuda based reinsurer focused on treaty reinsurance. Talbot is a specialty insurance group primarily operating within the Lloyd’s insurance market through Syndicate 1183. Western World is a U.S. specialty lines insurance company focused on excess and surplus lines. AlphaCat is a Bermuda based investment adviser managing capital for third parties and Validus in insurance linked securities and other property catastrophe and specialty reinsurance investments.

CHICAGO– Archer Daniels Midland Company (NYSE: ADM) announced today that it has reached an agreement to sell its oilseeds operations in Bolivia to Inversiones Piuranas S.A. The sale encompasses ADM’s processing facility in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, as well as nine grain silos and ADM’s Bolivian distribution business.

“We regularly review our portfolio, and the sale of our Bolivian Oilseeds operations is part of our long-term growth and transformation strategy,” said Greg Morris, president of ADM’s Oilseeds Processing business unit.

ADM’s oilseeds operations in Bolivia process soybeans and sunflower into oils and protein meal. ADM has approximately 400 employees in Bolivia.

The transaction, which is subject to regulatory approvals, is expected to close in the first half of 2018; until then, ADM will continue to operate its oilseeds business in Bolivia.

Forward-Looking Statements
Some of the above statements constitute forward-looking statements. ADM’s filings with the SEC provide detailed information on such statements and risks, and should be consulted along with this release. To the extent permitted under applicable law, ADM assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements.

About ADM
For more than a century, the people of Archer Daniels Midland Company (NYSE: ADM) have transformed crops into products that serve the vital needs of a growing world. Today, we’re one of the world’s largest agricultural processors and food ingredient providers, with approximately 32,000 employees serving customers in more than 160 countries. With a global value chain that includes approximately 500 crop procurement locations, 250 ingredient manufacturing facilities, 38 innovation centers and the world’s premier crop transportation network, we connect the harvest to the home, making products for food, animal feed, industrial and energy uses. Learn more at www.adm.com.

CHICAGO, — Archer Daniels Midland Company (NYSE: ADM) announced today that it has reached an agreement to sell its sugarcane ethanol operations in Limeira do Oeste, in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais, to JFLim Participações S.A.

“We regularly review our asset portfolio to determine how best to maximize shareholder returns, and in this case, we have determined that our sugarcane ethanol operations in Brazil are unlikely to meet our long-term returns objectives,” said Chris Cuddy, president of ADM’s corn processing business unit. “As our sole sugarcane ethanol operation in Brazil, this asset is too small for ADM to compete effectively in a challenging ethanol environment.”

The transaction includes a sugarcane plantation and an ethanol distillery, which is capable of crushing up to 1.5 million tons of sugarcane and producing 37 million gallons* of ethanol per year. About 650 employees work in the plantation and plant.

The sale, which is subject to regulatory review, is expected to close in the second quarter of this year.

“ADM is continuing to invest in Brazil, which is a major center for our global operations,” Cuddy continued. “Brazil is one of the world’s most important producers of agricultural products, and will be critical to feeding a growing global population in the coming years. We look forward to continuing to partner with Brazilian farmers to feed the world together.”

ADM is one of the largest agribusiness companies in Brazil. With about 3,900 employees, the company processes soybeans in five facilities and sunflower at another, and markets the bottled oil brands Concórdia, Corcovado and Vitaliv. The company also operates the largest biodiesel plant in Brazil, and more than 40 elevators across the country. ADM is a joint owner of an export terminal in Barcarena, and has a concession to operate a terminal at the Port of Santos. ADM is also building a soy protein production complex next to the company’s existing soybean plant in Campo Grande, Mato Grosso do Sul.

About ADM
For more than a century, the people of Archer Daniels Midland Company (NYSE: ADM) have transformed crops into products that serve the vital needs of a growing world. Today, we’re one of the world’s largest agricultural processors and food ingredient providers, with more than 32,300 employees serving customers in more than 160 countries. With a global value chain that includes 428 crop procurement locations, 280 ingredient manufacturing facilities, 39 innovation centers and the world’s premier crop transportation network, we connect the harvest to the home, making products for food, animal feed, industrial and energy uses. Learn more at www.adm.com.

CHICAGO, — Archer Daniels Midland Company (NYSE: ADM) today issued its 2016 Corporate Sustainability Report, which details significant progress in areas ranging from energy and water efficiency to the traceability of the company’s palm and soy supply chains.

“In 2016, we made significant advancements in our social and environmental goals, reflecting how we run our business and make a productive contribution to society,” said ADM Chairman and CEO Juan Luciano.  “We are addressing some of the world’s most urgent needs by improving our energy and water efficiency, implementing initiatives to ensure a sustainable global supply chain, enforcing human rights, and investing in local economies where ADM operates.”

The report, available at www.adm.com/sustainability, details a wide range of achievements:
• ADM has reached its stated goal in palm oil traceability, achieving 98 percent traceability for palm oil and 95.5 percent for palm kernel oil.
• The company has completed a soybean sourcing analysis for Paraguay, Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Bolivia; advanced its efforts to map soy sourcing systems and processes in Brazil and Paraguay; and is working to identify and test methodology and monitoring tools to implement a viable system to detect deforestation of native vegetation.
• Since 2010, the company has reduced energy intensity by 25 percent and emissions by 11 percent on a per-unit-of-production basis.
• Since 2008, ADM has reduced water usage by 24 percent on a per-unit-of-production basis.
• As part of its Respect for Human Rights policy implementation, the company instituted site visits and training programs in Paraguay, Brazil, and India.
• In 2016, ADM contributed more than $11 million to charitable causes.

About ADM
For more than a century, the people of Archer Daniels Midland Company (NYSE: ADM) have transformed crops into products that serve the vital needs of a growing world. Today, we’re one of the world’s largest agricultural processors and food ingredient providers, with approximately 32,000 employees serving customers in more than 160 countries. With a global value chain that includes approximately 500 crop procurement locations, 250 ingredient manufacturing facilities, 38 innovation centers and the world’s premier crop transportation network, we connect the harvest to the home, making products for food, animal feed, industrial and energy uses. Learn more at www.adm.com. 

CHICAGO, – Archer Daniels Midland Company (NYSE: ADM) today announced an agreement to sell its global chocolate business to Cargill for $440 million, subject to a customary working-capital adjustment. The proposed sale is expected to close during the first half of 2015 and is subject to regulatory approval and other customary conditions.

“As part of our ongoing portfolio management, we considered several options to strengthen the returns of this part of our business,” said ADM Chairman and CEO Patricia A. Woertz. “The sale of the chocolate business helps improve ADM’s returns and will allow us to redeploy capital for higher-return investments.”

Included in the sale are chocolate manufacturing operations located in Hazleton, Pennsylvania; Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Georgetown, Ontario; Liverpool, U.K.; Manage, Belgium; and Mannheim, Germany. Approximately 700 employees will transfer to Cargill with the sale.

At the time of closing, ADM will be ending cocoa processing operations at Hazleton, Pennsylvania. This will result in the elimination of about 90 positions at that location. ADM will offer affected employees severance packages and outplacement assistance.

Following the transaction, the 1,560 employees of ADM cocoa will continue to supply customers around the world with ADM’s renowned deZaan® cocoa ingredients from the company’s cocoa operations in Mississauga, Ontario; Koog aan de Zaan and Wormer, Netherlands; Mannheim, Germany; Ilhéus, Brazil; Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire; Kumasi, Ghana; and Singapore.

About ADM
For more than a century, the people of Archer Daniels Midland Company (NYSE: ADM) have transformed crops into products that serve vital needs. Today, 31,000 ADM employees around the globe convert oilseeds, corn, wheat and cocoa into products for food, animal feed, industrial and energy uses. With more than 270 processing plants, 470 crop procurement facilities, and the world’s premier crop transportation network, ADM helps connect the harvest to the home in more than 140 countries. For more information about ADM and its products, visit www.adm.com.

JAKARTA, INDONESIA—ADM (NYSE: ADM), a global leader in human and animal nutrition, announced today that it has reached an agreement to acquire PT Trouw Nutrition Indonesia, a subsidiary of Nutreco and leading provider of functional and nutritional solutions for livestock farming in Indonesia*.

Incorporated in 2007, PT Trouw Nutrition Indonesia is a leading premix manufacturer, providing innovative and comprehensive nutrition solutions for the animal industry. Their premix production facilities feature full automation solutions with intelligent process optimization, and they are industry 4.0 ready with professional project management and execution1.

With the planned acquisition, ADM will be strengthening its premix and feed additives & ingredients (FA&I) business and strategically positioning itself to meet the anticipated market growth to sustain the rising demand for protein. The acquisition encompasses two premix production facilities—known as the Pasuruan site in Surabaya and the Cibitung site in Jakarta—as well as laboratories, warehouses and offices across Indonesia.

“This acquisition will complement our regional footprint and will represent a step forward in achieving our vision of leading the animal nutrition industry,” said Gerald Wilflingseder, president of ADM’s animal nutrition business in APAC. “It will enable us to enhance our premix production capabilities, ensuring that we are strongly positioned to provide localized solutions and customized services swiftly to customers in Indonesia and the broader region. We believe this move will not only enhance ADM as a major player in premixes and FA&I in Indonesia but also reinforces our reputation as the preferred partner for customers looking for full animal nutrition solutions offerings.”

Once the acquisition is complete, ADM will integrate PT Trouw Nutrition Indonesia into its wider footprint in Indonesia, creating new opportunities to broaden the portfolio of products and solutions offered to customers. In addition, Dr. Pierre Domps, general manager of animal nutrition Indonesia at ADM, commented, “Our commitment extends beyond products and solutions; we strive to provide a spectrum of services. We will provide customized solutions and services backed by international technical expertise and support from our lab services. This approach ensures comprehensive support for local production, enabling a tailored strategy to meet the unique market demands in Indonesia and the Asia-Pacific region.”

For more information about ADM’s full portfolio of animal nutrition products and solutions, visit https://www.global.admanimalnutrition.com/.

* Subject to the satisfaction of various Conditions Precedent (CP)
1https://www.trouwnutritionasiapacific.com/en-id/about-us/our-organisation/tn-indonesia/

Forward-Looking Statements
Some of the above statements constitute forward-looking statements. ADM’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) provide detailed information on such statements and risks, and should be consulted along with this release. To the extent permitted under applicable law, ADM assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements.

About ADM
ADM unlocks the power of nature to enrich the quality of life. We’re a premier global human and animal nutrition company, delivering solutions today with an eye to the future. We’re blazing new trails in health and well-being as our scientists develop groundbreaking products to support healthier living. We’re a cutting-edge innovator leading the way to a new future of plant-based consumer and industrial solutions to replace petroleum-based products. We’re an unmatched agricultural supply chain manager and processor, providing food security by connecting local needs with global capabilities. And we’re a leader in sustainability, scaling across entire value chains to help decarbonize our industry and safeguard our planet. From the seed of the idea to the outcome of the solution, we give customers an edge in solving the nutritional and sustainability challenges of today and tomorrow. Learn more at www.adm.com.

Source: ADM

Source: Corporate release

ROLLE — ADM (NYSE: ADM), a global leader in human and animal nutrition, announced today the opening of a new Customer Creation and Innovation Center (CCIC) in Manchester, England, serving as a UK hub for food innovation and building upon ADM’s strong presence in the UK. With a state-of-the-art kitchen, chef’s presentation theater and flavor development lab, ADM is expanding its culinary capabilities and food solutions into new savory culinary innovations for the UK, in addition to providing continued support for the beverage, sweet goods and dairy sectors.

Bringing together the new local facility and technology with ADM’s full global pantry of ingredients and solutions enables ADM chefs, food scientists and flavorists to provide unique expertise into the growing alternative protein arena, developing pioneering savory plant-based product offerings that meet consumers’ high sensory expectations and evolving wellness demands.

The 800 square-meter CCIC cultivates collaboration with customers – from food manufacturers to foodservice – fostering innovative development in on-trend savory applications, as well as sweet goods, dairy and alternative dairy products, beverages and more.

“The opening of our new Customer Creation and Innovation Center provides a unique synergistic space to further our commitment to push the boundaries of food and beverage formulation, while also delivering on authentic culinary experiences,” said Chris Poole, Managing Director, ADM. “And with the UK market on track for steady growth in 2023 and beyond, ADM is perfectly positioned to service all our customers’ needs.”

The new CCIC demonstrates ADM’s continued dedication to nutrition innovation that can support the needs of a growing population and future generations, as the company also announced this year the opening of a probiotic facility in Valencia, Spain and a partnership with Marel to build a taste and texture innovation center for the alternative protein space in the Netherlands. Each of these investments expands the connection and integration of ADM’s global capabilities, supporting manufacturers in bringing future-forward offerings that meet consumers’ demands of tomorrow, today.

About ADM

ADM unlocks the power of nature to enrich the quality of life. We’re a premier global human and animal nutrition company, delivering solutions today with an eye to the future. We’re blazing new trails in health and well-being as our scientists develop groundbreaking products to support healthier living. We’re a cutting-edge innovator leading the way to a new future of plant-based consumer and industrial solutions to replace petroleum-based products. We’re an unmatched agricultural supply chain manager and processor, providing food security by connecting local needs with global capabilities. And we’re a leader in sustainability, scaling across entire value chains to help decarbonize our industry and safeguard our planet. From the seed of the idea to the outcome of the solution, we give customers an edge in solving the nutritional and sustainability challenges of today and tomorrow. Learn more at www.adm.com.

ADM Media Relations
Ana Paula Cruz
media-eu@adm.com
+41 21 702 8400

ROLLE, Switzerland, Nov. 20, 2017— Archer Daniels Midland Company (NYSE: ADM) has been awarded ‘most innovative food ingredient’ for its natural sweetening solution, Fruit Up® Fiber, at this year’s Gulfood Manufacturing Industry Excellence Awards. The awards recognize best practices and innovation within the food manufacturing industry value chain.

Entries were judged on the additional value the innovations brought to developers, as well as their ability to meet unmet market needs. Growing regulatory pressure, media scrutiny and changing consumer tastes have led many food and beverage developers to focus on reformulation options to reduce the amount of sugar in their products. As a result, reduced sugar alternatives are growing in popularity and becoming a necessity for many companies. Meanwhile, consumers continue to look for clean label products that look, smell and taste great.

Fruit Up Fiber is a source of soluble fiber that provides sweetness with 30 percent less sugar on a dry basis relative to nutritive sweeteners, such as sucrose or glucose. Based on naturally occurring carbohydrates (sugars, sweetening ingredients, polyols and soluble fibers), Fruit Up Fiber can provide developers with a lower sugar, clean label solution for a wide range of food and beverage applications. It has a glycemic index of 40, is also non-GMO, and Halal and Kosher certified.

“Using naturally sourced sweetening ingredients and fibers for sugar reduction gives developers the opportunity to appeal to consumers who are looking to reduce their sugar intake and are also making health and wellness a priority in their eating choices, and Fruit Up Fiber is a great solution to meet this demand,” said Ramesh Sambamoorthy, managing director, Middle East, WILD Flavors and Specialty Ingredients, a business unit of ADM. “We look forward to showcasing how Fruit Up Fiber can help developers create products with a premium positioning and added value across the Middle East region and the world over.”

For more information on ADM’s extensive portfolio of ingredient solutions, visit www.adm.com.

About ADM
For more than a century, the people of Archer Daniels Midland Company (NYSE: ADM) have transformed crops into products that serve the vital needs of a growing world. Today, we’re one of the world’s largest agricultural processors and food ingredient providers, with approximately 32,000 employees serving customers in more than 160 countries. With a global value chain that includes approximately 500 crop procurement locations, 250 ingredient manufacturing facilities, 38 innovation centers and the world’s premier crop transportation network, we connect the harvest to the home, making products for food, animal feed, industrial and energy uses. Learn more at www.adm.com.

Welcome to the future of agricultural technology! AGCO’s Advanced Technology Solutions (ATS) department is dedicated to providing high-tech solutions for professional farmers feeding the world, and on July 9, 2013 ATS announced an important milestone in carrying out that vision.

Introducing FuseTM Technologies: a new global corporate initiative that encompasses all aspects of AGCO’s technology offerings. It will enable farmers to optimize their farms through current and future AGCO products and services. “These ideas of connectivity and deeper integration are at the core of Fuse Technologies,” said Matt Rushing, Vice President, Product Management, Advanced Technology Solutions (ATS) and EFG. A major focus of Fuse Technologies will be to ensure an “open” approach to technology integration in AGCO equipment. AGCO’s current technology offerings including AgCommandTM, VarioDocTM, Auto-Guide 3000TM, VarioGuideTM, and future generations of these as well as other core precision farming technologies will be added to the Fuse Technologies portfolio.

The Fuse Technology strategy aims to deliver on three key customer benefits that help farm operations run more efficiently:

Always running… Optimized
To maximize productivity, growers need all their farm assets running at optimum efficiency. Fuse Technologies helps minimize downtime while improving the overall farm enterprise through wireless connectivity and diagnostic services. From machinery to grain storage solutions, Fuse can help anyone run a smarter, more profitable enterprise.

Right place, Right time… Coordinated
Ensuring that equipment and resources know where they need to be, and how and when to be there, is critical to keeping an operation moving. Fuse Technologies provides connectivity tools that help growers manage and communicate with their equipment, mobile or stationary, making sure they are in the right place at the right time and working together – regardless of brand.

Connecting the Crop Cycle… Seamlessly
Farming is a year-round business. From planting to growing to harvesting, Fuse Technologies provides seamless connectivity across a grower’s farm enterprise and throughout each step of the crop cycle. Keeping growers in constant contact with their AGCO dealer and the other trusted advisors that they rely on to help make the right decisions throughout the year.

Fuse will deliver on these benefits through five pillars that underscore the Fuse strategy:
AGCO Brands: AGCO is a global provider of agriculture solutions through a unique offering of brands and products that deliver the AGCO vision of “High-tech Solutions for Professional Farmers Feeding the World.”

On & Off Board Technologies: Seamlessly integrate all farm assets – resulting in higher yields, less input costs and greater profits.

Support & Training: A new global customer call center and leading-edge product training means growers get the expertise and answers they need to run their operation more efficiently.
Dealer Network: One of the world’s most extensive dealer networks gives growers global access and support – any time, any place.

Service Providers: Connect with preferred service providers and enjoy the freedom and convenience to continue working with local business partners that growers trust.

Fuse represents a new day for AGCO; the company is more than doubling its resources in key areas that will lead to more new products and services in the precision agriculture category. This new initiative is a major global investment with an outstanding growth opportunity. Fuse is a promise to AGCO’s customers for a consolidated approach to precision farming technology that will help to transform their business through innovation, integration and enhanced optimization resulting in improved profits and yields.

The creation and launch of Fuse Technologies brings forth a connected strategy that encompasses and includes all technology products offered by AGCO across all brands and regions.

This news is courtesy of www.agcocorp.com

WASHINGTON, – Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced that USDA is accepting applications for funding under a program that supports the production of advanced biofuels, renewable chemicals, and biobased product manufacturing.

“This critical financing will enhance our efforts to build a robust, rural bioeconomy by helping to expand the availability of biobased products and to increase the number of commercial-scale biorefineries in the country,” Vilsack said. “In addition to the available funding, I am proud to announce that USDA has significantly improved the biorefinery program to help create lasting job opportunities in rural America.”

USDA is making the funding available through the Biorefinery, Renewable Chemical, and Biobased Product Manufacturing Assistance Program. It was formerly known as the Biorefinery Assistance Program.

The new program provides loan guarantees of up to $250 million to construct and retrofit commercial-scale biorefineries and to develop renewable chemicals and biobased product manufacturing facilities. Vilsack and USDA Rural Business-Cooperative Service Administrator Lillian Salerno today hosted a seminar at USDA headquarters to discuss changes to the program and the opportunities available to produce more biobased products.

Two funding cycles are being held. Applications for round one are due October 1. Applications for the second round are due April 1, 2016. For information on how to apply, see page 38432 of the July 6, 2015 Federal Register.

USDA has made significant improvements to the program. Biorefineries are now able to receive funding to produce more renewable chemicals and other biobased products in addition to advanced biofuels.

Also, biobased product manufacturing facilities are eligible to convert renewable chemicals and other biobased outputs into “end-user” products. Further, USDA has streamlined the application process.

Sapphire Energy’s “Green Crude Farm” in Columbus, N.M., is an example of how USDA funding and partnerships with the private sector are helping to support the development of biorefineries. In 2011, USDA provided Sapphire Energy a $54.5 million loan guarantee to build a refined algal oil commercial facility.

The plant opened in May 2012 and is producing renewable algal oil that can be further refined to replace petroleum-derived diesel and jet fuel. According to the company, more than 600 jobs were created throughout the first phase of construction at the facility, and 30 full-time employees currently operate the plant. After Sapphire received additional equity from private investors, it repaid the remaining balance on its USDA-backed loan in 2013.

USDA released a new report on June 17 that shows America’s biobased industry is generating substantial economic activity and creating American jobs. According to the report, the U.S. biobased industry contributed four million jobs and nearly $370 billion to the American economy in 2013 alone.

Today’s funding announcement was made possible by the 2014 Farm Bill, which builds on historic economic gains in rural America over the past five years while achieving meaningful reform and billions of dollars in savings for taxpayers. USDA has made significant progress to implement each provision of this critical legislation, including providing disaster relief to farmers and ranchers; strengthening risk management tools; expanding access to rural credit; funding critical research; establishing innovative public-private conservation partnerships; developing new markets for rural-made products; and investing in infrastructure, housing and community facilities to help improve quality of life.

HAVANA, – As part of President Obama’s historic trip to Cuba to further normalization of relations, advance commercial and people-to-people ties, and express our support for human rights for all Cubans, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced several measures that will foster further collaboration between the U.S. and Cuban agriculture sectors. The two neighboring countries share common climate and agriculture related concerns, and the measures announced today in Havana will mutually benefit the Cuban people and U.S. farmers and ranchers.

While in Cuba, Secretary Vilsack announced that USDA will allow the 22 industry-funded Research and Promotion Programs and 18 Marketing Order organizations to conduct authorized research and information exchange activities with Cuba. These groups, which are responsible for creating bonds with consumers and businesses around the world in support of U.S. agriculture, will be able to engage in cooperative research and information exchanges with Cuba about agricultural productivity, food security and sustainable natural resource management. Secretary Vilsack called the announcement “a significant step forward in strengthening our bond and broadening agricultural trade between the United States and Cuba.”

During their bilateral meeting today, Secretary Vilsack and Cuban Minster of Agriculture Gustavo Rodriguez Rollero will sign a Memorandum of Understanding that establishes a framework for sharing ideas and research between the two countries. Secretary Vilsack also has invited Minister Rodriguez to join on a visit to one of USDA’s Climate Sub Hubs in Puerto Rico in late May, where USDA researchers are studying the effects of climate change in the subtropical region and strategies for mitigating these effects.

“Recognizing the importance of agriculture in the United States and Cuba, USDA is advancing a new partnership for the 21st century between our two countries,” said Vilsack. “U.S. producers are eager to help meet Cuba’s need for healthy, safe, nutritious food. Research and Promotion and Marketing Order Programs have a long history of conducting important research that supports producers by providing information about a commodity’s nutritional benefits and identifying new uses for various commodities. The agreements we reached with our Cuban counterparts on this historic trip, and the ability for our agriculture sector leaders to communicate with Cuban businesses, will help U.S. agricultural interests better understand the Cuban market, while also providing the Cuban people with science-based information as they grow their own agriculture sector.”

USDA will review all proposed Research and Promotion Board and Marketing Order activities related to Cuba to ensure that they are consistent with existing laws. Examples of activities that may take place include the following:

Provide nutritional research and guidance, as well as participate with the Cuban government and industry officials, at meetings regarding nutrition and related Cuban rules and regulations.
Conduct plate waste study research in schools to determine what kids eat and what they discard, leading to improved nutritional information that helps develop the guidance for school meal requirements, ensuring kids are getting adequate nutrition to be successful in school.
Provide U.S. based market, consumer, nutrition and environmental research findings to Cuban government and industry officials.
Research commodities’ role in a nutritious diet that improves health or lowers the risk of chronic diseases.
Study the efficacy of water disinfectants to eliminate/inactivate bacteria on commodities.
Test recipes and specific products amongst Cuban consumers of all ages, with the goal of increasing product development and acceptance.
Conduct consumer tracking studies to measure attitudes when it comes to a specific commodity and consumption and to identify consumer groups based on their behavior, attitudes, and purchasing habits for a particular commodity.
The visit to the Puerto Rico Sub Hub would allow USDA and Cuba’s Ministry of Agriculture to exchange information on climate change as it relates to tropical forestry and agriculture, and explore opportunities for collaboration. The two officials would be able to explore tools and strategies to cope with challenges associated with climate change, such as drought, heat stress, excessive moisture, longer growing seasons, and changes in pest pressure.

The Puerto Rico hub is part of the USDA Regional Climate Hub network that supports applied research and provides information to farmers, ranchers, advisors, and managers to inform climate-related decision making. The hubs are an invaluable resource for those seeking to understand the specific risks of climate change, as well as region-specific adaptation strategies.

The agriculture and forestry sectors in the Caribbean are especially vulnerable to the effects of climate change. Not only is the region particularly exposed to extreme weather events, but much of its population and prime agricultural lands are located on the coast. The Puerto Rico Sub Hub is specifically focused on addressing these unique challenges and supporting the people and institutions involved in tropical forestry and agriculture.

While most U.S. commercial activities are prohibited, the Trade Sanctions Reform Act (TSRA) of 2000 permits the export of U.S. agricultural commodities, though U.S. agricultural exports to Cuba are limited by U.S. restrictions on government export assistance, cash payments, and extending credit. U.S. agricultural exports have grown significantly since trade was authorized in 2000. In 2014, Cuba imported over $2 billion in agricultural products including $300 million from the United States. However, from 2014 to 2015, U.S. agricultural exports to Cuba fell 48 percent to $148.9 million, the lowest since 2002, giving the United States just a 10 percent market share as Cuba’s fourth largest agricultural supplier, behind the EU, Brazil, and Argentina.

This historic visit to Cuba is the first by a sitting U.S. President in nearly 90 years. It is Secretary Vilsack’s second visit and is another demonstration of the President’s commitment to chart a new course for U.S.-Cuban relations and connect U.S. and Cuban citizens through expanded travel, commerce, and access to information.

WASHINGTON, – Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced the launch of two new private funds, known as Rural Business Investment Companies (RBICs), which make equity investments in rural businesses, helping them grow and create jobs. This announcement is part of USDA’s ongoing efforts to help attract private sector capital to investment opportunities in rural America to help drive more economic growth in rural communities.

“These two new private funds will provide innovative small businesses throughout rural America access to the capital they need to grow and create jobs,” Vilsack said. “At USDA, we are working hard to reenergize the rural economy, and we are enlisting more and more private sector partners to help achieve that goal. Rural Business Investment Companies will allow us to facilitate private investment in businesses working in bio-manufacturing, advanced energy production, local and regional food systems, improved farming technologies and other cutting-edge fields.”

Innova Memphis and Meritus Kirchner Capital can now begin raising capital to constitute their funds. Meritus Kirchner Capital has set a goal of raising $100 million, while Innova Memphis has set a goal of raising $25 million for their respective funds. Once the funds have been raised, these companies will make equity investments in rural businesses with high-growth potential.

“We are very pleased to be working with USDA to fund innovative, early-stage startups in rural America,” said Jan Bouten, partner at Innova Memphis. “This being our fourth fund, we will be able to hit the ground running and build on our strong track record in early-stage investing. We will work with partners such as Memphis Bioworks Foundation and Ag Innovation Development Group to build thriving innovation communities across the country.”

“We are appreciative of the leadership Secretary Vilsack and USDA have shown by facilitating the creation of these new RBICs. The RBIC application process was rigorous, with USDA and the Farm Credit Administration participating in an extensive review of all aspects of our management team, track record, and investment strategy. This is a significant milestone because now we formally can begin the fundraising process,” said Grady Vanderhoofven, partner at Meritus Kirchner Capital. “The capital we raise will be invested in exceptional growth-stage, agriculture-related and rural companies, which historically have had limited access to this kind of capital. By doing so, we will help create wealth, jobs, and opportunities in rural America.”

The new funds announced today were formed under the USDA’s Rural Business Investment Program (RBIP). USDA is utilizing RBIP to license funds to invest in enterprises that will create growth and job opportunities in rural areas, with an emphasis on smaller enterprises. Working through the USDA program enables licensed funds to raise capital from Farm Credit System banks and associations.

Last year, Secretary Vilsack announced the creation of the first new RBIC which has already begun investing in rural businesses with high-growth potential. The $10 billion Rural Infrastructure Opportunity Fund, also announced last year, facilitates private loans for job-creating rural infrastructure projects across the country.

These efforts are part of the Made in Rural America initiative, which was created by President Obama to help rural businesses and leaders take advantage of new investment opportunities and access new markets abroad. Secretary Vilsack and the White House Rural Council convened the Rural Opportunity Investment Conference last summer to attract additional investments to rural America by connecting major investors with rural business leaders, government officials, economic development experts and other partners.

SEATTLE, — Meredith Corporation (NYSE: MDP; www.meredith.com), the nation’s leading media and marketing company serving 110 million unduplicated U.S. women and 70 percent of American Millennial women, today announced that Allrecipes.com will now feature AmazonFresh as a retailer embedded within the site’s top recipes. This industry-leading innovation will enable home cooks click to purchase a recipe’s ingredients and have them delivered the same day through AmazonFresh home grocery delivery service. The new feature will help millions of home cooks save time as they plan and prepare meals.

Meredith introduces an updated market positioning and logo that reflect the strength of Meredith’s national and local consumer media brands as well as its expanded portfolio of marketing solutions.

Allrecipes is the world’s largest digital food brand, with 80 million users worldwide and 1.5 billion annual visits. While Allrecipes has long incorporated grocery shopping functionality into its site, including geo-targeted grocery offers from retailers across the country, the introduction of AmazonFresh as a featured retailer represents the next major innovation designed to help home cooks discover and prepare meals with ease. Allrecipes is one of the first major food brands to collaborate with AmazonFresh in this capacity, enabling same-day home delivery of recipe ingredients including fresh meat, fruits and vegetables, in addition to frozen and packaged food items.

Cooks who select AmazonFresh as their grocery retailer of choice have the option to send all of the ingredients and products required to prepare the Allrecipes recipe to an AmazonFresh shopping cart, which will also contain detailed product and pricing information. Allrecipes will curate the food brands selected for each recipe ingredient, and once on the AmazonFresh landing page, consumers can change any food brand in their cart as well as select their preferred delivery time – as early as the same day or next morning. Allrecipes’ shopper marketing capabilities already are a proven leader in driving consumers into stores to purchase, and for the first time this integration will extend Allrecipes’ leadership into eCommerce, which, for CPG companies, is the projected source of over 90% of sales’ growth over the next three years, according to Nielsen.

At launch, AmazonFresh will be integrated into many of the highest-trafficked recipes on Allrecipes.com. Over time, Allrecipes will extend the reach of this enhanced eCommerce functionality into all possible recipes on Allrecipes.

“We are proud to lead the way in food innovation for home cooks and for our brand partners,” said Jon Werther, Meredith National Media Group President. “Millions of busy, family-focused home cooks come to Allrecipes.com every day to discover and plan their meals. Our integration with Amazon will make it it easier for millions of home cooks to order all of the ingredients needed for dinner that night or for a weekly meal plan – and have them delivered to their doorstep within hours. We’re providing an unparalleled level of convenience, and making it that much easier to turn the food inspiration our audience sees on Allrecipes into reality.”

The average U.S. consumer makes 1.5 trips to the grocery store each week, spending 41 minutes per trip, or 53 hours over the course of an average year. In addition to helping home cooks save time grocery shopping, this partnership also addresses the shopping trends emerging within the Allrecipes audience: Allrecipes cooks are 33 percent more likely to take advantage of online grocery services than home cooks who don’t visit Allrecipes.com, according to the brand’s October Holiday Cooking and Entertainment Survey.

About Meredith Corporation
Meredith Corporation (NYSE: MDP; www.meredith.com) has been committed to service journalism for 115 years. Today, Meredith uses multiple distribution platforms – including broadcast television, print, digital, mobile and video – to provide consumers with content they desire and to deliver the messages of its advertising and marketing partners.

Meredith’s National Media Group reaches more than 110 million unduplicated women every month, including 70 percent of U.S. Millennial women. Meredith is the leader in creating and distributing content across platforms in key consumer interest areas such as food, home, parenting and health through well-known brands such as Better Homes & Gardens, Allrecipes, Parents, SHAPE, Martha Stewart Living and The Magnolia Journal. Meredith also features robust brand licensing activities, including more than 3,000 SKUs of branded products at 5,000 Walmart stores across the U.S. Meredith Xcelerated Marketing is an award-winning, strategic and creative agency that provides fully integrated marketing solutions for many of the world’s top brands, including The Kraft Heinz Co., Bank of America, WebMD, Volkswagen and NBCUniversal.

Philadelphia, PA – Aramark (NYSE:ARMK), the $15 billion global provider of food, facilities management, and uniforms, announced today a new set of animal welfare principles and purchasing commitments that address a broad spectrum of issues impacting the treatment of animals for egg, pork, veal, beef, poultry and dairy products served across Aramark’s U.S. operations.

“Our commitments to health, wellness and sustainability are core to our mission of enriching and nourishing lives and include our pledge to responsible purchasing and animal welfare practices,” said Eric J. Foss, Aramark Chairman, President & CEO. “The broad reach of our supply chain provides an opportunity for us to have a significant impact on animal welfare issues and to shift purchasing practices that impact the clients, consumers and communities we serve.”

The policy builds on commitments the company has made over the past several years as part of its responsible purchasing practices in the U.S.:
• Purchasing only cage-free eggs by 2020
• Eliminating all pork from animals bred using gestation crates by 2017
• Since 2011, eliminated the purchase of all foie gras

Aramark developed the policy in collaboration with long-time partner, the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), the nation’s largest and most effective animal protection organization.

“We are pleased to partner with Aramark, and create this comprehensive animal welfare policy,” said Wayne Pacelle, president and CEO, the Humane Society of the United States. “Aramark’s efforts demonstrate a growing interest in animal welfare by consumers and the industry, and help drive toward continuous improvement in addressing farm animal practices.”

The policy covers several additional commitments governing the care and treatment of farm animals, including confinement, painful procedures, and rapid growth processes. As a foodservice provider, Aramark purchases a wide variety of egg, dairy and meat items from hundreds of suppliers.

Under its new global policy, Aramark will work with its suppliers to meet the following animal welfare commitments:

Eggs: Aramark will purchase only cage-free eggs in the U.S. by 2020

Pork: In 2012, Aramark committed to eliminate all pork from animals bred using gestation crates by 2017; it will also work to address issues of pain relief associated with castration and the eventual elimination of tail docking, as well as eventual elimination of the use of ractopamine.

Veal: Aramark will eliminate all veal from animals confined in crates in the U.S. by 2017.

Dairy/Beef: Aramark will work with suppliers to address issues of pain relief for disbudding and castration procedures, and eventual elimination of tail docking and dehorning. In addition, the company will work with suppliers to eliminate the use of hormones or feed additives that are harmful for farm animals including recombinant bovine growth hormone (rBGH or rBST), zilpaterol hydrochloride and ractopamine.

Ducks and Geese: In 2011, Aramark committed to eliminate the purchase of all foie gras and remains committed to this position.

Chickens and Turkeys: Working with suppliers, Aramark will address animal welfare issues associated with fast growth of broiler chickens and turkeys and support eliminating slaughtering systems that use live dumping and shackling.

The policy also outlines Aramark’s expectations for its suppliers. Aramark will work with its suppliers to:
• Ask suppliers for progress reports
• Require third-party documentation of their efforts
• Incorporate the animal welfare principles and policy into contracts
• Require decisive action in unforeseen cases of animal abuse or cruelty

To read the full Aramark Animal Welfare Principles and Policy, click here.
About Aramark
Aramark (NYSE: ARMK) is in the customer service business across food, facilities and uniforms, wherever people work, learn, recover and play. United by a passion to serve, our more than 270,000 employees deliver experiences that enrich and nourish the lives of millions of people in 22 countries around the world every day. Aramark is recognized among the Most Admired Companies by FORTUNE and the World’s Most Ethical Companies by the Ethisphere Institute. Learn more at www.aramark.com or connect with us on Facebook and Twitter.

Philadelphia, PA – Aramark (NYSE:ARMK), the $15 billion global provider of food, facilities management, and uniforms, announced today a new set of animal welfare principles and purchasing commitments that address a broad spectrum of issues impacting the treatment of animals for egg, pork, veal, beef, poultry and dairy products served across Aramark’s U.S. operations.

“Our commitments to health, wellness and sustainability are core to our mission of enriching and nourishing lives and include our pledge to responsible purchasing and animal welfare practices,” said Eric J. Foss, Aramark Chairman, President & CEO. “The broad reach of our supply chain provides an opportunity for us to have a significant impact on animal welfare issues and to shift purchasing practices that impact the clients, consumers and communities we serve.”

The policy builds on commitments the company has made over the past several years as part of its responsible purchasing practices in the U.S.:

Purchasing only cage-free eggs by 2020
Eliminating all pork from animals bred using gestation crates by 2017
Since 2011, eliminated the purchase of all foie gras
Aramark developed the policy in collaboration with long-time partner, the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), the nation’s largest and most effective animal protection organization.

“We are pleased to partner with Aramark, and create this comprehensive animal welfare policy,” said Wayne Pacelle, president and CEO, the Humane Society of the United States. “Aramark’s efforts demonstrate a growing interest in animal welfare by consumers and the industry, and help drive toward continuous improvement in addressing farm animal practices.”

The policy covers several additional commitments governing the care and treatment of farm animals, including confinement, painful procedures, and rapid growth processes. As a foodservice provider, Aramark purchases a wide variety of egg, dairy and meat items from hundreds of suppliers.

Under its new global policy, Aramark will work with its suppliers to meet the following animal welfare commitments:

Eggs: Aramark will purchase only cage-free eggs in the U.S. by 2020

Pork: In 2012, Aramark committed to eliminate all pork from animals bred using gestation crates by 2017; it will also work to address issues of pain relief associated with castration and the eventual elimination of tail docking, as well as eventual elimination of the use of ractopamine.

Veal: Aramark will eliminate all veal from animals confined in crates in the U.S. by 2017.

Dairy/Beef:Aramark will work with suppliers to address issues of pain relief for disbudding and castration procedures, and eventual elimination of tail docking and dehorning. In addition, the company will work with suppliers to eliminate the use of hormones or feed additives that are harmful for farm animals including recombinant bovine growth hormone (rBGH or rBST), zilpaterol hydrochloride and ractopamine.

Ducks and Geese: In 2011, Aramark committed to eliminate the purchase of all foie gras and remains committed to this position.

Chickens and Turkeys: Working with suppliers, Aramark will address animal welfare issues associated with fast growth of broiler chickens and turkeys and support eliminating slaughtering systems that use live dumping and shackling.

The policy also outlines Aramark’s expectations for its suppliers. Aramark will work with its suppliers to:

Ask suppliers for progress reports
Require third-party documentation of their efforts
Incorporate the animal welfare principles and policy into contracts
Require decisive action in unforeseen cases of animal abuse or cruelty
To read the full Aramark Animal Welfare Principles and Policy, click here.

About Aramark
Aramark (NYSE: ARMK) is in the customer service business across food, facilities and uniforms, wherever people work, learn, recover and play. United by a passion to serve, our more than 270,000 employees deliver experiences that enrich and nourish the lives of millions of people in 22 countries around the world every day. Aramark is recognized among the Most Admired Companies by FORTUNE and the World’s Most Ethical Companies by the Ethisphere Institute. Learn more at www.aramark.com or connect with us on Facebook and Twitter.

CHICAGO, – Archer Daniels Midland Company (NYSE: ADM) today announced that it has completed the acquisition of WILD Flavors GmbH.

“One of the most important ways we are working to increase returns and reduce earnings volatility is through the growth of our specialty ingredient offerings,” said ADM Chairman and CEO Patricia Woertz. “These high-value products provide the opportunity for increased margins and strong sales aligned with global consumer trends. WILD Flavors is the latest in a series of strategic expansions in specialty ingredients, including our new Brazilian protein specialties complex and our Chinese soluble-fiber facility.”

ADM will form a new business unit, WILD Flavors and Specialty Ingredients, which will include the WILD business as well as the following ADM product lines:

Specialty proteins (including isolated soy proteins, textured vegetable protein, soy protein concentrates, and soy flour & grits)
Emulsifiers
Edible beans
Natural health and nutrition (natural-source vitamin E, plant sterols, soy isoflavones and Omega-3 DHA)
Soluble fiber
Polyols
Hydrocolloids
The new business unit will be a reportable segment beginning Jan. 1, 2015.

Greg Morris will be president of the WILD Flavors and Specialty Ingredients business unit. He most recently was ADM’s president, North American Oilseeds Processing, where in addition to overseeing more than two dozen oilseed crushing plants, he led the creation of the company’s Foods & Wellness business, developing a high-margin, highly specialized portfolio of innovative products.

WILD North American Chief Operating Officer Vince Macciocchi has been named global president, WILD Flavors. In addition to leading the WILD Flavors business worldwide, Macciocchi will be responsible for designing the new business unit’s go-to-market strategy and will play a key role in several ADM initiatives, including the company’s innovation and customer excellence efforts.

Mike Ponder, WILD’s chief executive officer, recently announced his retirement and will join former majority owner Dr. Hans-Peter Wild on an advisory board for the business.

“Greg and Vince are responsible for ensuring that WILD Flavors’ recipe for success continues,” Woertz added. “Dr. Wild has built a great company, and we intend to support WILD’s innovative, entrepreneurial culture. Between our global networks, tremendous innovation capabilities, great teams, and extensive product lines from both ADM and WILD, we now have one of the world’s leading flavors and specialty ingredient companies. We are excited about offering complete food and flavor solutions to our customers around the globe.”

About Morris
Greg Morris will be president of ADM’s WILD Flavors and Specialty Ingredients business unit. Previously, he served as ADM’s president, North American Oilseeds Processing. In that role, he oversaw more than two dozen crushing plants, Southern Cellulose Products, Inc., and the company’s Foods & Wellness group.

Morris joined ADM in 1995 and has held several management roles across the organization. He holds a bachelor’s degree in finance from Illinois State University in Normal, Illinois, and an MBA from Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa.

About Macciocchi
Vince Macciocchi is ADM’s global president, WILD Flavors. In this role, he is responsible for the WILD business within ADM’s new WILD Flavors and Specialty Ingredients business unit. He is also responsible for the new business unit’s go-to-market strategy. Macciocchi has more than a quarter century of experience in the ingredients industry. He came to WILD as its North American chief operating officer in 2012. Prior to that, he spent more than a decade at Givaudan flavors. He has also held positions at American-Maize Products Company, Roquette America and IngredientsNet.com.

Macciocchi holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from Eastern Illinois University in Charleston, Illinois, and an MBA from North Central College in Naperville, Illinois.

About ADM
For more than a century, the people of Archer Daniels Midland Company (NYSE: ADM) have transformed crops into products that serve vital needs. Today, 31,000 ADM employees around the globe convert oilseeds, corn, wheat and cocoa into products for food, animal feed, industrial and energy uses. With more than 270 processing plants, 470 crop procurement facilities, and the world’s premier crop transportation network, ADM helps connect the harvest to the home in more than 140 countries. For more information about ADM and its products, visit www.adm.com.

About WILD Flavors
ADM’s WILD Flavors is one of the world’s leading suppliers of natural ingredients to the food and beverage industry. Its management offices with production sites are located in Heidelberg-Eppelheim, Germany; and Erlanger, Kentucky. Thirteen further production sites are located in Europe, North America, Asia, South America and the Middle East.

The WILD Flavors product portfolio includes full flavor and ingredient solutions, known as flavor systems, fruit juice concentrates and blends as well as other food and beverage ingredients including natural flavors and extracts, mint oils and flavors, colors from natural sources, sweetening systems, seasonings, specialty ingredients, taste modifiers, and fermentation technologies. WILD Flavors provides the global beverage and dairy market as well as the baked-goods, confectionery and ice cream industry with its products. In the USA and Canada, WILD Flavors is a supplier for the cereals, snacks, and processed food markets as well. For more information about WILD, please visit www.wildflavors.com.

CHICAGO, Ill – With the summer grilling season in full swing, Ball Park® brand, the maker of the Park’s Finest frankfurter, is giving Americans another reason to fire up their grills and celebrate all things grilling. Teaming up with Discovery Communications’ Destination America and Discovery Digital Networks’ DIY tech expert Patrick Norton, Ball Park brand announced today the launch of its Finest Grill program, inviting grill masters nationwide to compete for the ultimate grilling prize – the Finest Grill – a fully customized, Americana-themed grill that sits atop a 19-foot trailer and is equipped with beer taps, a wireless sound system with Bluetooth control, custom seating to fit eight, and more. The Finest Grill was developed for America’s finest hot dog, Park’s Finest, a new premium frankfurter introduced by Ball Park brand earlier this year. In addition to the contest, the program includes a three-part web series on DestinationAmerica.com featuring Norton and the TechShop Team building the grill and a mobile sampling tour featuring Park’s Finest from Ball Park brand.

“Grilling has always been our passion and earlier this year we elevated the grilling experience for our consumers by reinventing the hot dog with the introduction of Park’s Finest from Ball Park brand. Now, through the launch of the Finest Grill program, we’re looking to turn things up a notch and take the grilling experience one step further by casting a nationwide search to find the ultimate grill master worthy of owning America’s Finest Grill,” said Kristin Kroepfl, director of marketing, Ball Park brand.

Ball Park Brand and Patrick Norton Unveil the Finest Grill for the Finest Hot Dog
Summertime grilling is hailed as one of America’s greatest traditions and together with Patrick Norton, Ball Park brand is taking this beloved occasion one step further with the creation of the Finest Grill for the finest hot dog, Park’s Finest from Ball Park brand. As part of a three-part web series, Patrick Norton (Revision3’s Tekzilla and DIY Tryin) and a team of experts show what went into building the Finest Grill, which sits atop a 19-foot long trailer and is equipped with beer taps, a wireless sound system, condiment station, custom seating to fit eight, and a top-notch, double wide gas grill. To view Patrick and team in action, from the planning stage to the unveiling,visithttp://www.destinationamerica.com/american-food/videos/americas-finest-grill.htm

“As someone who’s always up for a new, hands-on challenge and a lover of outdoor grilling, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to help build America’s Finest Grill,” said Patrick Norton. “This project brings together everything a grill master could ever need to host the ultimate backyard barbecue or tailgating experience to delight—and be the envy of—family and friends.”

Nationwide Search for America’s Finest Grill Master
Beginning August 13 through September 21, fans are encouraged to submit photos and a caption via Instagram showcasing why they are worthy of being named America’s Finest Grill Master using #FinestGrillMaster. Following the entry period, one grand prize winner will be selected and awarded the Ball Park brand Finest Grill. Consumers can learn how to enter and view the official rules by visiting www.finestgrillmaster.com.

Ball Park Brand Takes Park’s Finest on the Road
The Park’s Finest mobile sampling truck hits the road today for a six week adventure and will make stops in New York, Baltimore, Charlotte, Memphis and Chicago, offering consumers the chance to enjoy a taste of a deliciously grilled Park’s Finest frankfurter. Launched earlier this summer, new Park’s Finest from Ball Park brand are a premium frankfurter packed with a variety of big, bold flavors and seasonings you can actually see, and contain no artificial preservatives and no nitrates or nitrites added. During each stop, consumers will also have the opportunity to get an up-close and personal look at the Finest Grill and enter for their chance to become America’s Finest Grill Master.

For more information about Ball Park brand, please visit www.facebook.com/ballparkbrand or www.ballparkbrand.com.

About Ball Park Brand
The Ball Park brand was launched in 1957 in response to a request from the owner of the Detroit Tigers baseball team. The Ball Park Frank was such a success, it was expanded nationally. Today, Ball Park products can be found in supermarkets, convenience stores and a variety of sports venues – including Detroit’s Comerica Park. For more information, visit www.ballparkbrand.com.

About The Hillshire Brands Company
The Hillshire Brands Company (NYSE: HSH) is a leader in branded, convenient foods. The company generated approximately $4 billion in annual sales in fiscal 2013, has more than 9,000 employees, and is based in Chicago. Hillshire Brands’ portfolio includes iconic brands such as Jimmy Dean, Ball Park, Hillshire Farm, State Fair, Van’s, Sara Lee frozen bakery and Chef Pierre pies as well as artisanal brands Aidells, Gallo Salame and Golden Island premium jerky. For more information on the company, please visit www.hillshirebrands.com.

About Discovery Communications
Discovery Communications (Nasdaq: DISCA, DISCB, DISCK) is the world’s #1 pay-TV programmer reaching 2.7 billion cumulative subscribers in more than 220 countries and territories. Discovery is dedicated to satisfying curiosity, engaging and entertaining viewers with high-quality content on worldwide television networks, led by Discovery Channel, TLC, Animal Planet, Investigation Discovery and Science, as well as U.S. joint venture network OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network. Discovery also controls Eurosport International, a premier sports entertainment group, including six pay-TV network brands across Europe and Asia. Discovery also is a leading provider of educational products and services to schools, including an award-winning series of K-12 digital textbooks, through Discovery Education, and a digital leader with a diversified online portfolio, including Discovery Digital Networks. For more information, please visit www.discoverycommunications.com.

About Destination America
Destination America is the only network to celebrate the people, places, and stories of the United States. The inclusive network targeting Adults 25-54 is available in nearly 60 million homes, emblazoning television screens with the grit and tenacity, honesty and work ethic, humor and adventurousness that characterize our nation. Destination America features travel, food, adventure, home, and natural history, with original series like BBQ Pitmasters; A Haunting; Mountain Monsters; Buying Alaska; Buying the Bayou; and Railroad Alaska. For more information, please visit DestinationAmerica.com, facebook.com/DestinationAmerica, or twitter.com/DestAmerica. Destination America is part of Discovery Communications (Nasdaq: DISCA, DISCB, DISCK), the world’s #1 nonfiction media company reaching more than 2.7 billion cumulative subscribers in 220 countries and territories.

Leverkusen, May 23, 2016 – In response to further market speculation and stakeholder inquiries, Bayer is publicly disclosing the contents of its private proposal to acquire Monsanto. Bayer has made an all-cash offer to acquire all of the issued and outstanding shares of common stock of Monsanto Company for USD 122 per share or an aggregate value of USD 62 billion. This offer, based on Bayer’s written proposal to Monsanto dated May 10, 2016, represents a substantial premium of:
– 37 percent over Monsanto’s closing share price of USD 89.03 on May 9, 2016
– 36 percent over the three-month volume weighted average share price
– 33 percent over the six-month volume weighted average share price
– Last twelve months EBITDA multiple of 15.8x as of February 29, 2016

The acquisition of Monsanto would be a compelling opportunity to create a global agriculture leader, while reinforcing Bayer as a Life Science company with a deepened position in a long-term growth industry. The combination is expected to provide Bayer’s shareholders with accretion to core EPS by a mid-single-digit percentage in the first full year after closing and a double-digit percentage thereafter. Initially, Bayer expects annual earnings contributions from total synergies of approximately USD 1.5 billion after year three plus additional integrated offer benefits in future years.

“We have long respected Monsanto’s business and share their vision to create an integrated business that we believe is capable of generating substantial value for both companies’ shareholders,” said Werner Baumann, CEO of Bayer AG. “Together we would draw on the collective expertise of both companies to build a leading agriculture player with exceptional innovation capabilities to the benefit of farmers, consumers, our employees and the communities in which we operate.”

This transaction would bring together leading Seeds & Traits, Crop Protection, Biologics, and Digital Farming platforms. Specifically, the combined business would benefit from Monsanto’s leadership in Seeds & Traits and Bayer’s broad Crop Protection product line across a comprehensive range of indications and crops. The combination would also be truly complementary from a geographic perspective, significantly expanding Bayer’s long-standing presence in the Americas and its position in Europe and Asia/Pacific. Customers of both companies would benefit from the broad product portfolio and the deep R&D pipeline.

“Bayer is committed to enabling farmers to sustainably produce enough healthy, safe and affordable food capable of feeding the world’s growing population,” said Liam Condon, member of the Board of Management of Bayer AG and head of the Crop Science Division. “Faced with the complex challenge of operating in a resource-constrained world with increasing climate volatility, there is a clear need for more innovative solutions that advance the next generation of farming. By supporting farmers of all sizes on every continent, the combined business would be positioned as the partner of choice for truly integrated, superior solutions.”

Under the proposed transaction, the combined business would provide attractive opportunities for the employees of both companies and have its global Seeds & Traits and North American commercial headquarters in St. Louis, Missouri, its global Crop Protection and divisional Crop Science headquarters in Monheim, Germany, and an important presence in Durham, North Carolina, as well as many other locations throughout the U.S. and around the world. Digital Farming for the combined business would be based near San Francisco, California.

Bayer is highly confident in its ability to finance the transaction based on advanced discussions with and support from its financing banks, BofA Merrill Lynch and Credit Suisse. The offer is not subject to a financing condition. Bayer intends to finance the transaction with a combination of debt and equity. The expected equity portion represents approximately 25 percent of the transaction’s enterprise value and is expected to be raised primarily via a rights offering.

The strong cash flow generation of the combined business as well as Bayer’s track record of disciplined deleveraging after large acquisitions would enable rapid deleveraging post-acquisition. This is in line with Bayer’s target of an investment-grade rating immediately after closing of the transaction and its commitment to the single “A” credit rating category in the long term. Bayer has a successful track record of working with global authorities to secure the necessary regulatory approvals and has extensive experience integrating acquisitions from a business, geographic, and cultural perspective.

Bayer’s Board of Management and Supervisory Board unanimously approved the proposal and are fully committed to pursuing the transaction. Bayer is prepared to proceed immediately to due diligence and negotiations and to quickly agree to a transaction. The transaction will be subject to customary closing conditions.

BofA Merrill Lynch and Credit Suisse are acting as lead financial advisors to Bayer and support the financing of the transaction; Rothschild has been retained as an additional financial advisor to Bayer. Bayer’s legal advisors are Sullivan & Cromwell LLP (M&A) and Allen & Overy LLP (Financing).

Bayer: Science For A Better Life

Bayer is a global enterprise with core competencies in the Life Science fields of health care and agriculture. Its products and services are designed to benefit people and improve their quality of life. At the same time, the Group aims to create value through innovation, growth and high earning power. Bayer is committed to the principles of sustainable development and to its social and ethical responsibilities as a corporate citizen. In fiscal 2015, the Group employed around 117,000 people and had sales of EUR 46.3 billion. Capital expenditures amounted to EUR 2.6 billion, R&D expenses to EUR 4.3 billion. These figures include those for the high-tech polymers business, which was floated on the stock market as an independent company named Covestro on October 6, 2015. For more information, go to www.bayer.com.

Please see below the private letter Bayer shared with Monsanto on May 10, 2016.

May 10, 2016
Hugh Grant
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Monsanto Company
800 North Lindbergh Boulevard
St. Louis, Missouri 63167

Dear Hugh,

Thank you for taking the initiative to arrange the recent meeting between us on April 18, 2016. I appreciated the opportunity to hear your views on the value of a globally integrated agriculture platform and your vision that a combination of Seeds & Traits, Crop Protection, Biologics, and Digital Farming would be a winning formula. On behalf of Bayer, I am pleased to provide this letter to you to confirm our strong interest in a business combination with Monsanto. As you mentioned, a Monsanto and Bayer combination offers the best strategic fit in the industry. Additionally, we believe this combination offers a unique and compelling opportunity to maximize value for both our companies’ shareholders. This letter outlines the terms of our proposal, which has been unanimously approved by our Board of Management and has the support of the Chairman of our Supervisory Board.

Bayer has long respected Monsanto’s business, management team, strong innovation capabilities and commitment to farmers. Over the years we have had multiple discussions regarding potential avenues to realize our shared vision regarding an integrated approach and strategy to the agricultural industry. The combination would create a truly global agriculture leader with a comprehensive and balanced product line across business segments and geographies. This would bring together Monsanto’s leadership in Seeds & Traits with Bayer’s leadership in Crop Protection and Biologics, and our combined focus on Digital Farming. Additionally, we would also combine our research and development capabilities, creating an innovation powerhouse to develop solutions for farmers around the world.

Our Proposal
Price: We are prepared to acquire all of the issued and outstanding shares of Monsanto for $122 per share in cash. We believe this all-cash offer presents Monsanto shareholders the best opportunity to maximize the full value of their shares immediately, with certainty. Our offer represents:
– A premium of 37% over the closing share price on May 9, 2016
– A premium of 36% over the three-month volume weighted average share price
– A premium of 33% over the six-month volume weighted average share price
– A last twelve months EBITDA multiple of 15.8x as of February 29, 2016
Our proposal fully values Monsanto including its pipeline and also shares the benefits of the combination, the very benefits you outlined in detail in your proposed transaction with Syngenta.

Financing: Our all-cash offer provides transaction certainty and would not be subject to a financing condition. Together with our financial advisors, BofA Merrill Lynch and Credit Suisse, we have engaged in an extensive analysis of the potential financing options available to Bayer and we are highly confident in our ability to secure full financing commitments prior to announcement. Our financial advisors have provided us with highly confident letters for the proposed transaction.

Regulatory: Bayer has a highly successful track record working together with global authorities to gain regulatory approvals, given our prior acquisition experience including Aventis CropScience, Schering AG, and Merck Consumer Care. Together with our legal advisor, Sullivan & Cromwell LLP, we have analyzed the potential regulatory aspects and are very confident that we will be able to obtain all necessary approvals in a timely manner.

Integration: We have extensive experience in successfully integrating acquisitions from a business, geographic, and cultural perspective. We foresee no impediments to effectively integrating our respective organizations, especially given our complementary business segments, geographies, and success-driven cultures. We would propose that the new global Seeds & Traits and North American commercial headquarters, as well as the research and development center for Seeds & Traits be based in St. Louis, Missouri. Additionally, we anticipate Digital Farming for the combined company would be based near San Francisco, California. We will provide meaningful additional opportunities for employees of both companies.

Timing: Bayer is prepared to move expeditiously to complete customary due diligence, negotiate and execute definitive transaction documentation, and announce the proposed combination. Given the significant time and resources we have already devoted to analyzing this potential combination, we can complete this process quickly, with minimal disruption to Monsanto’s business or its employees. Additionally, given the substantial benefits of the combination, we believe that it is important that both of our companies commence negotiations immediately.

This letter is being submitted to you on the understanding that its contents will be kept confidential and will not be disclosed to any person other than Monsanto’s Board of Directors, senior officers, and financial and legal advisors. The proposal outlined in this letter is based on publicly available information and any transaction would be subject to our satisfactory due diligence review, the negotiation and execution of mutually satisfactory definitive transaction documentation, and other usual and customary conditions for transactions of this nature.

We completely agree with the vision of an integrated crop solution strategy you described during our meeting on April 18, 2016. Additionally, we are convinced that a business combination between Monsanto and Bayer represents a unique and truly compelling opportunity to create a global leader in agriculture. We believe that our proposal maximizes immediate value and provides certainty for Monsanto shareholders while creating significant benefits for farmers, employees and our communities. As a result, we are fully committed to completing this transaction. Our strong preference is to engage in a constructive process and work together to achieve a mutually beneficial outcome.

We remain at your disposal, and that of your Board of Directors, to address any questions you may have and we appreciate and look forward to your consideration and timely response.

Yours sincerely,

Werner Baumann
Bayer AG
Chairman of the Board of Management

Liam Condon
Bayer AG
President Crop Science Division

GENEVA, 24 June 2022 — In the run-up to the upcoming G7 Summit at Schloss Elmau, governments, international and regional organizations, multilateral development banks, non-governmental organizations and philanthropists came together in Berlin today to unite for global food security – to take stock of progress made in joint efforts to overcome the global food security crisis, and to join forces in moving ahead in this common endeavor.

The reports by the United Nations Secretary-General’s Global Crisis Response Group on Food, Energy and Finance paint a dramatic picture: of the 1.7 billion people in 107 states impacted by this crisis, 1.2 billion people will be exposed to a perfect storm of the three dimensions of the crisis – constrained finances, sharply increasing food prices, and increasing energy prices. This comes on top of intense droughts in places like the Horn of Africa, and hunger being used as a weapon of war in various conflict areas throughout the world.

Participants noted with grave concern that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is putting food security and nutrition for millions of women, children and men at risk and is further exacerbating the already dire situation regarding global food security, caused amongst others by armed conflicts, climate change and the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Participants shared the conviction that this multi-dimensional crisis requires a joint and effective global response combining diplomacy, humanitarian assistance, development cooperation as well as agricultural and food policies.

Discussions were guided by the conviction that short- and medium-term support must be programmed in a way that leads to a long-term sustainable transformation of agriculture and food systems. It needs to strengthen resilience and thereby reduce humanitarian needs, boost sustainable local production, diversify crops and thereby reduce dependencies on imports.

Participants signaled their readiness to assume responsibility and to continue to cooperate closely in achieving a common goal.

I. Taking stock of progress made

Participants took stock of progress made since February 2022 in the effort to mitigate the global food security crisis.

They welcomed the leadership of the United Nations Secretary-General to coordinate efforts to overcome the crisis through the Global Crisis Response Group on Food, Energy, and Finance.

They also welcomed the G7’s response to the crisis, including most prominently the creation of the Global Alliance for Food Security and the substantive preparations for the upcoming G7 Summit. The Global Alliance for Food Security is designed to be a key platform to foster cooperation, guided by the shared belief that governments, international organizations, multilateral development banks, civil society, the private sector, science and philanthropist organizations must work together to weather this storm.

They welcomed initiatives taken by the African Union for the elimination of hunger and food insecurity in Africa under the Senegalese Presidency, recalling the African Union theme of the year 2022 Strengthening Resilience in Nutrition and Food Security on the African Continent and the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Programme.

Participants renewed their commitment to the roadmap agreed in the framework of the Global Food Security Call to Action organized by the United States in New York on 18 May 2022. Participants called on additional countries to sign the Roadmap and to continue implementing its commitments. They took note of the importance of the Food and Agriculture Resilience Mission (FARM) announced by France, and recalled the outreach to Mediterranean countries through the Mediterranean Ministerial Dialogue on the Food Crisis organized by Italy on 8 June 2022.

Participants looked forward to addressing food security as a core component of agriculture, social, economic, and environmental development under Indonesia’s G20 Presidency. They recalled the G20 Matera Declaration on Food Security, Nutrition and Food Systems promoted under the preceding Italian G20 Presidency.

Participants welcomed the International Financial Institution Action Plan to Address Food Insecurity and the commitment of the multilateral development banks to increase and frontload policy and financial support to countries and households vulnerable to the food security crisis. They underlined the need to sustainably increase local agricultural production in affected countries in line with a transition to sustainable agriculture and food systems.

Referring to the 2021 UN Food Systems Summit, participants emphasized the need to pursue the transformation of agriculture and food systems with increased focus towards more sustainability. The key objective remains to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.

II. Moving ahead

Participants committed to supporting the United Nations Secretary-General’s efforts to alleviate the global food security crisis through the Global Crisis Response Group on Food, Energy, and Finance.

As a global crisis requires a global response, they committed to forging strong partnerships within the Global Alliance for Food Security and beyond in order to make sure that nobody will be left behind. The Global Alliance for Food Security and its working groups will help to ensure a cohesive international response to the food security crisis and follow up on commitments made by Global Alliance participants.

Participants called on Russia to end the war in Ukraine immediately, to stop its threats to and blockade of Ukrainian ports and all other activities that hamper Ukrainian food production and exports, putting the lives of millions all over the world at risk.

In the short term, participants committed to support the humanitarian system wherever possible in providing urgent humanitarian assistance to people threatened by food insecurity, notably by reinforcing contributions to the World Food Programme and other humanitarian actors and by ensuring respect for humanitarian principles in all measures taken in response to the Russian aggression against Ukraine. Moreover, participants agreed on the need for applying an appropriate balance between humanitarian and development activities, depending on the operational context and needs, and in line with the Humanitarian Development Peace Nexus. Furthermore, participants agreed on the key role that all UN Rome based agencies – FAO, IFAD and WFP – play in driving the international community’s efforts to address food insecurity.

Participants underlined the importance of refraining from inappropriate measures that limit trade, and of avoiding unjustified measures, such as export bans on food or fertilizer, which increase market volatility and threaten food security and nutrition at a global scale.

They committed to continue their support to Ukraine in keeping up its agricultural production, storage, transport and processing, and to support Ukraine and its neighbors in developing additional export routes for agricultural goods in a speedy manner. They acknowledged the need, while doing this, to work on additional and new solutions to keep grain from going to waste.

Participants committed to continue their work on the necessary transformation towards sustainable agriculture and food systems and to support improvements in the global governance of agriculture and food systems, strengthening the role of the Committee on World Food Security as an inclusive and intergovernmental global platform to ensure food security and nutrition for all. The Global Agriculture and Food Security Program is an inclusive, flexible and demand driven multilateral financing instrument with a proven track record coordinating development initiatives at country level to support these efforts.

They underlined the importance of the progressive realization of the human right to adequate food as well as Sustainable Development Goal 2 (Zero Hunger by 2030). All people must be given an opportunity to realize that right. Civil society organizations expressed their willingness to contribute their experience to develop adequate long-term solutions to that goal.

Participants committed to fostering sustainable consumption and an increase in local production in line with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, including the reduction of food loss and waste.

Participants shared the view that farmers need to adapt to climate change to safeguard food security. Moreover sustainable agricultural production should even contribute to the global protection of the climate, contribute to biodiversity, avoid negative impacts on the environment and strengthen the implementation of agroecological and regenerative practices. They underlined the need for locally adapted seeds of better quality and more efficient fertilizer use, including of non-fossil-based fertilizers, as well as access to digital options for farmers.

In order to be better prepared and to mitigate the implications of the next crisis, participants demonstrated readiness to step up capacities in information sharing and early warning, including the provision of additional means. They committed to focus on the goal of a sustainable transformation of agriculture and food systems. A strong and well-functioning multilateral system will be pivotal to reach our goals.

SOURCE United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)

CHEYENNE, Wyo., – The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) today released final environmental reviews for proposed land use plans that will help conserve greater sage-grouse habitat and support sustainable economic development on portions of public lands in 10 states across the West. The land management plans, developed during the past three years in partnership with the states and with input from local partners, will benefit wildlife, outdoor recreation, ranching and other traditional land uses that rely on a healthy sagebrush landscape.

The updated plans are an essential element of an unprecedented and proactive strategy to respond to the deteriorating health of the American West’s sagebrush landscapes and declining population of the greater sage-grouse, a ground-dwelling bird under consideration by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) for protection under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).

The collaborative federal-state effort includes three key elements to conserve the sagebrush landscape, which faces threats from fire, invasive species and encroaching development: a comprehensive strategy to fight rangeland fire, strong conservation plans for federal public lands, and conservation actions on state and private lands.

“The West is rapidly changing – with increasingly intense wildfires, invasive species and development altering the sagebrush landscape and threatening wildlife, ranching and our outdoor heritage,” said U.S. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell. “As land managers of two-thirds of greater sage-grouse habitat, we have a responsibility to take action that ensures a bright future for wildlife and a thriving western economy. Together with conservation efforts from states and private landowners, we are laying an important foundation to save the disappearing sagebrush landscape of the American West.”

“Federal and state governments and private landowners recognize that a healthy sagebrush landscape means a healthy western economy,” said U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack. “We are working with local partners to design innovative, long-term conservation plans. Together, we can put effective conservation measures in place that not only benefit the greater sage-grouse, but also preserve the western way of life, help improve grazing lands and bolster rural economies.”

The 14 final Environmental Impact Statements (EISs) and proposed plans released today, in addition to the Lander Resource Management Plan released last May, will guide land management on BLM and USFS-administered resources in 10 western states. The final EISs are the result of a robust, multi-year public process, including public scoping sessions, public meetings and public comment periods on each of the draft EISs. The plans are now undergoing a 60-day Governor’s Consistency Review period and concurrent 30-day protest period, after which Records of Decisions will be signed.

The plans address issues identified by the Service in a 2010 determination that found the greater sage-grouse was deserving of protection under the ESA due to the inadequacy of regulatory protections to prevent further sagebrush habitat fragmentation, placing the bird in danger of extinction. Federal protection was deferred because of higher priorities; however, the Service is required to revisit the determination by September 30, 2015.

With the shared goal of taking actions to avoid the need to list the bird, in 2011, then-Secretary Ken Salazar and western governors, led by Wyoming Governor Matt Mead and Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper, formed the Sage-Grouse Task Force to develop a cooperative approach to conserving the species across the West.

The proposed plans are grounded in the best available science and address threats identified in a peer-reviewed report written by state and federal wildlife biologists, known as the Conservation Objectives Team (COT) report.

The plans provide a layered management approach that offers the highest level of protection in the most valuable habitat, known as Priority Habitat Management Areas. Within priority habitat, the plans seek to limit or eliminate new surface disturbance, particularly in Sagebrush Focal Areas, identified by the Service as “stronghold” areas essential for the species’ survival. The proposed plans seek to minimize disturbance in General Habitat Management Areas, which are lands that require some special management to sustain greater sage-grouse populations, but are not considered as important as priority habitat.

Importantly, the plans will honor all valid, existing rights, including those for oil and gas development, renewable energy, rights-of-way, locatable minerals, and other permitted projects. The plan measures only apply to BLM and USFS-managed lands and minerals.

The plans contain three common approaches:

1) Minimizing new or additional surface disturbance – The plans seek to reduce habitat fragmentation and protect intact habitat by implementing surface disturbance caps on development, minimizing surface occupancy from energy development, and identifying buffer distances around leks – areas critical to the sage-grouse life-cycle – to be considered during project implementation.

2) Improving habitat condition – While restoring lost sagebrush habitat is difficult in the short term, it is often possible to enhance habitat quality through purposeful management. Where there are unavoidable impacts to habitat from development, the plans will require mitigation to enhance and improve sage-grouse habitat.

3) Reduce threat of rangeland fire – Rangeland fire can lead to the conversion of previously healthy sagebrush habitat into non-native, cheatgrass-dominated landscapes. Experts have identified wildfire as one of the greatest threats to sagebrush habitat, particularly in the Great Basin region of Idaho, Utah, Nevada, Oregon and California. The plans seek to fight the spread of cheatgrass and other invasive species, position wildland fire management resources for more effective rangeland fire response, and accelerate the restoration of fire-impacted landscapes to native grasses and sagebrush.

Individual proposed plans contain variations where different approaches or priorities were consistent with overall conservation objectives. To learn more about the BLM-USFS plans for each state, visit www.blm/sagegrouse.

The vast majority of federal lands within the priority sage-grouse habitat have zero to low potential for oil and gas, solar, and wind energy development. The plans limit surface occupancy within priority habitat areas for oil and gas; however, technological advances in horizontal drilling make it possible to conserve sensitive habitats while still developing subsurface resources. A fact sheet on the proposed plans is available here.

Over the last four years, USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and its partners in the Sage-Grouse InitiativeThis is an external link or third-party site outside of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) website. have worked with more than 1,100 private landowners to restore 4.4 million acres of habitat for sage-grouse while maintaining working landscapes.

More than 350 other species rely on a healthy sagebrush habitat, including elk, mule deer, pronghorn and golden eagles. Greater sage-grouse habitat currently covers 165 million acres across 11 states in the West, representing a loss of 56 percent of the species’ historic range. At one time, the greater sage-grouse population likely numbered in the millions, but is estimated to have dwindled to 200,000 to 500,000 birds range-wide.

CAPE TOWN,— Despite high economic growth, competitiveness in Africa is stagnating, with few signs that productivity is rising, thus hindering the prospect of inclusive and sustained growth.

Poor-quality institutions, infrastructure, health and education hold competitiveness down, although efficiency in goods and labor markets is improving.
Supporting Africa’s structural transformation will require a comprehensive policy mix that prioritizes transport and ICT infrastructure, education, trade and further regulatory reform.

African economies’ prospects for long-term, sustainable growth are under threat from weakness in the core conditions necessary for competitive and productive economies, despite outwardly healthy-looking growth rates in many parts of the region, according to the African Competitiveness Report, which is published today.

The biennial report, themed Transforming Africa’s Economies, combines detailed data from the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Index (GCI) with studies on three key areas of economic activity; agricultural productivity, services sector growth and global and regional value chains. The data points to low and stagnating productivity across all sectors: agriculture, manufacturing and services, partly as a result of ongoing weakness in the basic drivers of competitiveness, such as institutions, infrastructure, health and education. This shortfall masks a better performance in other areas of the economy; specifically, better functioning of labour and goods markets.

In view of Africa’s young and growing population, labour-intensive sectors must play a larger role in the continent’s transformation: the growth in services – both in terms of GDP and employment – cannot propel Africa’s growth alone, and even here development remains uneven, with too many people employed in low productivity services.

“Due to the rapid growth of Africa’s working-age population, investments in highly productive labor-intensive sectors will be crucial to create more globally competitive economies. These investments will also promote the regional agenda for inclusive growth and generate much-needed employment opportunities for women and youth,” said Barak Hoffman, World Bank Group Governance Specialist and co-author of the report.

Key findings from the report’s analysis include:
Improving agricultural productivity: Agriculture provides an important source of income for the majority of African citizens, but productivity remains too low and based on small-scale subsistence production. Improvements such as better leveraging of technology (both information and communications technologies, as well as development of high-yield crops and better irrigation), more clearly defined land property rights and promotion of rights and opportunities for women, who represent a significant share of the agricultural workforce on the continent, are all needed to address this. Moreover, enabling greater market access for small-scale farmers would help ensure inclusiveness, while the development of regional value chains would serve as a useful stepping stone, enabling them to improve production and marketing processes, and ultimately to meet the quality standards of world markets.

Leveraging services: Services exports are typically viewed as an area of comparative advantage for more advanced economies, but a deeper examination of trade statistics suggests that they are much more significant for Africa than previously thought, especially as inputs into exports from other sectors. Further development of low-cost, high-quality services will help countries participate in local, regional and global value chains. It will also encourage policy-makers to promote services development as part of a wider growth agenda.

Tapping global value chains (GVCs): Greater participation in global and regional value chains can accelerate African economic transformation through the gains associated with enhanced productivity and the development of new activities. However, gains from GVC participation are not automatic and require a broad set of policies, with a particular focus on trade facilitation, investment, transport infrastructure and access to finance. Many of these policy areas have economy-wide benefits beyond GVC integration.

“Business cannot continue as usual in Africa’s agriculture sector. It is imperative that productivity be significantly boosted through tailored agriculture research, harnessing ICT and strengthening linkages between small-scale farmers and commercial producers while better integrating them into regional and global value chains,” said Steve Kayizzi-Mugerwa, Ag. Vice President at the African Development Bank.

“The service sector is rapidly becoming much more prominent on the development agenda across Africa and for the World Bank. In many countries across the region, services are the most rapidly growing sector, creating new jobs and economic activities, and providing critical inputs to boost production in other sectors. Yet productivity of the service sector remains low. To be more competitive, governments must lower trade barriers as well as enact complementary regulatory reforms. These reforms are also necessary for Africa to deepen its integration into global value chains,” said Anabel González, World Bank Group Senior Director for Trade and Competitiveness.

“To consolidate the progress achieved and make new gains that will allow sub-Saharan Africa to fulfil its full potential, we need to promote further investment in infrastructure, adopt swifter trade procedures, increase regional integration and build more effective institutions. Faster structural transformation is also needed to boost productivity, enhance job creation and improve social cohesion,” said Angel Gurría, Secretary-General at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in Paris.

WASHINGTON, – This year, millions of rural businesses and families were positively impacted by U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) investments in their communities. Today, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack released a list of USDA’s top achievements in 2015, demonstrating USDA’s efforts to help farmers and ranchers bring their products to tables domestically and abroad, build critical infrastructure in America’s rural areas, conserve our nation’s natural resources through long-lasting partnerships, and continuously work toward improving the lives of all Americans.

“Since 2009, USDA has focused significant and targeted investments in America’s rural communities to bring transformative change. Last year, those investments blossomed across the United States with substantial results in the burgeoning bio-economy, an exploding local and regional food system, unparalleled investments in renewable energy, improved nutrition interventions for young people, historic partnerships in conservation and greenhouse gas reduction, and major contributions in rural infrastructure, among some. Even with challenges in 2015, including an unprecedented animal disease outbreak and lower commodity prices, America’s rural communities have proven once again that we are a nation of makers, creators and innovators, and our economy and security are stronger because of it. As we look to 2016, USDA will continue to seek out new and innovative ways to expand opportunity for America’s farming families and rural communities,” said Vilsack.

USDA invites all Americans to take a look back at 2015 through our archived In Case You Missed It series. Posted weekly, the In Case You Missed It report tells the stories of rural Americans who are working to meet ever-changing challenges, paving the way to empower future leaders to meet the world’s growing food, fuel and fiber needs, and continuously adapting and evolving to ensure American agriculture remains a leader throughout the world.

Here is a list of USDA’s top outcomes in 2015:

Agriculture and Trade
Delivered nearly $200 million to help poultry producers recover, and spent nearly $1 billion total in response to the Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza outbreak.
Achieved $139.7 billion of agricultural exports, the third-best year on record. Ensured passage of Trade Promotion Authority, and helped to complete negotiations of the Trans-Pacific Partnership.
Enrolled 1.76 million farmers in the new Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) and Price Loss Coverage (PLC) programs by conducting an unprecedented educational campaign. The program has provided $4.8 billion in financial help to more than 900,000 farms that experienced a $20 billion drop in revenues during 2015.
Helped 6,600 small, underserved and new farmers obtain credit through popular microloan program (16,000 since 2013), with 70% issued to new farmers.
The Value Added Producer Grant program, one of our most successful and effective drivers in helping agricultural producers grow their businesses, had another strong year, awarding $43.9 million for 363 grants that assisted 2,659 businesses and 2,548 farmers.
Announced that Whole-Farm Revenue Protection Insurance will be available in every county in 2016.
Supported nearly 10,000 farms and ranches, food entrepreneurs and communities through local food-related projects. Over 6,000 farmers markets and direct-marketing farmers are now authorized to accept Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits, more than five times the number in 2009. Between FY09 and FY14, USDA invested more than $800 million in more than 29,100 local and regional food businesses and infrastructure projects. As a result of our support, the market for local food has grown to an estimated $11.7 billion in 2014 from $5 billion in 2008.
Reached a record 19,474 certified organic operations in the United States.
Developed the first Process Verified Program claim for non-GMO/GE food products.
Launched www.usda.gov/newfarmers, an interactive web tool designed to connect new farmers with programs and resources.

Anti-Poverty Efforts and Nutrition
Launched 10 employment and training pilot projects to help SNAP participants find and keep gainful employment.
Announced 97% of schools successfully meet the updated, science-based nutrition standards for school meals under Healthy, Hunger Free Kids Act.
Reached more than 8.1 million kids with healthy meals through the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP). Total breakfast participation increased by more than 3 million students since 2008. CEP has been successfully implemented in over 14,000 schools and has led to a 9% increase in school breakfast participation and 5% increase in school lunch.
USDA’s StrikeForce initiative has expanded to include 880 counties, parishes, boroughs, and census areas in 21 states and Puerto Rico. In 2015, in StrikeForce target areas, USDA partnered with more than 1,000 organizations to support 56,600 projects that directed more than $7.5 billion in investments to the poorest places in rural America.
Named first 10 rural and tribal communities to participate in Rural IMPACT demonstration programs. Rural IMPACT helps communities adopt a two-generation approach to addressing the needs of vulnerable children and parents, with the goal of increasing parents’ employment and education and improving the health and well-being of children and families.
In partnership with the University of Kentucky, announced establishment of the USDA Rural Child Poverty Nutrition Center at the University of Kentucky in Lexington to reduce child food insecurity in states with the highest number of persistently poor rural counties.
In 2015, USDA and our partners served 190.6 million meals to low-income children during the summer months when school meals are not available. Since the summer of 2009, USDA has increased the number of summer meals served by 16.1% . Since the beginning of the Obama Administration, USDA has served a total of 1.2 billion summer meals.

Cost Savings and Process Improvements
Achieved $1.4 billion in savings, efficiencies, and cost avoidances since 2012 and saved more than 290,000 USDA staff hours through signature process improvements in the past year alone.

Climate Change
Announced 10 Building Blocks for Climate Smart Agriculture and Forestry, which, by 2025, will reduce net emissions and enhance carbon sequestration by the equivalent of taking 25 million cars off the road.
USDA and EPA set the first-ever national food waste reduction goal of 50 percent by 2030 in an effort to reduce the amount of wasted food in landfills producing methane emissions that fuel climate change.

Global Food Security
Feed the Future reached nearly 19 million households and helped nearly 7 million farmers gain access to new tools and technologies. New data demonstrate that, through Feed the Future and other U.S. Government efforts, childhood stunting rates have declined in Ethiopia, Ghana, and parts of Kenya by between 9 and 33 percent in recent years, while areas in Uganda have seen a 16 percent drop in poverty.
In 2015, the McGovern-Dole Program benefitted 2.5 million children in Africa and Central America.

Conservation and Forestry
Through an unprecedented voluntary conservation effort with landowners, the greater sage-grouse no longer needs Federal protection under the Endangered Species Act.
Increased the pace and scale of forest restoration by nine percent since 2011 and increased timber harvest by 18 percent since 2008, despite record droughts, longer wildfire seasons, and the increasing percentage of the budget spent fighting wildland fires. In 2015, 2.87 billion board feet were harvested and sold.
USDA’s overall investment in drought disaster relief and long term conservation practices exceeded $1.2 billion in 2015.
Provided $3 million in funding to support the development of tall wood demonstration projects in New York and Portland, Oregon.
Leveraged $800 million to 115 high-impact conservation projects across the nation through the Regional Conservation Partnership Program.
As of September 2015, 24.2 million acres were enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP). CRP also is protecting more than 170,000 stream miles with riparian forest and grass buffers, enough to go around the world 7 times. This year marks the 30th anniversary of CRP. Since 1985, the program has sequestered an annual average of 49 million tons of greenhouse gases, equal to taking 9 million cars off the road; prevented 9 billion tons of soil from erosion, enough to fill 600 million dump trucks; and reduced nitrogen and phosphorous runoff by 95 and 85 percent, respectively.
USDA invested $20.5 million through the Conservation Innovation Grants program for 45 projects, including efforts to increase habitat for pollinators, develop new ways to attract private investment in natural resource conservation, give agricultural producers greater access to greenhouse gas markets, and help farmers and ranchers make their operations more resilient to climate change.
Independent study by Mississippi State University found efforts to create migratory bird habitat on more than 470,000 acres in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri and Texas following the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill provided significant benefits to ducks, geese and other birds. Following the spill, USDA worked with farmers and landowner to create wetlands and winter habitat for migratory birds.
Invested $30 million this year in 33 new projects and 40 existing projects to improve water quality in high priority watersheds the Mississippi River Basin.

Energy and Bioeconomy
Made available $100 million in grant funds, with matching funds from state and private partners, which will provide $210 million to nearly double the number of fueling pumps nationwide that supply American-made renewable fuels, such as E15 and E85.
Issued a report that examines and quantifies the effect of America’s biobased products industry from an economics and jobs perspective. The report notes that in 2013 alone, that industry contributed four million jobs and $369 billion to the U.S. economy.
The BioPreferred Program now has more than 14,000 biobased products listed in its online catalog and, to date, more than 2,400 products are certified to use the BioPreferred label.
USDA’s Rural Energy for America Program provided 1,945 projects with a total of $82.9 million in grants and $161.2 million in loan guarantees, the largest funding level in the history of the program.
Made one conditional commitment through the 9003 program to a biorefinery in New Orleans.
Through the Biomass Crop Assistance Program, USDA provided assistance to 890 growers on 49,000 acres for costs associated with harvesting and transporting agriculture or forest residues to facilities that convert biomass crops into energy.
Research projects funded through NIFA’s Biomass Research and Development Initiative (BRDI) is leading to the development of economically and environmentally sustainable sources of renewable biomass. Projects include a grant to Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. in Findlay, Ohio, which is working to use remaining plant residue from the guayule shrub for rubber production.

Food Safety
Developed the first-ever Salmonella standard for chicken parts, which will reduce illnesses by about 50,000 annually.
Unveiled a National Action Plan designed to advance the appropriate use of antibiotics in food animals and promote collaborations among partners in medicine, veterinary medicine, and public health.
Launched the Foodkeeper App, which helps reduce food waste by showing users how to store foods properly and reminding them to use items before they are likely to spoil.

Rural Development
Made the first investments through the $10 billion Rural Infrastructure Opportunity Fund and the first Rural Business Investment Company, both launched in 2014. Established two additional RBICs in 2015.
Provided new or improved high-speed internet access to nearly 6 million rural Americans through investments made by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
Announced $3.4 billion in funding to build or improve more than 15,277 miles of transmission and distribution lines for rural electric cooperatives and utilities, including $134 million in Smart Grid Technology.
Funded $1.8 billion in Community Facilities projects over the course of fiscal year 2015. Since 2009, USDA has awarded $9.7 billion under its Community Facilities programs, including $4.9 billion for 1,052 health care projects; $266 million for improvements to 206 public schools; $133 million for 555 libraries; $39 million for 240 day care centers; and $791 million to support 4,876 public safety facilities in rural areas. Through investments made through its Community Facilities programs, over the past two years, USDA has provided more than $213 million to support 80 rural mental health facility projects in 34 states.

Research
Supported the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research in its effort to provide awards to support the next generation of agricultural scientists.
In 2015, USDA’s intramural researchers executed 35 licenses, issued 73 patents, filed 114 patent applications, and released 50 new cultivars and enhanced germplasm lines. USDA’s funding to extramural entities in 2015 led to 20 new issued patents, seven plant variety protections, 11 patent cooperation treaty applications, 36 non-provisional patent applications and 22 provisional applications.
Transformative innovations that can be found in USDA’s 2014 Technology Transfer Report include: Procedures to remove up to 98-percent of the allergens from peanuts without affecting the flavor; A portable method for identifying harmful bacteria in food that could improve the response to foodborne illness outbreaks; A new soil nitrogen test that rapidly and inexpensively determines the total amount of nitrogen in the soil that is available to a plant, reducing costs for farmers while benefiting the environment.

Civil Rights
To address long-standing allegations of past discrimination, we settled large-scale class-action lawsuits with Native American and African American farmers and ranchers and established a voluntary claims process for women and Hispanic farmers and ranchers, providing payments of more than $2.5 billion combined and over $118 million in debt forgiveness.

CAMDEN, N.J.- Now in the eighth year of its sponsorship with the American Heart Association and its support of the Go Red For Women movement, Campbell Soup Company (NYSE: CPB) today announced the launch of the Campbell’s® Address Your Heart Pantry Project sweepstakes in an effort raise awareness of heart health. Heart disease continues to be the number one killer of Americans and, according to the American Heart Association, a healthy diet and lifestyle are the best weapons in the fight against heart disease. Campbell will give consumers the chance to win over a thousand prizes designed to help them kick start heart-healthy habits in their kitchen pantries.

Additionally, Campbell is introducing two new flavors of Healthy Request soups, Southwest-Style Bean & Barley and Tuscan-Style Lentil, making it even easier for people to start refreshing their pantries.

“As a proud long-standing supporter of the American Heart Association’s Go Red For Women movement, we are committed to encouraging Americans to make heart-healthy choices each day through our products and resources,” said Leah Dunmore , Vice President, U.S. Soup, Campbell Soup Company. “This year, we are looking at the kitchen pantry through the Campbell’s® Address Your Heart Pantry Project to show women that they can take small steps towards big improvements in their heart health.”

Campbell’s® Address Your Heart Pantry Project

To enter the Campbell’s® Address Your Heart Pantry Project sweepstakes, U.S. residents ages 18 and older can visit www.addressyourheart.com by Feb. 28, 2014 and submit a photo and caption that shares how their pantry inspires their heart-healthy lifestyle. No purchase is necessary for entry. The prizes range from storage tools, organizing solutions and Healthy Request soups to one grand prize of a $5,000 complete pantry makeover. The website also features American Heart Associationcertified recipes and cooking tips.

Jennie Garth to be Honored with Campbell’s Healthy Heart Award

Campbell is continuing its support of the American Heart Association’s Go Red For Women movement by honoring actress, heart health advocate and mom, Jennie Garth , with the Campbell’s Healthy Heart award at the annual Woman’s Day Red Dress Awards in New York City on Feb. 11, 2014. The award recognizes a woman who has made a commitment to improving heart health among women.

“Almost 43 million women in the U.S. are affected by heart disease – and that’s a number that I know we can change,” said Garth. “That’s why I’m so honored to receive the Healthy Heart award from Campbell Soup Company – together we can help make a difference for women across the country by encouraging women to make heart-healthy choices and supporting them along the way.”

This Press Release is courtesy of www.campbellsoupcompany.com

CAMDEN, N.J., – Campbell Soup Company (NYSE:CPB) today announced plans to launch more than 200 new products in fiscal 2015 to meet consumers’ changing tastes, preferences and needs.

During a presentation with investors, President and Chief Executive Officer Denise Morrison shared her perspective on the state of the packaged food industry and the consumer environment. Morrison and her management team also outlined the steps Campbell is taking as it aspires to become a profitable $10 billion company within the next five years by strengthening its core business and expanding into faster-growing spaces.

Morrison said, “In the last three years, we’ve been taking decisive action to reshape our portfolio and revitalize our growth trajectory, and you will see more of it in the future. We’re proceeding with a clear strategy and a sense of purpose that are squarely focused on the successful response to dramatic shifts in the landscape for our business, and we are confident that our strategy is moving us in the right direction.”

Campbell plans to strengthen its core businesses beginning with U.S. Simple Meals, which includes soup; revitalize its shelf-stable U.S. Beverages business, led by the “V8” brand; deliver stronger growth at Pepperidge Farm; and stabilize its Australian business, including “Arnott’s” sweet biscuits.

To expand into faster-growing spaces, Campbell plans to drive breakthrough innovation; build its position in packaged fresh foods; expand in developing markets in Asia and Latin America; and increase the availability of its products in all channels.

Highlights for the coming fiscal year include:

Innovation in Packaged Fresh, an $18.6 Billion Category
Bolthouse Farms will launch its first Kids line in August, an innovative portfolio of Smoothies, Fruit Tubes and Veggie Snackers that provides parents with refrigerated fruit and vegetable snacks for their children. The 100 percent fruit juice Smoothies are an easy way for kids to get their fruit and provide 1 ½ servings of fruit per bottle, in varieties such as Strawberry meets Banana. The squeezable Fruit Tubes are made with no added sugar and will come in flavors like Mango meets Banana & Pineapple. Smoothies and Fruit Tubes also come in non-dairy varieties. Veggie Snackers, in single-serve packs, will make eating fresh carrots fun with natural seasoning, in flavors like Carrot meets Ranch.

Bolthouse Farms will collaborate with its retail partners to install merchandising sections in produce departments to create a kids healthy snacking destination. This section will include “Bolthouse Farms Kids” products, as well as products from other companies, such as fruit cups and carrot dippers.

Expanding in the Faster-Growing Organic Category
To meet the growing demand for organic foods and to expand its offerings in the faster-growing premium soup segment, the company will introduce its first range of “Campbell’s” branded organic soups. “Campbell’s” Organic will launch in six delicious varieties, including favorites like Chicken Noodle, Tomato & Basil, Chicken Tortilla and Garden Vegetable. These ready-to-serve soups will be packaged in contemporary cartons that help preserve their fresh taste and goodness. The soups build on Campbell’s current organic offerings, including “Swanson” broth, “Wolfgang Puck” soups and “Plum Organics” baby food.

Campbell will also expand its “Plum Organics” line of organic simple meals and snacks for infants, toddlers and children by launching 22 new products.

Leading the Veggie Craze with “V8”
Veggies are on-trend and here to stay. To respond to consumer interest in juicing, Campbell will launch new on-trend vegetable juices under the “V8” brand that will bring popular juicing flavors and combinations to the center store. These new juices include contemporary varieties such as “V8” Carrot Mango, “V8” Healthy Greens, “V8” Golden Goodness and “V8” Purple Power. Campbell will also launch three new varieties that add a bold twist to the classic “V8” vegetable juice – “V8” Spicy Mango, “V8” Sea Salt & Clam and “V8” Mint & Lime.

Creating a Protein Platform for On-the-Go Nutrition
Consumers are increasingly looking for a balance of protein from both plant and animal sources. To meet this demand, Campbell will introduce “V8” Protein Shakes and Protein Bars that extend the brand beyond juice and into the fast-growing $4.6 billion adult on-the-go nutrition category in the U.S.

The products leverage the vegetable nutrition expertise of “V8” and deliver protein with great taste. The shakes will provide protein from a combination of dairy, soy, pea protein, brown rice and quinoa. The shakes and bars are made with vegetables and other ingredients, like carrot and sweet potato for added nutrition, and sweetened with ingredients like honey. They will also deliver fiber, vitamins and minerals. “V8” Protein Shakes will include varieties such as Chocolate, Vanilla and Chocolate Raspberry. “V8” Protein Bars will launch in Chocolate Peanut Butter, Chocolate Pomegranate and Oatmeal Raisin varieties.

Making Dinner Easy with Flavorful Cooking Products
To make it easy for people to create great-tasting meals at home, the company will launch new “Campbell’s” Soups for Easy Cooking – four aseptic soups in varieties such as Savory Portobello Mushroom and Mexican-Style Tomato that will help consumers make delicious meals in just 30 minutes. Campbell will also launch “Swanson Cream Starter” – a base for popular homemade soups, such as New England clam chowder, cream of broccoli and loaded baked potato.

Behind the stove-top, the oven is the second-most used appliance to prepare dinner. For people who want the comfort of oven-baked dinners with little time, Campbell will expand its growing line of dinner sauces by launching “Campbell’s” Oven Sauces. These sauces are designed to create delicious meals with five minutes of prep time, three or less ingredients, and just 35 minutes of bake time. “Campbell’s” Oven Sauces will launch in four varieties, including Classic Roasted Chicken and Sweet Teriyaki Chicken.

Tapping Into Global Snacking Trends

Pepperidge Farm will launch Pumpkin Spice “Milano” cookies for the fall and two varieties of soft-baked Coffee Shop cookies, Cinnamon Bun and Banana Walnut, inspired by popular café treats.

“Arnott’s,” the leading brand of sweet biscuits in Australia, has launched on-trend varieties of “Tim Tam” like red velvet, which was created in partnership with famous Australian patissier Adriano Zumbo. Arnott’s will also expand its “Shapes” savory biscuits to Indonesia, where savory snacking is a $300 million segment.

About Campbell Soup Company
Campbell (NYSE: CPB) makes real food that matters for life’s moments, from high-quality soups and simple meals to snacks and healthy beverages. For generations, people have trusted Campbell to provide authentic, flavorful and readily available foods and beverages that connect them to each other, to warm memories and to what’s important today. Led by its iconic “Campbell’s” brand, the company’s portfolio includes “Pepperidge Farm,” “Goldfish,” “Bolthouse Farms,” “V8,” “Swanson,” “Prego,” “Pace,” “Plum Organics,” “Arnott’s,” “Tim Tam,” “Royal Dansk” and “Kjeldsens.” Founded in 1869, Campbell has a heritage of giving back and acting as a good steward of the planet’s natural resources. The company is a member of the Standard & Poor’s 500 and the Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes. For more information, visit www.campbellsoupcompany.com and @CampbellSoupCo.

WASHINGTON, – Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced today that China is lifting its suspension of red and golden delicious apple imports from Washington State. The Chinese market for Washington apples was valued at $6.5 million in calendar year 2011.

“USDA employees worked closely with the apple industry and China over a long period of time to achieve this market access,” said Secretary Tom Vilsack. “We continue cultivating a strong relationship with China and paving the way for future bilateral trading opportunities.”

In 2012, China’s General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) suspended access for Washington red and golden delicious apples due to the repeated interception of three apple pests AQSIQ considers significant: speck rot, bull’s-eye rot, and Sphaeropsis rot. To lift this suspension, USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) worked with the U.S. apple industry to develop additional safeguarding measures that address China’s concerns about these pests. Some of these new measures include cold storage of apples and visual inspection of apples prior to shipping to ensure there is no evidence of disease. USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service also worked closely with industry stakeholders to ensure the successful outcome.

This market access success comes as the United States and China continue to work to normalize trade in apples. Ongoing efforts include negotiating access for all U.S. apples to the Chinese market, as well as the safe U.S. importation of apples grown in China.

USDA remains a strong partner and advocate in the international marketplace, working with foreign governments and international regulatory or standard-setting organizations to ensure the smooth flow of international trade. Strong agricultural exports contribute to a positive U.S. trade balance, create jobs, boost economic growth and support President Obama’s National Export Initiative goal of doubling all U.S. exports by the end of 2014. APHIS also ensures that all imported agricultural products meet the Agency’s entry requirements to exclude pests and diseases of agriculture.

BEIJING and ARMONK, N.Y., IBM (NYSE: IBM) announced today that Sinofert Holdings Limited (HKSE: 00297.HK), China’s largest fertilizer producer and distributor, has transformed its business with new mobile apps to help hundreds of millions of farmers across the country increase crop yields such as rice, wheat or soybeans.

China’s agriculture and food supply chain is critical for the country’s stability and contribution to global food markets. Therefore, it’s important that farmers avoid disruptions – including access to fertilizer – that could negatively impact production of vital crops.

To continue to grow its business and remain competitive, Sinofert needed a more efficient system to service its massive sales and distribution network. Key to that growth was investing in mobile technologies to help its sales force improve decision making from the field, better anticipate demand, and offer customers more relevant products and services. Sinofert’s network includes 17 branch offices, nearly 1,700 sales outlets, more than 600 transit warehouses and 2,100 distribution centers.

Sinofert and IBM Business Partner Enwaysoft Software Technology (Enwaysoft) selected the IBM MobileFirst Platform to transform its sales and distribution processes. Enwaysoft quickly developed a set of industry-specific sales and customer relationship management apps to empower the Sinofert workforce – improving their reach into untapped markets in remote and rural areas, and ensuring more accurate and timely order placement and delivery.

“Investing in industry-specific mobile solutions has enabled our organization to gain a more timely, holistic view of our entire sales and operations process, and provide insight to make better decisions about business development and growth plans,” said He Pingshi, project manager, Sinofert Holdings Limited. “The apps have been critical to improving the productivity and responsiveness of our sales team and increasing satisfaction among our farming customers.”

More than 2,000 of Sinofert’s sales team are using the new mobile apps to easily check product pricing, client profiles, open new accounts, update client records, plan sales visits and place orders – anytime, anywhere. Orders can now be placed instantly, streamlining the entire sales process and cutting delivery times to an average of 10 days, a process that could previously take more than a month.

“As an affordable and accessible means of communication, farming communities in China are realizing the potential of mobile to create economic opportunities while bridging the rural digital divide,” said Li Han, mobile business director, Enwaysoft. “Our collaboration with Sinofert creates a positive user experience for the sales team that focuses on the specific needs of the farming industry and ensures their customers’ operations run smoothly and without interruption, allowing farmers to focus on their crops, not worrying about supplies.”

The sales team can also access Sinofert’s database to quickly and accurately respond to questions from the field, especially from farmers who live in remote areas and aren’t able to always meet with the sales team in person. They can streamline and expedite placing orders, even from remote areas with unreliable Internet coverage, and eliminate manual order entry. The apps synchronize with Sinofert’s back-end systems to expedite processing and delivery coordination from days to minutes.

About Sinofert Holdings Limited
Listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, Sinofert Holdings Limited is the largest fertilizer distributor, the largest supplier of imported fertilizers and one of the largest fertilizer manufacturers in China. Sinofert produces and distributes nitrogen, phosphate, potash and compound fertilizers, offering customers the widest range of fertilizer products. As one of China’s leading phosphate resource owners, the group is also the largest feedstuff phosphate manufacturer in Asia. Sinofert is a flagship company of Sinochem Corporation specializing in fertilizer operations. Sinochem Corporation was established in 1950 and has been named one of the Fortune Global 500 for 23 consecutive years.
About Enwaysoft Software Technology Co. Ltd.

Established in 2008, Enwaysoft is among the first in China that have entered the enterprise mobile app development market. The company has led in more than 100 large-scale mobile app development projects. For further information visit: http://www.enwaysoft.com/#

About IBM MobileFirst
IBM’s 6,000 mobile experts have been at the forefront of mobile enterprise innovation. IBM has secured more than 4,300 patents in mobile, social and security, which have been incorporated into IBM MobileFirst solutions that enable enterprise clients to radically streamline and accelerate mobile adoption, help organizations engage more people and capture new markets. Through IBM’s partnership with Apple, the two organizations are transforming enterprise mobility with a new class of industry specific business apps. For more information on IBM MobileFirst, visit the press kit or www.ibm.com/mobilefirst. Follow @IBMMobile on Twitter, and see IBM MobileFirst on YouTube, Tumblr and Facebook.

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif., April 8, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE: CMG) today announced it will offer debt-free degrees in Agriculture, Culinary, and Hospitality to all eligible employees in partnership with Guild Education, the leading education and upskilling company in the country. After only 120 days of employment, employees are eligible to pursue degrees from leading nonprofit, accredited universities, including The University of Arizona, Bellevue University, Brandman University, Paul Quinn College, Southern New Hampshire University, Wilmington University, the University of Denver and soon Johnson & Wales University, and Oregon State University. The new degree offerings build upon Chipotle’s best-in-class benefits and closely align with the company’s mission to Cultivate a Better World through its real, responsibly-sourced food.

In partnership with Guild Education, the leading education and upskilling company in the country, Chipotle will offer debt-free degrees in Agriculture, Culinary, and Hospitality to all eligible employees. The new degree offerings build upon Chipotle’s best-in-class benefits and closely align with the company’s mission to Cultivate a Better World through its real, responsibly-sourced food.
In partnership with Guild Education, the leading education and upskilling company in the country, Chipotle will offer debt-free degrees in Agriculture, Culinary, and Hospitality to all eligible employees. The new degree offerings build upon Chipotle’s best-in-class benefits and closely align with the company’s mission to Cultivate a Better World through its real, responsibly-sourced food.
Agriculture
Starting April 13, eligible Chipotle employees will be able to pursue a Bachelor of Science in Agricultural Sciences or Rangeland Sciences online from Oregon State University, one of the top ranked U.S. colleges for agriculture.

According to the latest Census of Agriculture from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, there are more than six times as many farmers age 65 and older as farmers age 34 and younger*, challenging future of small and mid-sized farms throughout the country. Chipotle recognizes that the future of real food depends on cultivating the next generation of agriculture leaders and farmers, and now the brand is giving employees an opportunity to further contribute to its revitalization efforts.

Chipotle has committed $5 million over five years to help remove barriers and enable the next generation of farmers and ranchers to succeed. Last year, the brand spent more than $300 million in food premiums to purchase supplies that are responsibly sourced, humanely raised and often locally grown.

Culinary and Hospitality
Chipotle will be the first of Guild’s employer partners to offer debt-free culinary education through renowned culinary institution, Johnson & Wales University (JWU), later this year. The brand will work collaboratively with JWU and Guild to bring associate and bachelors’ culinary arts degrees online, as well as an additional Bachelor of Science degree in Food Industry Compliance Management. The associate degree in Culinary Arts will include an experiential education component to give students hands-on opportunities to build their culinary skills. In addition, Chipotle employees will have the opportunity to pursue a selection of bachelor’s degree programs in hospitality from Bellevue University, JWU or Oregon State University.

Supply Chain
Later this year, Chipotle will also offer an expanded selection of Supply Chain programs from Oregon State University and the University of Denver. The company currently offers Supply Chain degrees from Bellevue University, Brandman University, and Southern New Hampshire University.

“Diversifying our debt-free degree program with new majors and partner universities makes our educational benefits even more inclusive,” said Marissa Andrada, Chief Diversity, Inclusion and People Officer at Chipotle. “Through our partnership with Guild, we are committed to accelerating our employees’ professional growth and helping them achieve personal success by offering opportunities to pursue career paths in their particular area of interest.”

Chipotle’s Continued Commitment to Education
In 2019, Chipotle announced it will cover 100% of tuition costs up front for 75 different business and technology degrees through its partnership with Guild. Chipotle added this employee benefit to give employees the chance to gain the skills and knowledge necessary to succeed in the evolving 21st century job market.

The debt-free degree program is a key component of Chipotle’s Cultivate Education program, which includes an Existing Tuition Reimbursement Program, allowing eligible employees to be reimbursed for tuition up to $5,250 per year in qualifying programs.

Program Impact

To date, Chipotle has seen a retention rate of 3.5x higher among students who are enrolled in Cultivate Education.
Crew members using the benefit are 7.5x more likely to move into a management role within the organization.
Of those using the benefit, 85% of students are crew members, and the benefit has the biggest impact on their growth and tenure.
“Chipotle’s debt-free degree program expansion highlights its deep commitment to employees’ economic opportunity and professional advancement,” said Natalie McCullough, President and Chief Commercial Officer at Guild Education. “By expanding Cultivate Education to include a variety of programs aligned to the company’s mission, Chipotle is continuing to lead as an innovator in employee development and wellness.”

Along with access to higher education, Chipotle offers an industry-first Crew Bonus program, which allows its restaurant employees the opportunity to earn an extra month’s worth of pay each year for meeting certain criteria. Qualifying crew members can also take advantage of a full suite of benefits including access to healthcare; fitness discounts; and free English as a second language and GED classes for employees and family members.

*Source: American Farmland Trust
ABOUT CHIPOTLE
Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE: CMG) is cultivating a better world by serving responsibly sourced, classically-cooked, real food with wholesome ingredients without artificial colors, flavors or preservatives. Chipotle had over 2,750 restaurants as of December 31, 2020, in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, France and Germany and is the only restaurant company of its size that owns and operates all its restaurants. With nearly 88,000 employees passionate about providing a great guest experience, Chipotle is a longtime leader and innovator in the food industry. Chipotle is committed to making its food more accessible to everyone while continuing to be a brand with a demonstrated purpose as it leads the way in digital, technology and sustainable business practices. Steve Ells, founder, first opened Chipotle with a single restaurant in Denver, Colorado in 1993. For more information or to place an order online, visit WWW.CHIPOTLE.COM.

ABOUT GUILD EDUCATION
Denver-based Guild Education is on a mission to unlock opportunity for America’s workforce through education and upskilling. Guild is a certified B-Corp, founded to bridge the gap between education and employment for the 88M working adults in the US in need of upskilling for the future of work. Guild’s industry-leading technology platform allows the nation’s largest employers — including Walmart, The Walt Disney Company and Chipotle — to offer strategic education and upskilling to their employees, connecting them to a learning ecosystem of the nation’s best universities and learning providers, with tuition paid by the company. Guild serves working learners from all 50 states, including 54% who are students of color and 56% female. Guild’s platform pairs technology and hands-on coaching to address common barriers to college completion and successful upskilling for working learners. Guild partners with employers to manage payment flows, data transfer, and benefits administration, while helping working adult learners go to school debt-free, with support services all the way through graduation. For more information, visit www.guildeducation.com.

SOURCE Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc.

CONTACT: Erin Wolford, (949) 524-4035, MediaRelations@chipotle.com

Related Links
https://www.chipotle.com/

CHARLOTTE, N.C., — Chiquita Brands International, Inc. (NYSE:CQB) (“Chiquita”) today announced that its Board of Directors, after careful consultation with its legal and financial advisors, unanimously determined that the offer from the Cutrale Group and the Safra Group (“Cutrale / Safra”) announced on October 15, 2014, to acquire all of the outstanding stock of Chiquita for $14.00 per share in cash, is inadequate and not in the best interests of Chiquita shareholders.

In making its determination, the Board noted that:

Chiquita believes, as previously announced, that the implied present value of future share price range of ChiquitaFyffes is $15.46 to $20.01 based on a range of EBITDA growth during 2015 of 5% to 15% and an LTM EBITDA multiple range of 7.0x to 8.0x.

The ChiquitaFyffes transaction maintains the shareholders ability to realize significantly greater value than $14.00 per share, without losing any control premium that shareholders may receive in the future.

Cutrale / Safra has failed to deliver an irrevocable offer that would remain open past October 24, 2014, so Chiquita shareholders have no assurances that the $14.00 per share offer would remain available should the Fyffes vote fail.
Chiquita Reaffirms Recommendation that Shareholders Vote to Combine with Fyffes

The Chiquita Board of Directors has unanimously reaffirmed its recommendation that Chiquita shareholders vote to approve the definitive transaction agreement between Chiquita and Fyffes, as revised on September 25, 2014, at Chiquita’s Special Meeting of Shareholders scheduled for October 24, 2014 at 9:00 a.m. ET.

Chiquita remains committed to completing its transaction with Fyffes, which it believes will create a combined company that is better positioned to succeed in a highly competitive marketplace, while driving strong performance and value for shareholders.

In addition, on October 14, 2014, Chiquita reported strong preliminary third quarter 2014 earnings results, including expected net sales of approximately $739 million and expected adjusted EBITDA in the range of $25 – $27 million. Additional details on the preliminary third quarter 2014 earnings and the benefits to Chiquita shareholders of the revised transaction agreement with Fyffes can be found in the investor presentation Chiquita filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) on October 14, 2014.

Chiquita Sends Letter to the Cutrale Group and the Safra Group

Below is a full copy of the letter that Chiquita sent to Cutrale / Safra:

October 16, 2014

Michael Rubinoff
On behalf of the Cutrale Group and the Safra Group

Dear Mr. Rubinoff,

We are writing in response to your letter of October 15, 2014, proposing that the Cutrale Group and the Safra Group acquire all of the outstanding common stock of Chiquita at a price of $14.00 per share in cash. After careful consultation with our legal and financial advisors, our Board of Directors has unanimously concluded that the Cutrale Group and the Safra Group’s offer of $14.00 per share is inadequate and not in the best interests of Chiquita shareholders. Further, the Board is disappointed that you declined our recent invitation to engage with us about ways to improve your offer and address our concerns.

The Board continues to strongly believe in the strategic merits and value provided by the revised ChiquitaFyffes transaction, given the revised exchange ratio. With updated projections, revised synergy estimates and receipt of all necessary regulatory approvals, we believe the Fyffes transaction is meaningfully more valuable for Chiquita shareholders.

As highlighted in our investor presentation filed with the SEC on October 14, the combination with Fyffes has the potential to deliver values significantly greater than $14.00 per share. The revised Fyffes transaction provides Chiquita shareholders with an implied pro forma share price of ChiquitaFyffes of $15.59 at the low end of our analysis, based upon the new exchange ratio and incremental EBITDA expectations, implying a significant increase in value relative to the original transaction with Fyffes.

The Cutrale / Safra offer, in our judgment, is not a compelling alternative to ChiquitaFyffes as it limits the ability of Chiquita shareholders to realize the long-term value inherent in a combination of Chiquita and Fyffes, particularly the recently improved exchange ratio and synergies. Chiquita is in the midst of a turnaround and is also about to close on a combination with Fyffes that would create a leading global produce company with financial flexibility, significant cash flows and a more efficient capital structure. Chiquita also recently announced preliminary third quarter results, with adjusted EBITDA ahead of plan.

We note that Cutrale / Safra has failed to deliver an irrevocable offer that would remain open past October 24, 2014, so our shareholders have no assurances that the $14.00 per share offer would remain available should the Fyffes vote fail. In addition, important unresolved issues remain in the drafts of the transaction agreements provided to us by your counsel.

For these reasons, the Chiquita Board will continue to recommend that Chiquita shareholders vote to approve the combination with Fyffes at Chiquita’s Special Meeting of Shareholders scheduled for October 24, 2014. Of course, our Board is always willing to give fair consideration to an increased offer by Cutrale / Safra.

Sincerely,

Kerrii B. Anderson
Chairwoman of the Board of Directors

Edward F. Lonergan
President and Chief Executive Officer

About Chiquita Brands International, Inc.

Chiquita Brands (NYSE:CQB) is a leading international marketer and distributor of nutritious, high-quality fresh and value-added food products – from energy-rich bananas, blends of convenient green salads, other fruits to healthy snacking products. The company markets its healthy, fresh products under the Chiquita® and Fresh Express® premium brands and other related trademarks. With annual revenues of more than $3 billion, Chiquita employs approximately 20,000 people and has operations in approximately 70 countries worldwide. For more information, please visit www.chiquita.com.

No Offer or Solicitation

This communication is not intended to and does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to subscribe for or buy or an invitation to purchase or subscribe for any securities or the solicitation of any vote or approval in any jurisdiction pursuant to the proposed combination of Chiquita and Fyffes or otherwise, nor shall there be any sale, issuance or transfer of securities in any jurisdiction in contravention of applicable law. No offer of securities shall be made except by means of a prospectus meeting the requirements of Section 10 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.

Important Additional Information Has Been Filed and Will Be Filed with the SEC

Regarding the transaction with Fyffes, ChiquitaFyffes Limited, a private limited company organized under the laws of Ireland (“ChiquitaFyffes”) has filed with the SEC a registration statement on Form S-4 that includes a Proxy Statement that also constitutes a Prospectus of ChiquitaFyffes. The registration statement was declared effective by the SEC on July 25, 2014. The Form S-4 also includes the Scheme Circular and Explanatory Statement required to be sent to Fyffes shareholders for the purpose of seeking their approval of the combination. Each of Chiquita and Fyffes has completed mailing to their respective shareholders the definitive Proxy Statement/Prospectus/Scheme Circular in connection with the proposed combination of Chiquita and Fyffes and related transactions. ChiquitaFyffes has filed with the SEC a post-effective amendment to the registration statement on Form S-4 that includes a First Supplement to the Proxy Statement/Prospectus/Scheme Circular. The post-effective amendment to the registration statement on Form S-4 was declared effective by the SEC on October 8, 2014. Each of Chiquita and Fyffes has completed mailing the First Supplement to the Proxy Statement/Prospectus/Scheme Circular to each of the Chiquita shareholders that previously received the Proxy Statement/Prospectus and to each of the Fyffes shareholders who appears on the register of shareholders as of the date of the mailing. INVESTORS AND SHAREHOLDERS ARE URGED TO READ THE PROXY STATEMENT/PROSPECTUS/SCHEME CIRCULAR (INCLUDING THE SCHEME EXPLANATORY STATEMENT) , THE FIRST SUPPLEMENT TO THE PROXY STATEMENT/PROSPECTUS/SCHEME CIRCULAR AND OTHER RELEVANT DOCUMENTS (INCLUDING A SUPPLEMENT TO THE PROXY STATEMENT/PROSPECTUS/SCHEME CIRCULAR DESCRIBING THE REVISED TERMS FOR THE FYFFES TRANSACTION) FILED OR TO BE FILED WITH THE SEC CAREFULLY WHEN THEY BECOME AVAILABLE BECAUSE THEY WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT CHIQUITA, FYFFES, CHIQUITAFYFFES, THE COMBINATION AND RELATED MATTERS. Investors and security holders are able to obtain free copies of the definitive Proxy Statement/Prospectus/Scheme Circular (including the Scheme), the First Supplement to the Proxy Statement/Prospectus/Scheme Circular and other documents filed with the SEC by ChiquitaFyffes, Chiquita and Fyffes through the website maintained by the SEC at www.sec.gov. In addition, investors and shareholders are able to obtain free copies of the definitive Proxy Statement/Prospectus/Scheme Circular (including the Scheme), the definitive First Supplement to the Proxy Statement/Prospectus/Scheme Circular and other documents filed by Chiquita, Fyffes and ChiquitaFyffes with the SEC by contacting Chiquita Investor Relations at: Chiquita Brands International, Inc., c/o Corporate Secretary, 550 South Caldwell Street, Charlotte, North Carolina 28202 or by calling (980) 636-5000, or by contacting Fyffes Investor Relations at c/o Seamus Keenan, Company Secretary, Fyffes, 29 North Anne Street, Dublin 7, Ireland or by calling + 353 1 887 2700.

Participants In The Solicitation

Chiquita, Fyffes, ChiquitaFyffes and their respective directors and executive officers may be considered participants in the solicitation of proxies in connection with the combination. Information about the directors and executive officers of Fyffes is set forth in its Annual Report for the year ended December 31, 2013, which was published on April 11, 2014 and is available on the Fyffes website at www.fyffes.com. Information about the directors and executive officers of Chiquita is set forth in its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2013, which was filed with the SEC on March 4, 2014 and its proxy statement for its 2014 annual meeting of shareholders, which was filed with the SEC on April 11, 2014. Other information regarding the participants in the proxy solicitations and a description of their direct and indirect interests, by security holdings or otherwise, are contained in the definitive Proxy Statement/Prospectus/Scheme Circular and the First Supplement to the Proxy Statement/Prospectus/Scheme Circular described above that were mailed to shareholders and other relevant materials to be filed with the SEC when they become available.

NEW BERLIN, N.Y., Aug. 26, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — Chobani is taking an important step toward a more sustainable future, announcing today that we’re launching a paper cup.

Chobani’s paper cup marks a milestone in our efforts to reduce plastic use and put more sustainable packaging on shelves across America.

Chobani Innovates Away from Plastic with Paper Cup
Chobani Innovates Away from Plastic with Paper Cup
Chobani’s new product innovations – oatmilk, cold brew coffee and coffee creamers – already come in paper-based packaging that is recyclable. After two years of development, we will move our oat yogurt into a paper-based cup, but we won’t stop there. We’ll continue exploring more sustainable packaging across our portfolio that will use less plastic and more paper.

“We all have a role to play in protecting our planet,” said Chobani Founder and CEO Hamdi Ulukaya. “People have been asking for a paper cup, and we welcome this challenge to start reducing our plastic use, and to spark a conversation about how we can drive change together.”

Chobani’s paper cup is 80% paperboard, made from responsibly sourced and renewable material. The cup has a thin plastic lining to maintain the quality of our product.

“While this paper cup is a step in the right direction, it’s just the beginning,” said Ulukaya.

The cup will be made of recyclable materials, but we’re realistic about the complexities of American’s recycling system, which is fragmented across more than 10,000 municipal-run recycling centers1, each with unique rules.

Innovative packaging often challenges the current recycling capabilities across the U.S. As part of our work in bringing this cup to market, we will continue collaborating with partners, including the Sustainable Packaging Coalition, and policymakers to advocate for improvements that expand the recycling infrastructure in this country.

Fans will start finding Chobani’s paper cup in the yogurt aisle at the end of this year. It will begin with single-serve Chobani® Oat Blend and we will continue to invest in sustainable packaging initiatives across our product portfolio.

About Chobani

Chobani is a food maker with a mission of making high-quality and nutritious food accessible to more people, while elevating our communities and making the world a healthier place. In short: making good food for all. In support of this mission, we are a values-driven, people-first, food-and-wellness-focused company, and have been since Hamdi Ulukaya, an immigrant to the U.S., founded the company in 2005. We produce yogurt, oatmilk, dairy- and plant-based creamers, ready-to-drink coffee and plant-based probiotic drinks. Chobani yogurt is America’s No.1 yogurt brand, and it’s made with only natural ingredients without artificial preservatives.

Chobani uses food as a force for good in the world – putting humanity first in everything we do. Our philanthropic efforts prioritize giving back to our communities and beyond: working to eradicate child hunger, supporting immigrants, refugees and underrepresented people, honoring veterans, and protecting the planet. We manufacture our products in New York, Idaho, and Australia. Chobani products are available throughout North America and distributed in Australia and other select markets. For more information, please visit www.chobani.com and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn.

1 Consumer Brands Association: https://consumerbrandsassociation.org/sustainability/recycling-policy-platform/

SOURCE Chobani, LLC

CONTACT: Kait Richmond, Kait.Richmond@chobani.com, Jenna Scilacci, Jenna.Scilacci@chobani.com

ATLANTA, – The Coca-Cola Company today took another significant step toward building a stronger, more streamlined production system in its flagship market by announcing the formation of a new National Product Supply System (“NPSS”) in the United States. The mission of the NPSS will be to facilitate optimal operation of the U.S. product supply system for Coca-Cola bottlers in order to:
•Achieve the lowest optimal manufactured and delivered cost for all bottlers in the Coca-Cola system
•Enable system investment to build sustainable capability and competitive advantage
•Prioritize quality, service and innovation in order to successfully meet and exceed customer and consumer requirements

Under the new NPSS, three existing independent producing bottlers, Coca-Cola Bottling Co. Consolidated (“Consolidated”), Coca-Cola Bottling Company United (“United”), and Swire Coca-Cola USA (“Swire”), as well as the Company-owned Coca-Cola Refreshments (“CCR”) along with Coca-Cola North America, will be members of Coca-Cola’s National Product Supply Group (“NPSG”). The NPSG will administer key national product supply activities for these NPSS bottlers, which currently represent approximately 95 percent of the U.S. produced volume.

“Our U.S. operating model continues to become stronger, more aligned and more competitive. Today we are taking further action to enable profitable growth for our entire U.S. system,” said Muhtar Kent, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, The Coca-Cola Company. “We will leverage the strengths and capabilities of the four largest producing bottlers in our U.S. system, CCR, Consolidated, United and Swire to operate as one highly aligned and highly competitive national product supply system.”

Under the initial terms of the Letters of Intent, it is anticipated that each NPSS bottler will acquire certain production facilities from CCR within their transitioning distribution territories. Initially, it is contemplated that CCR will divest the following nine production facilities with an estimated net book value of $380 million:
•Consolidated will acquire production facilities in Sandston, Va., Baltimore and Silver Spring, Md., Indianapolis and Portland, In. and Cincinnati, Oh.
•United will acquire the production facility in New Orleans, La.
•Swire will acquire production facilities in Phoenix, Az. and Denver, Co.

The transition of these production facilities from CCR to NPSS bottlers is anticipated to take place between 2016 and 2018. The sale of additional production facilities from CCR to NPSS bottlers in previously announced transitioning distribution territories will be considered in due course. CCR’s territories will continue to be refranchised as previously announced and decisions on any remaining production facilities in those territories will also be considered at that time.

“The National Product Supply System will benefit all of our U.S. bottling partners by driving our production system to manufacture products at the lowest optimal cost,” said Sandy Douglas, Executive Vice President and President, Coca-Cola North America. “The board of the NPSG will focus on infrastructure planning, innovation planning, and optimal sourcing. Importantly, we believe the NPSS structure allows us to leverage our significant system scale with the unique competitive advantage of being able to act with speed. This will be enabled by the outstanding commercial capabilities of a strong local bottling system.”

The new transactions announced today are subject to the parties reaching definitive agreements. The parties are committed to working together to implement a smooth transition with minimal disruption for customers, consumers and system associates.

About The Coca-Cola Company
The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO) is the world’s largest beverage company, refreshing consumers with more than 500 sparkling and still brands. Led by Coca-Cola, one of the world’s most valuable and recognizable brands, our Company’s portfolio features 20 billion-dollar brands including Diet Coke, Fanta, Sprite, Coca-Cola Zero, vitaminwater, Powerade, Minute Maid, Simply, Georgia and Del Valle. Globally, we are the No. 1 provider of sparkling beverages, ready-to-drink coffees, and juices and juice drinks. Through the world’s largest beverage distribution system, consumers in more than 200 countries enjoy our beverages at a rate of 1.9 billion servings a day. With an enduring commitment to building sustainable communities, our Company is focused on initiatives that reduce our environmental footprint, support active, healthy living, create a safe, inclusive work environment for our associates, and enhance the economic development of the communities where we operate. Together with our bottling partners, we rank among the world’s top 10 private employers with more than 700,000 system associates. For more information, visit Coca-Cola Journey at www.coca-colacompany.com, follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/CocaColaCo, visit our blog, Coca-Cola Unbottled, at www.coca-colablog.com or find us on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/company/the-coca-cola-company.

JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA – The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO), SABMiller plc (LSE:SAB, JSE:SABJ) and Gutsche Family Investments (GFI, majority shareholders in Coca-Cola Sabco) have agreed to combine the bottling operations of their non-alcoholic ready-to-drink beverages businesses in Southern and East Africa. The new bottler, Coca-Cola Beverages Africa, will serve 12 high-growth countries accounting for approximately 40 per cent of all Coca-Cola beverage volumes in Africa.

Africa offers significant growth potential in beverages, underpinned by rising personal disposable income, a fast-growing population and increasing per capita consumption. With more than 30 bottling plants and over 14,000 employees, Coca-Cola Beverages Africa will be the largest Coca‑Cola bottler on the continent, with the scale, complementary capabilities and resources to capture and accelerate top-line growth. This will also allow the new African bottler to develop best operating practices and invest in production, sales and distribution, and marketing to benefit from growing demand and drive profitability.

With a shared vision, extensive experience of operating in African markets, and long-term commitment to the continent, Coca-Cola Beverages Africa will be strongly positioned to offer consumers greater choice, broader availability and better value. The new bottler will continue the shareholders’ strong commitment to the economic and social development of the communities it serves, which includes providing access to clean water, supporting women’s economic empowerment and promoting wellbeing.

On full completion of the proposed merger, shareholdings in Coca-Cola Beverages Africa will be SABMiller: 57.0%, Gutsche Family Investments: 31.7% and The Coca-Cola Company: 11.3%.

“A combined Coca-Cola bottling operation is further evidence of our commitment to Africa, and our firm belief in the tremendous growth prospects that the continent offers,” said Muhtar Kent, Chairman and CEO of The Coca-Cola Company. “As one of the top 10 largest Coca-Cola bottling partners worldwide, Coca-Cola Beverages Africa can leverage the scale, resources, capability and efficiency needed to accelerate Coca-Cola growth and contribute to the economic and social prosperity of African communities.”

“Soft drinks are an important element of our growth strategy. This transaction increases our exposure to the total beverage market in Africa. The opportunity is significant, with favourable demographics and economic development pointing to excellent growth prospects,” said Alan Clark, SABMiller Chief Executive. “This also signifies a strengthening of our strategic relationship with The Coca-Cola Company.”

Phil Gutsche, Chairman of Gutsche Family Investments (GFI), said, “Our family sees this merger as an important and logical step to enable Coca-Cola Beverages Africa to optimise the opportunities for development in the rapidly-evolving Africa beverage market. We are very excited about the opportunity and are totally committed to ensuring that Coca-Cola Sabco’s distinctive culture is successfully integrated with that of our new partners in order to create an even more successful business in the future.”

Details of the transaction

In a transaction to be completed in two phases, Coca-Cola Beverages Africa will bring together:

SABMiller’s South African soft drinks bottling businesses, Amalgamated Beverage Industries (ABI) and Appletiser, and its soft drink bottling businesses in eight other African countries
GFI’s bottling interests in Coca-Cola Sabco, including its South African bottler, Coca‑Cola Fortune, and its bottling operations in six other African countries
The Coca-Cola Company’s South African soft drinks businesses in the form of Coca-Cola Canners, Valpré and Coca-Cola Shanduka Beverages
Coca-Cola Beverages Africa will initially produce and distribute Coca-Cola beverages in nine countries: South Africa, Kenya, Ethiopia, Mozambique, Tanzania, Uganda, Namibia, Comoros and Mayotte.

SABMiller intends to include at a later date its Swaziland soft drinks business and those of its listed subsidiaries in Botswana and Zambia, subject to agreement in due course with those subsidiaries and the requisite regulatory and shareholder approvals.

Phil Gutsche will be Chairman of Coca-Cola Beverages Africa and Port Elizabeth, South Africa is the intended location for the company’s headquarters.

As part of the transaction, The Coca-Cola Company will also acquire SABMiller’s Appletiser brands on a worldwide basis, and acquire or be licensed rights to a further 19 non-alcoholic ready-to-drink brands in Africa and in Latin America, for an approximate cash consideration of US$260m. SABMiller will retain ownership of its non-alcoholic malt beverages in Africa and Latin America and will retain its Coca-Cola franchises in El Salvador and Honduras.

Phases of the transaction and closing conditions
In Phase I:
SABMiller will contribute its Coca-Cola bottling franchise (ABI) and Appletiser bottling businesses in South Africa, together with its soft drinks businesses in Comoros and Mayotte, as well as its water businesses in Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda.
GFI will contribute Coca-Cola Fortune in South Africa and its other African Coca-Cola bottling businesses in Ethiopia, Kenya, Mozambique, Namibia, Tanzania and Uganda.
The Coca-Cola Company will contribute its South African soft drinks bottling businesses, Coca-Cola Canners, Valpré, and Coca-Cola Shanduka Beverages. Completion of Phase I is subject to a number of customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals in South Africa and other African jurisdictions, and is expected to complete within the next 6-9 months.
Coca-Cola Beverages Africa’s results will be fully consolidated into SABMiller plc’s financial statements. The Coca-Cola Company will equity account for its stake in Coca-Cola Beverages Africa.
In Phase II:

SABMiller intends to contribute its Swaziland soft drinks bottling business, and the soft drinks bottling businesses of its listed subsidiaries in Botswana and Zambia to Coca-Cola Beverages Africa.
Completion of Phase II is subject to a number of customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals and requisite shareholder approvals, and is expected to complete 12-18 months after the completion of Phase I.

Coca-Cola Beverages South Africa
In South Africa, the parties’ respective bottling operations will be combined to create a new South African bottler, Coca-Cola Beverages South Africa. It will be majority-owned by Coca-Cola Beverages Africa, with minority shareholders holding an interest of approximately 10.6%. Zanosi Kunene will be the Chairman of Coca-Cola Beverages South Africa upon its formation.

Coca-Cola Beverages South Africa will retain the Kunene family and Khulile Beverages (previously Coca-Cola Fortune’s empowerment partners) as empowerment shareholders. Zenzele, SABMiller’s Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (BBBEE) scheme, will retain an indirect interest in Coca‑Cola Beverages South Africa through SABMiller’s shareholding in Coca-Cola Beverages Africa. Initial Black Economic Empowerment ownership of Coca-Cola Beverages South Africa (post completion of Phase II of the transaction) under the BBBEE Codes will be approximately 11.3%.

Coca-Cola Enterprises, Inc. (“CCE”) (NYSE: CCE) (Euronext Paris: CCE), Coca-Cola Iberian Partners SA (“CCIP”) and Coca-Cola Erfrischungsgetränke AG (“CCEAG”), a wholly owned subsidiary of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO), today announced they have agreed to combine their businesses into a new company to be called Coca-Cola European Partners Plc., in a transformational transaction that will create the world’s largest independent Coca-Cola bottler based on net revenues. Through a world-class production, sales and distribution platform for the Coca-Cola system in Western Europe, Coca-Cola European Partners will be positioned to deliver superior execution and customer service, driving long-term value creation for shareowners.

Strategically Positioned to Capture Growth
With more than 50 bottling plants and approximately 27,000 associates, Coca-Cola European Partners will serve a consumer population of over 300 million in 13 countries across Western Europe, including Andorra, Belgium, France, Germany, Great Britain, Iceland, Luxembourg, Monaco, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and the Netherlands. The combined company will operate in the four largest markets for nonalcoholic ready-to-drink beverages in Western Europe – Germany, Spain, Great Britain and France.

Once combined, Coca-Cola European Partners will leverage and build on the best practices from each respective market and bottler to improve service to customers and consumers through a more consistent strategy for product development and market execution across Western Europe. The increased scale and flexibility of Coca-Cola European Partners’ broader European geographic footprint will allow it to compete more effectively across nonalcoholic beverage categories.

Coca-Cola European Partners is expected to generate substantial synergies, including supply chain benefits and operating efficiencies. These synergies are expected to result in realized annual run-rate pre-tax savings of approximately $350-375 million within three years of closing. The new company’s synergies will also position it for increased investment in sales and customer-facing activities to drive incremental top-line and profit growth over the long term.

Coca-Cola European Partners will combine the unique market knowledge of CCE, CCIP and CCEAG, enabling increased coordination and innovation to better serve customers and consumers at a local level in each market. As a larger and more diverse company, Coca-Cola European Partners will continue to invest, employ, manufacture and distribute locally, maintaining a strong commitment to the economic and social well-being of each community it serves.

“The creation of a larger, unified Coca-Cola bottling partner in Western Europe represents an important step in our global system’s evolution,” said Muhtar Kent, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of The Coca-Cola Company. “We continue to adapt our business model to innovate, invest and grow along with the changing demands of the marketplace. With the strong leadership that will be assembled from across the three organizations, Coca-Cola European Partners will be well-positioned to deliver better and more effective service to customers throughout Western Europe and drive profitable growth across multiple beverage categories.”

Sol Daurella, Executive Chairwoman of Coca-Cola Iberian Partners, added, “In 2013, we combined our family-owned Iberian Coca-Cola bottlers with over 60 years of history to better serve our customers and consumers. Our Iberian shareowners see today’s announcement as an important step to further develop and optimize our offerings in Western Europe. As the single-largest shareowner in this new business we will play a strong strategic role in Coca-Cola European Partners, while continuing to be close to our country, business, local consumers and customers. Combining our unique expertise in the on-premise channels, targeted marketing experience and operational excellence with the skills of CCE and CCEAG, together we will drive growth in Western Europe.”

“The creation of Coca-Cola European Partners will build on each bottler’s capabilities to create more efficient operations in their respective markets across Western Europe,” said John Brock, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Coca-Cola Enterprises. “We look forward to bringing together our world-class supply chain and sales team with the distinct strengths offered by CCIP and CCEAG to capture additional growth opportunities in each market. This transaction offers clear synergies, along with the scale to better serve the needs of our customers and consumers in Western Europe, to become an even stronger partner to The Coca-Cola Company and create increased value for CCE’s shareowners.”

Management and Governance

Ms. Daurella will become Chairwoman of Coca-Cola European Partners and Mr. Brock will become Chief Executive Officer. Both will be members of the Board of Directors.

Damian Gammell, currently Beverage Group President and CEO of Anadolu Efes and a previous Chief Executive Officer of CCEAG, will join CCE as Chief Operating Officer in autumn 2015 and become Chief Operating Officer of Coca-Cola European Partners upon closing. Manik (“Nik”) Jhangiani, currently the Chief Financial Officer of CCE, will become Coca-Cola European Partners’ Chief Financial Officer and Víctor Rufart, currently General Manager of CCIP, will become Chief Integration Officer. Other members of the new executive team will be announced before the closing of the transaction.

Along with Ms. Daurella and Mr. Brock, the initial Board of Directors of Coca-Cola European Partners will consist of 15 additional members, with the majority of the Board being independent, non-executive directors.

Coca-Cola European Partners will be incorporated in the United Kingdom, one of its largest markets, with its headquarters in London. The combined company will be publicly traded with listings on the Euronext Amsterdam, the New York Stock Exchange and the Madrid Stock Exchange.

Transaction Structure

At closing, Coca-Cola Iberian Partners and The Coca-Cola Company will own 34% and 18% of the combined company, respectively, with CCE shareowners owning 48% on a fully diluted basis. CCE shareowners will receive, for each CCE share held, one share of Coca-Cola European Partners and a one-time cash payment of $14.50 per share. The aggregate one-time cash payment of approximately $3.3 billion will be funded by the new company using newly issued debt.

On a pre-synergy, pro forma basis, for 2015 the combined company’s annual net revenues are expected to be approximately $12.6 billion with $2.1 billion of EBITDA and $1.6 billion of operating income with a volume of 2.5 billion unit cases. Coca-Cola European Partners’ effective tax rate is expected to be in a range of 26 to 28%.

The combined company is expected to have a 2015 pro forma net debt to EBITDA ratio of approximately 3.5x, and given anticipated cash flows, is expected to de-lever to approximately 2.5x by year-end 2017. Coca-Cola European Partners is fully committed to an investment-grade rating and intends to operate within a 2.5x-3.0x net debt to EBITDA ratio longer term. It intends to distribute dividends per share in the range of approximately 30 to 40% of net income over time, to be determined by its Board of Directors.

The Coca-Cola Company expects to account for its stake under the equity method of accounting and expects the merger to be slightly accretive to 2016 comparable EPS.

In support of this growth plan, The Coca-Cola Company and Coca-Cola European Partners will enter into a new 10-year bottling agreement with an option to renew for an additional 10-year period. There will be an initial four-year incidence pricing agreement, extending economic terms currently in place in each respective territory.

Approvals
The Boards of Directors of Coca-Cola Enterprises, Coca-Cola Iberian Partners and The Coca-Cola Company have approved the transaction. The proposed merger is subject to approval by CCE’s shareowners, receipt of regulatory clearances and other customary conditions. The merger is expected to close in the second quarter of 2016.

Advisers
Deutsche Bank acted as exclusive financial adviser to The Coca-Cola Company. Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP acted as legal counsel to The Coca-Cola Company, and Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP acted as tax counsel to The Coca-Cola Company.

Lazard acted as lead financial adviser to CCE and Cahill Gordon & Reindel LLP and Slaughter and May served as legal counsel to the company. Credit Suisse acted as financial adviser to the Franchise Relationship Committee (FRC) of the Board of Directors of CCE; Clay Long Esq. and Baker Hostetler LLP served as legal counsel to the FRC.

Rothschild acted as exclusive financial adviser to Coca-Cola Iberian Partners. Allen & Overy LLP and Uria Menendez served as legal counsel to Coca-Cola Iberian Partners.

About Coca-Cola Enterprises
Coca-Cola Enterprises, Inc. is the leading Western European marketer, producer, and distributor of nonalcoholic ready-to-drink beverages and one of the world’s largest independent Coca-Cola bottlers. CCE is the sole licensed bottler for products of The Coca-Cola Company in Belgium, continental France, Great Britain, Luxembourg, Monaco, the Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden. CCE operates with a local focus and has 17 manufacturing sites across Europe, where the company manufactures nearly 90 percent of its products in the markets in which they are consumed. Sustainability is core to CCE’s business, and the company has been recognized by leading organizations in North America and Europe for its progress in water use reduction, carbon footprint reduction, and recycling initiatives. For more information about CCE, please visit www.cokecce.com and follow the company on Twitter at @cokecce.

About Coca-Cola Iberian Partners
Coca-Cola Iberian Partners is the bottling partner of The Coca-Cola Company for Spain, Portugal and Andorra. Coca-Cola Iberian Partners is responsible for meeting the demand for The Coca-Cola Company’s products at every stage: manufacturing, packaging, distribution and management of the different client channels. Coca-Cola Iberian Partners, with a staff of 4,380 employees, distributes products to Spain, Portugal and Andorra, serves 396,000 clients and reaches more than 55 million consumers. Coca-Cola Iberian Partners markets 17 different brands with 81 products. It has eight soft drink manufacturers, one of concentrated juice and six natural mineral water springs in operation. For further information please visit: www.cocacolaiberianpartners.com.

About Coca-Cola Erfrischungsgetränke AG
Coca-Cola Erfrischungsgetränke AG (CCEAG) is the largest German beverage company with a sales volume of 3.8 billion liters (2014). As a franchisee of The Coca-Cola Company (Atlanta), CCEAG is in charge of bottling as well as sales and distribution of Coca-Cola branded products in Germany. CCEAG serves around 400,000 trade and horeca customers and employs around 9,500 people. The beverages are bottled at more than 20 production plants.

About The Coca-Cola Company
The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO) is the world’s largest beverage company, refreshing consumers with more than 500 sparkling and still brands. Led by Coca-Cola, one of the world’s most valuable and recognizable brands, our Company’s portfolio features 20 billion-dollar brands including Diet Coke, Fanta, Sprite, Coca-Cola Zero, vitaminwater, Powerade, Minute Maid, Simply, Georgia and Del Valle. Globally, we are the No. 1 provider of sparkling beverages, ready-to-drink coffees, and juices and juice drinks. Through the world’s largest beverage distribution system, consumers in more than 200 countries enjoy our beverages at a rate of 1.9 billion servings a day. With an enduring commitment to building sustainable communities, our Company is focused on initiatives that reduce our environmental footprint, support active, healthy living, create a safe, inclusive work environment for our associates, and enhance the economic development of the communities where we operate. Together with our bottling partners, we rank among the world’s top 10 private employers with more than 700,000 system associates. For more information, visit Coca-Cola Journey at www.coca-colacompany.com, follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/CocaColaCo, visit our blog, Coca-Cola Unbottled, at www.coca-colablog.com or find us on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/company/the-coca-cola-company.

Atlanta, — The Coca-Cola Company today released its 11 th annual Sustainability Report highlighting the progress the Coca-Cola system made in 2013 against the 2020 sustainability goals announced last year.

“Coca-Cola can only be as healthy, vibrant and resilient as the communities we proudly serve around the globe. That’s why we’re working together with our bottling partners across our system to build stronger, more active communities and advance environmental conservation,” said Muhtar Kent, Chairman and CEO, The Coca-Cola Company. “Unlocking the collaborative power of the Golden Triangle of business, government and civil society organizations allows for a much greater collective impact than any one organization or even sector could hope to achieve alone.”

This is the first report to include both an update on existing sustainability goals and the Company’s new global 2020 goals. The report follows the Company’s sustainability framework — “Me, We, World” — and is rooted in three leadership priorities:

Women: In our fourth year, we continue our journey to economically empower 5 million women entrepreneurs across our value chain by 2020 through our 5by20™ program. This initiative aims to help women entrepreneurs, from fruit farmers to artisans, overcome the barriers they face to succeed in business. As of December 31, 2013, our 5by20 programs had enabled more than 550,000 women in 44 countries since 2010. More than 255,000 women were impacted in 2013, an increase of more than 50% over the previous year.
Water: We are working to balance the water we use by 2020, returning to our communities and nature an amount of water equivalent to that used in our beverages and their production. We are currently on track to achieve this water goal. In 2013, we replenished an estimated 68% (a calculated estimate of108.5 billion liters) of the water used in our finished beverages through 509 community water partnership projects in more than 100 countries, and we improved our water use efficiency for the 11th consecutive year with an 8% improvement over 2010.
Well-being: We continue our work to meet our 2013 global business commitments to promote well-being and to help address the public health challenge of obesity. In 2013, we offered more than 800 reduced-, low- and no-calorie products worldwide — nearly 25% of our global portfolio. We also supported more than 290 physical activity programs in nearly 125 countries.
The report also updates other areas of progress. Through The Coca-Cola Foundation, the Company’s global philanthropic arm, we invested $143 million (1% of our operating income) to support sustainable community initiatives in 2013 . We also continue applying our supply chain and logistics expertise to help deliver essential medicines to communities that need them through Project Last Mile.

We continue to work against ambitious new goals to reduce the carbon footprint of “the drink in your hand” by 25% and to sustainably source key agricultural ingredients by 2020. In addition, through June 2014, we had then distributed more than 25 billion fully recyclable PlantBottle™ packages across nearly 40 countries since the program launched in 2009.

“We’re investing in sustainability because it helps us grow our business, make a positive difference for the people and communities we serve, and protect the environment we all share,” said Bea Perez, Chief Sustainability Officer at The Coca-Cola Company. “The results in our report reflect Coca-Cola’s commitment, our employees’ passion, and the power of our many partnerships.”

The 2013/2014 Sustainability Report demonstrates The Coca-Cola Company’s commitment to continuous improvement, increased disclosure, risk assessment and expanded stakeholder engagement. The report is available on the Company’s website, Coca-Cola Journey, and features social and multimedia capabilities. This year, the Company developed the report at the Core In Accordance level of the GRI G4 guidelines. Ernst & Young LLP, a registered public accounting firm, provided external assurance on sustainability indicators related to water use ratio, PlantBottle™ packaging, lost-time incident rate, front-of-pack labeling and manufacturing greenhouse gas emissions.

To view The Coca-Cola Company’s 2013/2014 Sustainability Report , please visit www.coca-colacompany.com/sustainability .

About The Coca-Cola Company The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO) is the world’s largest beverage company, refreshing consumers with more than 500 sparkling and still brands. Led by Coca-Cola, one of the world’s most valuable and recognizable brands, our Company’s portfolio features 17 billion-dollar brands including Diet Coke, Fanta, Sprite, Coca-Cola Zero, vitaminwater, Powerade, Minute Maid, Simply, Georgia and Del Valle. Globally, we are the No. 1 provider of sparkling beverages, ready-to-drink coffees, and juices and juice drinks. Through the world’s largest beverage distribution system, consumers in more than 200 countries enjoy our beverages at a rate of 1.9 billion servings a day. With an enduring commitment to building sustainable communities, our Company is focused on initiatives that reduce our environmental footprint, support active, healthy living, create a safe, inclusive work environment for our associates, and enhance the economic development of the communities where we operate. Together with our bottling partners, we rank among the world’s top 10 private employers with more than 700,000 system associates. For more information, visit Coca-Cola Journey at www.coca-colacompany.com, follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/CocaColaCo, visit our blog, Coca-Cola Unbottled, at www.coca-colablog.com or find us on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/company/the-coca-cola-company.

ATLANTA – The Coca-Cola Company today announced that it has taken additional steps toward the implementation of a 21st Century Beverage Partnership Model in the United States.

As part of this model, The Coca-Cola Company has agreed in principle with three U.S. bottlers to continue granting new, expanded territories. These bottlers are Coca-Cola Bottling Company High Country, Coca-Cola Bottling Company United and Swire Coca-Cola USA.

Additionally, The Coca-Cola Company has agreed in principle to the granting of expanded territories to four new expanding U.S. bottlers. These bottlers are Atlantic Coca-Cola Bottling Company, Chesterman Company, The Odom Corporation and Ozarks Coca-Cola Bottling Company.

“We have made significant progress toward the implementation of our 21st Century Beverage Partnership Model in the U.S., which continues to strengthen our franchise system,” said Muhtar Kent, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, The Coca-Cola Company. “We will move forward with our refranchising plans in the U.S. as we implement a more agile, modern, customer-focused beverage partnership model.”

Consistent with prior transactions, in the newly granted territories The Coca-Cola Company and these bottlers will work collaboratively to implement key elements of this evolving U.S. operating model, including:

More rational and contiguous operating territories
A grant of exclusive territory rights and the sale by Coca-Cola Refreshments (CCR) of distribution assets and cold drink equipment
A finished goods model under which production assets will remain with CCR
An improved, more integrated information technology platform
A new beverage agreement that supports the evolving operating model
“Today marks another significant milestone in the evolution of our U.S. operations as we align for growth with partners that have demonstrated success, taken a generational view and consistently invested in capabilities and leadership,” said Sandy Douglas, President, Coca-Cola North America. “These four new expanding bottling partners – Atlantic, Chesterman, Odom and Ozarks – bring deep local knowledge and have demonstrated both outstanding commercial capabilities and consistent, sustainable success within their communities.”

These new territories generally border these bottlers’ existing territories, allowing each bottler to better service local customers and provide more efficient execution.

Coca-Cola Bottling Company High Country will assume additional territory in South Dakota, North Dakota (including the Fargo and Bismarck markets), and Minnesota
Coca-Cola Bottling Company United will assume additional territory in Louisiana, including the New Orleans and Shreveport markets, and territory in the Tallahassee, Florida market
Swire Coca-Cola USA will assume additional territory in Arizona, including the Phoenix and Tucson markets
Atlantic Coca-Cola Bottling Company will assume new territory in Iowa and southern Minnesota
Chesterman Company will assume new territory in Nebraska and western Iowa, including the Omaha and Lincoln markets
The Odom Corporation will assume new territory in the Hawaiian Islands including Oahu, Hawaii, Kauai, and Molokai
The Ozarks Coca-Cola Bottling Company will assume new territory in Missouri, northern Arkansas and southeast Kansas
The new transactions announced today are subject to the parties reaching Definitive Agreements. The parties are committed to working together to implement a smooth transition with minimal disruption for customers, consumers and System associates. Financial terms were not disclosed.

About The Coca-Cola Company
The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO) is the world’s largest beverage company, refreshing consumers with more than 500 sparkling and still brands. Led by Coca-Cola, one of the world’s most valuable and recognizable brands, our Company’s portfolio features 20 billion-dollar brands including, Diet Coke, Fanta, Sprite, Coca-Cola Zero, vitaminwater, POWERADE, Minute Maid, Simply, Georgia, Dasani, FUZE TEA and Del Valle. Globally, we are the No. 1 provider of sparkling beverages, ready-to-drink coffees, and juices and juice drinks. Through the world’s largest beverage distribution system, consumers in more than 200 countries enjoy our beverages at a rate of 1.9 billion servings a day. With an enduring commitment to building sustainable communities, our Company is focused on initiatives that reduce our environmental footprint, support active, healthy living, create a safe, inclusive work environment for our associates, and enhance the economic development of the communities where we operate. Together with our bottling partners, we rank among the world’s top 10 private employers with more than 700,000 system associates. For more information, visit Coca-Cola Journey at www.coca-colacompany.com, follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/CocaColaCo, visit our blog, Coca-Cola Unbottled, at www.coca-colablog.com or find us on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/company/the-coca-cola-company.

MILAN, June 3, 2015 – The Coca-Cola Company today unveiled the world’s first PET plastic bottle made entirely from plant materials at the World Expo – Milan. PlantBottle™ packaging pushes the boundaries on sustainable innovation by using groundbreaking technology to create a fully recyclable plastic bottle made from renewable plant materials.

PlantBottle packaging is The Coca-Cola Company’s vision to develop a more responsible plant-based alternative to packaging traditionally made from fossil fuels and other non-renewable materials. PlantBottle packaging uses patented technology that converts natural sugars found in plants into the ingredients for making PET plastic bottles. The packaging looks, functions and recycles like traditional PET but has a lighter footprint on the planet and its scarce resources.

PlantBottle Expo
Nancy Quan, Global Research and Development Officer, The Coca-Cola Company said “Today is a pioneering milestone within our Company’s packaging portfolio. Our vision was to maximize game-changing technology, using responsibly sourced plant-based materials to create the globe’s first fully recyclable PET plastic bottle made entirely from renewable materials. We are delighted to unveil the first bottles here at World Expo – a world-class exhibition where sustainable innovation is celebrated.”

PlantBottle packaging maintains the high quality package consumers expect but with the added benefit of being made from renewable materials. It can be used for a variety of packaging sizes and across water, sparkling, juice and tea beverage brands. Today, the company uses sugarcane and waste from the sugarcane manufacturing process to create PlantBottle packaging. Both materials meet The Coca-Cola Company’s established sustainability criteria used to identify plant-based ingredients for PlantBottle material. These guiding principles include demonstrating improved environmental and social performance as well as avoiding negative impacts on food security.

Since the 2009 launch, The Coca-Cola Company has distributed more than 35 billion bottles in nearly 40 countries using its current version of PlantBottle packaging which is made from up to 30% plant-based materials. It is estimated the use of PlantBottle packaging since launch has helped save the equivalent annual emissions of more than 315,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide.

The Coca-Cola Company plans to continue investment in its award-winning PlantBottle packaging.

About The Coca-Cola Company
The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO) is the world’s largest beverage company, refreshing consumers with more than 500 sparkling and still brands. Led by Coca-Cola, one of the world’s most valuable and recognizable brands, our Company’s portfolio features 20 billion-dollar brands including Diet Coke, Fanta, Sprite, Coca-Cola Zero, vitaminwater, Powerade, Minute Maid, Simply, Georgia and Del Valle. Globally, we are the No. 1 provider of sparkling beverages, ready-to-drink coffees, and juices and juice drinks. Through the world’s largest beverage distribution system, consumers in more than 200 countries enjoy our beverages at a rate of 1.9 billion servings a day. With an enduring commitment to building sustainable communities, our Company is focused on initiatives that reduce our environmental footprint, support active, healthy living, create a safe, inclusive work environment for our associates, and enhance the economic development of the communities where we operate. Together with our bottling partners, we rank among the world’s top 10 private employers with more than 700,000 system associates. For more information, visit Coca-Cola Journey at
www.coca-colacompany.com, follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/CocaColaCo, visit our blog,
Coca-Cola Unbottled, at www.coca-colablog.com or find us on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/company/the-coca-cola-company.

Cadbury and Fairtrade today announced a ground-breaking commitment to help more cocoa farmers, their families and their communities, by extending its farmer-focused Cocoa Life programme to Cadbury products globally. Starting in the UK & Ireland in May 2017, with a phased roll-out, Cocoa Life – an industry leading sustainable cocoa farming programme – will be extended across Cadbury chocolate brands in key markets across the world.

Cocoa Life puts farmers first and aims to empower current and future generations to create thriving farms which boost the entire community. Cocoa Life will benefit 200,000 farmers and 1 million people in communities in Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire, Indonesia, the Dominican Republic, India and Brazil. To achieve this Mondelēz International will invest $400 million over ten years to 2022.

As the company scales up Cocoa Life, the partnership will bring more benefits to more farmers and communities and importantly continue to deliver measurable, independently verified improvements for cocoa farmers and cocoa-growing communities.

Fairtrade, the world’s largest and most recognised fair trade system, will become a partner for the whole Cocoa Life programme, working together to secure the long-term future of cocoa farming communities. In the UK and Ireland Cadbury brands will begin to transition to Cocoa Life. In Australia, Canada, New Zealand and South Africa, Cadbury Dairy Milk chocolate will remain certified throughout 2017. As part of the global roll out of Cocoa Life across Cadbury brands, they will move to carry the Cocoa Life logo on the front of pack during 2018.

Having achieved significant impact to date, Cadbury and Fairtrade will now work together on new innovative programmes to enhance the future for farming communities, such as building resilience to climate change – which cocoa farmers say is already a key threat to their livelihoods. In addition, Fairtrade will work with Cocoa Life to develop farmer organisations and, together, enhance the understanding and reporting of the programme’s impact on cocoa farmers, their families and their communities.

This expansion of Cocoa Life, combined with Fairtrade’s independent involvement, will give consumers the confidence that whenever they buy a Cadbury chocolate bar with the Cocoa Life label, they are helping cocoa farming communities to thrive, making a real difference to people’s lives.

FLOCERT, which also works as Fairtrade’s independent assurance and certification body, will also continue to independently verify the supply chain of Cocoa Life as the programme grows. This involves tracking the quantity of sustainably grown and traded cocoa and loyalty payments made to farmer organisations.

Glenn Caton, President, Northern Europe at Mondelēz International, commented: “Cocoa Life builds from Cadbury’s proud heritage of sourcing cocoa sustainably, which dates back to a hundred years ago when the Cadbury family helped establish cocoa farming in Ghana” “Through Cocoa Life, we want to become an accountable partner for our cocoa farmers, not just a buyer.

We are directly connecting buyers to farmers, enabling them to build long-term businesses. Cocoa Life truly transforms communities by delivering real and measurable improvements for cocoa farmers. We want to use our scale as the world’s largest chocolate maker to drive positive change for the communities on which we depend. We support Fairtrade’s vision to drive sustainable livelihoods through empowered farming organisations and communities and fairer terms of trade. We are proud to have Fairtrade’s support in helping us achieve this”.

Launched in Ghana in 2008 as the Cadbury Cocoa Partnership, Cocoa Life has already been rolled out across more than 795 cocoa farming communities around the world and independent verification shows that farmers’ in the Cocoa Life programme in Ghana have seen their incomes increase 49% more than farms outside the programme.

Michael Gidney, Chief Executive at the Fairtrade Foundation commented on the news:
“We are proud to have worked closely with Cadbury since 2009 to improve the lives of cocoa farmers and their communities. But the reality is that life for too many cocoa farmers remains a daily struggle against poverty, whilst their communities still lack many essential services and climate change poses increasing threats to their livelihoods and future.

“The evolution of our partnership with Cadbury and Cocoa Life is an exciting development as it embeds Fairtrade, our values, principles and unique relationships with farmer networks, into the whole programme. In doing so, together we can increase the scale and impact of Cocoa Life, towards a common goal – one in which cocoa farmers, their organisations and communities are empowered, can invest in their own future, and go from just surviving, to thriving.”

Cocoa Life fast facts
Today’s move by Cadbury will help Cocoa Life to deliver a number of benefits, including:
 A $400m investment by 2022, empowering 200,000 farmers and reaching 1 million people in communities in Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire, Indonesia, the Dominican Republic, India and Brazil.
 Independently assessed improvements to the lives and livelihoods of cocoa farmers and their communities – farmer income has increased 49% more and cocoa yield increased 37% more in
Ghanaian Cocoa Life communities than in communities outside the programme.

 A competitive price for their cocoa, on clear terms of trade, and loyalty payments to Ghanaian farmers, which together with programme investments, will deliver value per farmer at least
equivalent to that previously delivered by Fairtrade premiums.

 Investment in more than 795 cocoa farming communities, helping them set and deliver their own tailored action plans that address their needs – whether that’s education, healthcare,
infrastructure or other priorities.

Alongside Fairtrade, Cocoa Life is actively supported on the ground by NGO delivery partners including Voluntary Services Overseas (VSO), Save The Children, CARE International, World Vision, Swisscontact and Solidaridad, harnessing their long experience of working with cocoa growing communities to maximise the impact of the programme. Cocoa Life also involves experts from organisations like WWF, the UN Development Programme, and Anti-Slavery International in the design and oversight of the programme.

About Cocoa Life
Cocoa Life is a holistic and farmer centric approach working with communities to help them set their own tailored action plans that will deliver the most value for them around five outcomes:
 Farming – helping farmers improve yield and earn higher incomes
 Community – enabling cocoa farming families to create the kind of communities they and their children want to live in
 Livelihoods – improving business skills and helping to develop additional source of income to lift people out of poverty
 Youth – making cocoa faming a more attractive profession for young people
 Environment – protecting the landscapes in which cocoa is grown to maintain the ecosystems and farming land for future generations.

Cocoa Life also aligns with the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals, in areas such as empowerment of women, and promoting sustainable agriculture.
Cocoa Life’s core principles are:
 Farming communities are at the centre of our approach
 Partnerships are the key to lasting change
 Our programme and our sourcing contracts are aligned

Mondelēz International’s ultimate goal is to sustainably source all the company’s cocoa supply, mainly via Cocoa Life. By working in partnership with farmers, NGOs, suppliers and government institutions, Cocoa Life answers Mondelēz International’s Call For Well-being, which urges employees, suppliers and community partners to join together to develop new approaches that can have a positive impact on the planet and its people. The Call For Well-being focuses on four key areas where the company can make the greatest impact: mindful snacking, sustainability, community and safety. Follow our progress at
www.cocoalife.org/progress.

Cadbury and Fairtrade’s impact to date
Since 2009, the partnership between Cadbury and Fairtrade has:
 Enabled the establishment of strong farmer organisations and supported them to function efficiently, with effective governance and good business practices
 Supported farmer organisations through Fairtrade premiums with the budget and capacity to carry out their own community development projects, and offer benefits to individual farmers and their communities, such as micro-saving and loan schemes, agricultural tools and farming inputs
 Farming communities have benefitted from Fairtrade training on income diversification, workers’ rights and environmental sustainability

About Mondelēz International
Mondelēz International, Inc. (NASDAQ: MDLZ) is a global snacking powerhouse, with 2015 net revenues of approximately $30 billion. Creating delicious moments of joy in 165 countries, Mondelēz International is a world leader in biscuits, chocolate, gum, candy and powdered beverages, with billion-dollar brands such as Oreo, LU and Nabisco biscuits; Cadbury, Cadbury Dairy Milk and Milka chocolate; and Trident gum.

Mondelēz International is a proud member of the Standard and Poor’s 500, NASDAQ 100 and Dow Jones Sustainability Index. Visit www.mondelezinternational.com or follow us on Twitter at
www.twitter.com/MDLZ.

About The Fairtrade Foundation
The Fairtrade Foundation’s mission is to work with businesses, community groups and individuals to improve the trading position of producer organisations in developing countries and to deliver sustainable livelihoods for farmers, workers and their communities by:
 being a passionate and ambitious development organisation committed to tackling poverty and injustice through trade;
 engaging business in product and ingredient certification, and in programmes to bring about long term change for farmers, workers and their communities;
 bringing together producers and consumers in a citizens’ movement for change; and
 being recognised as the UK’s leading authority on fair trade

Today, more than 1.6 million people who work hard to produce coffee, tea, cocoa, bananas, wines, flowers, cotton, gold and many other products benefit from Fairtrade, which campaigns for as well as enables a fairer system of global trade. In 2015, UK retail sales of Fairtrade certified products exceeded £1.6 billion.

Beyond certification, the Fairtrade Foundation is increasingly building new partnerships with producer networks, business partners and local org

OMAHA, Neb., – ConAgra Foods, Inc. (NYSE: CAG) announced the winners of its 2014 Sustainable Development Awards yesterday, an internal awards program that drives and rewards imaginative approaches to sustainability, and produces bottom line business results. The 85 entries received this year collectively:

Reduced greenhouse gas emissions by more than 9,500 metric tons
Reduced landfill waste by 10,500 tons
Optimized and improved packaging, while using 7.8 million pounds less material
Conserved more than 820 million gallons of water
Delivering more than $30 million in savings, these projects exhibit the economic value of a company’s commitment to sustainable development. This year’s initiatives amounted to the largest water savings the company has seen to date. Many of these initiatives were driven by the imagination and effort of employees. The awards program recognizes the fact that employees can make a big impact by coming together to do what’s right for both the environment and the business.

ConAgra Foods started its Sustainable Development Awards program in 1992 to encourage and reward employees to find ways to eliminate waste, save water and reduce energy through smart design and execution. Winning teams are awarded a $5,000 grant from the ConAgra Foods Foundation to apply toward a sustainability-focused community service project.

“Each year I continue to be impressed with the ingenuity and imagination of our employees who drive these projects to completion,” said Gail Tavill, vice president of Sustainable Development at ConAgra Foods. “Many of this year’s projects took a no-nonsense, common sense approach to driving better effectiveness and efficiencies in our operations, delivering bigger impacts year over year.”

ConAgra Foods 2014 Sustainable Development Award winning entries include:

Climate Change & Energy Efficiency – ConAgra Foods’ Frozen Food Facility in Russellville, Ark.

Russellville’s third shift maintenance team members stopped wasted energy and water at the source every night by diligently shutting down equipment not scheduled for production.
The project resulted in 16 pieces of equipment per line shutdown, contributing to a 5.8% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions per pound produced this year.
Water Resources: Conservation & Wastewater Management – ConAgra Foods’ Snack Facility in Lincoln, Neb.

Lincoln challenged weekly wet wash cleaning cycles and validated cleaning results to extend the cleaning cycle.
The project reduced water usage by 650,000 gallons annually, an overall 4.7% water use reduction. The change also improved employee safety and cleaning results.
Solid Waste Reduction & Recycling – ConAgra Foods’ Lamb Weston Potato Facilities in Hermiston, Ore. and American Falls, Idaho

Food oil recovery and reuse is an important part of Lamb Weston’s process. To meet customer specifications, as well as maximize the amount of recovered oil utilized, the Hermiston and American Falls facilities started an exchange program, reducing the amount of fresh oil purchased and saving transportation miles.
The project eliminated 629 tons of waste oil previously sent out as animal feed supplement or fuel production.
Sustainable Business Innovation – ConAgra Foods’ Research, Quality & Innovation Team in Omaha, Neb.

The Packaging and Quality functions collaborated to challenge traditional practices that required keeping high levels of inventory in the plant. The change in thinking allowed for less inventory, which led to a corrugated material reduction and a new, improved display-ready box.
This project reduced over 4.6 million pounds of packaging and improved customer functionality with a more efficient and effective display-ready case.
Award of Excellence – ConAgra Foods’ Lamb Weston Meijer Potato Facilities in Kruiningen and Bergen op Zoom, the Netherlands

Lamb Weston Meijer facilities implemented Predictive Control Model which resulted in increased efficiencies, reduced utility usage and improved product consistency and quality, all while freeing up the time previously required for manual process control.
This initiative reduced over 2,000 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions, a 2.1% reduction in overall plant carbon emissions.
About ConAgra Foods
ConAgra Foods, Inc., (NYSE: CAG) is one of North America’s largest packaged food companies with branded and private branded food found in 99 percent of America’s households, as well as a strong commercial foods business serving restaurants and foodservice operations globally. Consumers can find recognized brands such as Banquet®, Chef Boyardee®, Egg Beaters®, Healthy Choice®, Hebrew National®, Hunt’s®, Marie Callender’s®, Orville Redenbacher’s®, PAM®, Peter Pan®, Reddi-wip®, Slim Jim®, Snack Pack® and many other ConAgra Foods brands, along with food sold by ConAgra Foods under private brand labels, in grocery, convenience, mass merchandise, club and drug stores. Additionally, ConAgra Foods supplies frozen potato and sweet potato products as well as other vegetable, spice, bakery and grain products to commercial and foodservice customers. ConAgra Foods operates ReadySetEat.com, an interactive recipe website that provides consumers with easy dinner recipes and more. For more information, please visit us at www.conagrafoods.com

OMAHA, Neb.- ConAgra Foods, Inc., (NYSE: CAG) reported results for the fiscal 2015 fourth quarter ended May 31, 2015. Highlights:

Diluted EPS from continuing operations of $0.47 per share as reported, vs. a loss of $(0.95) a year ago. After adjusting for items impacting comparability, diluted EPS of $0.59 this quarter was ahead of $0.55 a year ago, as expected. An extra week in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2015 favorably impacted current-quarter amounts.
Consumer Foods and Commercial Foods posted operating profit growth after adjusting for items impacting comparability, and including the benefit of the extra week.
Private Brands posted an operating profit decline after adjusting for items impacting comparability, and including the benefit of the extra week.
The company repaid approximately $1.1 billion of debt in fiscal 2015, resulting in cumulative debt reduction of approximately $2.1 billion since the completion of the Ralcorp transaction, which exceeded the $2.0 billion goal.

The company plans to exit the Private Brands operations.
The company’s new plans for creating long-term value center on a more aggressive approach to cost reduction, growing consumer brands (Consumer Foods segment) and Lamb Weston (within the Commercial Foods segment), as well as balanced capital allocation. Details to be shared at an investor event later this year.
CEO Perspective:

Sean Connolly, chief executive officer of ConAgra Foods, said, “With fiscal year 2015 now behind us, we are now pursuing a different plan to maximize value for our shareholders. Our new plan will center on a more aggressive approach to driving margin improvement through SG&A reductions, supply chain efficiencies and other projects. It also sharpens our focus on growing our Consumer Foods and Commercial Foods segments. We expect to continually refine our portfolio with prudent divestitures and acquisitions, and there will be a strong emphasis on deploying capital in ways that benefit shareholders.”

He continued, “As I have intensely studied the situation in our Private Brands operations over the last few months, it has become clear that the time and energy the company is devoting to the Private Brands turnaround represent a suboptimal use of our resources. To prevent further distraction, we are pursuing the divestiture of our Private Brands operations. Because the outcome of our strategic review for the Private Brands operations will influence our long-term financial outlook, we will wait until this process is complete before sharing long-term financial commitments. We expect to offer operating details of our plans as well as long-term financial expectations at an investor event later this year.”

“The underlying objective of the new strategic direction we are sharing today is long-term shareholder value creation. While we have a high degree of conviction in our plans, we also acknowledge that markets and opportunities change over time. For this reason, our management team and our board of directors approach long-term plans in a practical and flexible manner. If we are convinced that some other set of opportunities, or some other course of action, improves our outlook or will better reward shareholders, we will adapt our plans accordingly.”

Overall Quarterly Results

For the fiscal 2015 fourth quarter ended May 31, 2015, diluted earnings per share from continuing operations were $0.47, vs. a diluted loss per share of $(0.95) as reported for the fiscal 2014 fourth quarter. After adjusting for items impacting comparability, comparable diluted EPS was $0.59 this quarter and $0.55 in the year-ago period. Items impacting comparability are summarized toward the end of this release and reconciled for Regulation G purposes starting on page 11.

Consumer Foods Segment

Branded food items sold worldwide in retail channels.
The Consumer Foods segment posted sales of approximately $1.9 billion and operating profit of $304 million, as reported. Including the benefit of the extra week, sales increased 4% as reported (rounded), with volume up 5%, 1% favorable impact from price/mix, and 1% unfavorable impact of foreign exchange. The company estimates that the extra week favorably impacted sales and volume by approximately 7% for the quarter. The company increased prices in some categories to cover commodity costs, and continues to make progress with efficiencies in trade spending.

After adjusting for the benefit of the extra week, brands posting sales growth for the quarter include ACT II, Hunt’s, Ro*Tel, DAVID, Reddi-wip, Slim Jim, PAM, PF Chang’s, and Wolf.

The company continues to make good progress in fast growing channels including club, dollar, and convenience.
Other brand details are in the written Q&A document accompanying this release.
Operating profit of $304 million was significantly above $176 million a year-ago as reported. After adjusting for $15 million of net expense in the current quarter and $91 million of net expense in the year-ago period from items impacting comparability, and including the benefit of the extra week, current quarter operating profit of $319 million increased 20% over comparable year-ago amounts. In addition to the benefit of the extra week, the comparable operating profit growth reflects productivity which more than offset higher protein and packaging costs, favorable mix, and the benefit of pricing and trade spend efficiencies. Strong operating margins enabled a $7 million increase in advertising and promotion expense (an increase of 13%), and offset approximately $14 million unfavorable impact of foreign exchange.

Commercial Foods Segment

Specialty potato, seasonings, blends, flavors, and bakery products, as well as consumer branded and private branded packaged food items, sold to restaurants, foodservice and commercial channels worldwide.

Sales for the Commercial Foods segment were $1.2 billion and operating profit was $154 million, as reported, ahead of prior year amounts. The company estimates that the extra week favorably impacted sales and volume by approximately 7%. Sales for Lamb Weston’s potato operations grew, although international sales were impacted by the West Coast port labor dispute as well as challenges facing quick-serve customers in key Asian markets. The West Coast port dispute was settled in late February 2015, and Lamb Weston’s international shipments have been gradually improving; the company expects to reach normal shipment levels in the first half of fiscal 2016. Sales for the rest of the segment grew.

After adjusting for items impacting comparability, current quarter operating profit increased 3%, reflecting the benefit of the extra week. Lamb Weston comparable profits grew modestly, largely reflecting good domestic performance and efficiencies from good raw potato crop quality. Profits for the rest of the businesses in the segment grew modestly.

Private Brands
Private brand food items sold in domestic markets.

As reported, sales for the Private Brands segment were $1 billion, down slightly. The company estimates that the extra week favorably impacted sales and volume by approximately 7%.

The segment posted an operating loss of $(25 million), as reported, due to impairment and restructuring charges. After adjusting for $56 million of net expense from items impacting comparability in the current quarter, and $618 million of expense from items impacting comparability in year-ago period amounts (mostly impairment charges), comparable operating profit declined 30%, which includes the benefit of the extra week.

Higher commodity costs negatively impacted profits, as did lower volumes. Ongoing margin management initiatives are expected to improve profitability. The company has implemented a reorganization, and is highly focused on improving execution; this should strengthen customer relationships and volume performance gradually over time.

Hedging Activities
Hedge gains and losses are generally aggregated, and net amounts are reclassified from unallocated Corporate expense to the operating segments when the underlying commodity or foreign currency being hedged is expensed in segment cost of goods sold. The net of these activities resulted in $19 million of favorable impact in the current quarter and $14 million of favorable impact in the year-ago period. The company identifies these amounts as items impacting comparability within the discussion of unallocated Corporate results.

Other Items
Unallocated Corporate amounts were $62 million of expense in the current quarter and $61 million of expense in the year-ago period. Current-quarter amounts include $19 million of hedge-related benefit and $16 million of net expense from other items impacting comparability ($7 million of the $16 million of expense relates to mark-to-market pension adjustments). Year-ago period amounts include $14 million of hedge-related benefit and $16 million of expense related to other items impacting comparability. Excluding these amounts, unallocated Corporate expense was $65 million for the current quarter and $59 million in the year-ago period.

Equity method investment earnings were $30 million for the current quarter and $12 million in the year-ago period; the year-over-year increase mostly reflects the inclusion of profits for the company’s Ardent Mills joint venture (which are not in year-ago amounts due to the timing of the transaction). The operations of the former ConAgra Mills business for the fourth quarter of 2014 are included in results of discontinued operations.

Net interest expense was $89 million in the current quarter and $93 million in the year-ago period; the decrease reflects lower debt resulting from debt repayment.
Capital Items

The company repaid approximately $1.1 billion of debt this fiscal year, resulting in cumulative debt repayment of $2.1 billion since the completion of the Ralcorp transaction in fiscal 2013.

Dividends for the quarter totaled $107 million versus $105 million in the year-ago period, reflecting an increase in shares outstanding.
The company repurchased approximately 332,000 shares of common stock during the quarter for approximately $12 million.
For the current quarter, capital expenditures for property, plant and equipment were $154 million, compared with $117 million in the year-ago period. Depreciation and amortization expense was approximately $149 million for the fiscal fourth quarter; this compares with a total of $150 million in the year-ago period.

Outlook
The company will offer details on full-year fiscal 2016 expected EPS, as well as long-term financial guidance, at an investor event likely to be scheduled for the fall of 2015. This event will be scheduled after the company completes its assessment of strategic alternatives for the Private Brands operations, and determines SG&A reduction targets and investment needs for the remainder of the company.

With regard to first quarter of fiscal 2016, which the company expects to be unaffected by the outcome of the review of strategic alternatives for the Private Brands operations, the company expects EPS, adjusted for items impacting comparability, to be roughly in line with comparable year-ago amounts.

With regard to plans for the rest of the company, the company’s new focus will be on:

Productivity, notably within SG&A, but also in terms of supply chain and trade spending. The company sees significant margin potential through these initiatives.
Driving profitable growth in the Consumer Foods segment and at Lamb Weston potato operations (within the Commercial Foods segment). This will involve further portfolio segmentation, and investing behind the highest-potential categories in a disciplined manner. Investment may include marketing, infrastructure, innovation, and acquired businesses. The company expects some additional divestitures as it continues to refine the asset mix.

Balanced capital allocation that includes growing the dividend over time, increasing share repurchases, and having an investment-grade balance sheet.
Financial expectations and operating details regarding the above will be shared as part of the investor event later this year.

Major Items Impacting Fourth-quarter Fiscal 2015 EPS Comparability

Included in the $0.47 diluted EPS from continuing operations for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2015 (EPS amounts rounded and after tax). These include references to selling, general, and administrative (SG&A) expense, and cost of goods sold (COGS):

Approximately $0.09 per diluted share of net expense, or $45 million pretax, related to the impairment of goodwill and other intangible assets, a portion of which is not tax deductible. $40 million of this is classified within the Private Brands segment (SG&A) and $5 million of this is classified within the Consumer Foods segment (SG&A).

Approximately $0.05 per diluted share of net expense, or $35 million pretax, resulting from restructuring and integration costs. $16 million of this is classified within the Private Brands segment ($4 million of COGS/$12 million of SG&A), $10 million is classified within the Consumer Foods segment ($6 million of COGS/$4 million of SG&A), and $9 million of this is classified as unallocated Corporate expense (SG&A).

Approximately $0.03 per diluted share of net benefit, or $19 million pretax, related to the mark-to-market impact of derivatives used to hedge input costs, temporarily classified in unallocated Corporate expense. Hedge gains and losses are generally aggregated, and net amounts are reclassified from unallocated Corporate expense to the operating segments when the underlying commodity or foreign currency being hedged is expensed in segment cost of goods sold.

Approximately $0.01 per diluted share of net expense, or $7 million pretax, related to the mark-to-market impact of pension amounts.

Note: The company estimates that the extra week in the fiscal 2015 fourth quarter added approximately $0.04 of benefit per diluted share.
Included in the $(0.95) diluted loss per share from continuing operations for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2014 (EPS amounts rounded and after tax):

Approximately $1.47 per diluted share of expense, or $681 million pretax, a substantial portion of which is not tax deductible, from impairment charges and the corresponding impact on diluted share count. Approximately $605 million of this is classified within the Private Brands segment (SG&A), $73 million is classified within the Consumer Foods segment (SG&A), and $3 million is classified as unallocated Corporate expense.

Approximately $0.09 per diluted share of expense, or $58 million pretax, resulting from restructuring, transaction, and integration costs. $18 million is classified within the Consumer Foods segment ($3 million COGS/$15 million SG&A), $5 million is classified within the Commercial Foods segment (SG&A), $12 million is classified within the Private Brands segment ($9 million COGS/$3 million SG&A), and $23 million is classified within unallocated Corporate expense.

Approximately $0.06 per diluted share of benefit from unusual tax items, which included favorable tax adjustments resulting from changes in legal structure and state tax filing positions and the resolution of certain foreign income tax matters.

Approximately $0.02 per diluted share of benefit, or $14 million pretax, from the mark-to-market impact of derivatives used to hedge input costs, temporarily classified in unallocated Corporate expense. Hedge gains and losses are generally aggregated, and net amounts are reclassified from unallocated Corporate expense to the operating segments when the underlying commodity or foreign currency being hedged is expensed in segment cost of goods sold.

Approximately $0.02 per diluted share of benefit, or $10 million pretax, related to historical legal matters, a portion of which is not tax deductible; this is classified within unallocated Corporate expense.

Approximately $0.01 per diluted share of benefit, or $5 million pretax, resulting from a gain on the sale of a non-operating asset in the Commercial Foods segment (SG&A).
Note: in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2014, comparable EPS included approximately $0.05 of net contribution from items previously classified within continuing operations (primarily profits from flour milling), which have been reclassified to discontinued operations.
Discussion of Results

ConAgra Foods, Inc., (NYSE: CAG) is one of North America’s largest packaged food companies with branded and private branded food found in 99 percent of America’s households, as well as a strong commercial foods business serving restaurants and foodservice operations globally. Consumers can find recognized brands such as Banquet®, Chef Boyardee®, Egg Beaters®, Healthy Choice®, Hebrew National®, Hunt’s®, Marie Callender’s®, Orville Redenbacher’s®, PAM®, Peter Pan®, Reddi-wip®, Slim Jim®, Snack Pack® and many other ConAgra Foods brands, along with food sold by ConAgra Foods under private brand labels, in grocery, convenience, mass merchandise, club and drug stores. Additionally, ConAgra Foods supplies frozen potato and sweet potato products as well as other vegetable, spice, bakery and grain products to commercial and foodservice customers. ConAgra Foods operates ReadySetEat.com, an interactive recipe website that provides consumers with easy dinner recipes and more. For more information, please visit us at www.conagrafoods.com.

OMAHA, Neb. Nov. 2, 2015 – ConAgra Foods, Inc. (NYSE:CAG) today announced that it has reached a definitive agreement to sell its private label operations to TreeHouse Foods for approximately $2.7 billion in cash, excluding transaction-related expenses.

Sean Connolly, president and chief executive officer, ConAgra Foods, said, “The sale of our private label business marks another important milestone as we remake ConAgra Foods into a focused, higher-margin, more contemporary and higher-performing company. This transaction will enable ConAgra to sharpen our focus and resources on our Consumer Foods and Commercial Foods segments as we continue to move quickly to drive sustainable growth and deliver enhanced shareholder value.”

Mr. Connolly continued, “Today’s announcement follows a robust sale process involving more than 35 potential buyers, including both strategic buyers and financial sponsors. We are confident that the private label business will be in good hands with TreeHouse Foods, and better-positioned to reach its full potential as part of a focused private label company.”

Under the terms of the agreement, ConAgra Foods will divest the vast majority of its private label operations, which are classified as discontinued operations. Among other assets, this includes a network of 32 manufacturing facilities in the U.S., Canada and Italy. ConAgra Foods will retain certain private label operations with a strong connection to its existing Consumer Foods business, specifically canned pasta, cooking spray, peanut butter, pudding/gels, Gelit frozen pasta product offerings, as well as the HK Anderson and Kangaroo brand equity, trademark and business portfolios; the results for these operations, which were not material, were moved to the Consumer Foods reporting segment in the first quarter of fiscal 2016.

The Company expects to generate approximately $2.7 billion in proceeds from the sale, less transaction expenses, and intends to utilize the net proceeds primarily for debt reduction. Following the transaction, the company expects to have a capital loss carryforward of approximately $4.2 billion with an approximate tax value of $1.6 billion, which can be used to offset potential future capital gains over the next five years. ConAgra Foods will provide details regarding the revised presentation of historical results for its remaining reporting segments, as well as its use of proceeds and long-term financial goals, in due course.

The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory clearances, and is expected to close in the first quarter of calendar year 2016. Goldman Sachs and Centerview Partners acted as financial advisors to ConAgra Foods on the transaction. Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP served as legal advisor.

About ConAgra Foods
ConAgra Foods, Inc., (NYSE:CAG) is one of North America’s largest packaged food companies with branded and private label food found in 99 percent of America’s households, as well as a strong commercial foods business serving restaurants and foodservice operations globally. Consumers can find recognized brands such as Marie Callender’s®, Healthy Choice®, Slim Jim®, Hebrew National®, Orville Redenbacher’s®, Peter Pan®, Reddi-wip®, PAM®, Snack Pack®, Banquet®, Chef Boyardee®, Egg Beaters®, Hunt’s® and many other ConAgra Foods brands, along with food sold by ConAgra Foods under private labels, in grocery, convenience, mass merchandise, club and drug stores. Additionally, ConAgra Foods supplies frozen potato and sweet potato products as well as other vegetable, spice, and bakery products to commercial and foodservice customers. ConAgra Foods operates ReadySetEat.com, an interactive recipe website that provides consumers with easy dinner recipes and more. For more information, please visit us at www.conagrafoods.com.

OMAHA, Neb.– Lamb Weston / Meijer, a joint venture between US-based ConAgra Foods Lamb Weston and Netherlands-based Meijer Frozen Food, recently announced plans to invest approximately $150 million (€ 120 million euros) to expand its frozen potato facility in Bergen op Zoom, Netherlands. This strategic investment will add a second production line to the plant – increasing capacity for making french fries and other premium frozen potato products – and is expected to create approximately 50 new jobs. The line is currently planned to be fully operational in mid-2016. The investment is being financed directly by Lamb Weston / Meijer with no additional capital investments from its joint venture partners.

The expansion by Lamb Weston / Meijer is consistent with ConAgra Foods’ strategy to grow its international business. As large, global quick-serve restaurant chains continue to expand rapidly across the globe, this significant investment by Lamb Weston / Meijer is expected to accelerate ConAgra Foods Lamb Weston’s dynamic international growth with customers. International consumption of frozen potato products continues to climb with the worldwide frozen potato category projected to grow by 1.8 billion pounds between 2013 and 2018.*

“ConAgra Foods Lamb Weston is well positioned to meet customers’ emerging market growth through our highly efficient, well-established dual sourcing model supplying our customer base with frozen potato products from both North America and Europe,” said Paul Maass, president Private Brands and Commercial Foods, ConAgra Foods. “In addition, local potato sourcing and production will play an important role in the future for select countries, such as China, where we expect the most growth.”

ConAgra Foods began production in its newly acquired frozen potato facility in Shangdu, Inner Mongolia, on Oct. 31 after investing in updates to the facility to meet exacting standards for employee safety, food safety and quality. In June, ConAgra Foods completed the expansion of its frozen potato facility in Boardman, Ore., which supports domestic and international customer growth.

About ConAgra Foods
ConAgra Foods, Inc., (NYSE: CAG) is one of North America’s largest packaged food companies with branded and private branded food found in 99 percent of America’s households, as well as a strong commercial foods business serving restaurants and foodservice operations globally. Consumers can find recognized brands such as Banquet®, Chef Boyardee®, Egg Beaters®, Healthy Choice®, Hebrew National®, Hunt’s®, Marie Callender’s®, Orville Redenbacher’s®, PAM®, Peter Pan®, Reddi-wip®, Slim Jim®, Snack Pack® and many other ConAgra Foods brands, along with food sold by ConAgra Foods under private brand labels, in grocery, convenience, mass merchandise, club and drug stores. Additionally, ConAgra Foods supplies frozen potato and sweet potato products as well as other vegetable, spice, bakery and grain products to commercial and foodservice customers. ConAgra Foods operates ReadySetEat.com, an interactive recipe website that provides consumers with easy dinner recipes and more. For more information, please visit us at www.conagrafoods.com.

About Lamb Weston / Meijer
Lamb Weston / Meijer started in 1994 as a joint venture between ConAgra Foods® Lamb Weston® (USA) and Meijer Frozen Food (NL). Lamb Weston / Meijer produces frozen potato products and dried potato flakes in five facilities – the Netherlands (3), United Kingdom (1) and Austria (1). With a production capacity of 650,000 tonnes, Lamb Weston / Meijer employs more than 1,300 employees. Together with ConAgra Foods Lamb Weston, these products are sold under the Lamb Weston brand in more than 100 countries throughout the world.

Paris, France and Denver, Colorado, U.S. — July 7, 2016 — Danone and The WhiteWave Foods Company (“WhiteWave”) today announced that they have entered into a definitive merger agreement under which Danone will acquire WhiteWave for $56.25 per share in an all-cash transaction, representing a total enterprise value of approximately $12.5 bn, including debt and certain other WhiteWave liabilities. The transaction has been unanimously approved by the Board of Directors of both companies. Its price represents a premium of approximately 24 percent over WhiteWave’s 30-day average closing trading price ($45.43). The transaction is expected to close by the end of the year, subject to the approval of WhiteWave’s shareholders, regulatory approvals, and customary conditions.

WhiteWave is a global company which generated $4 bn in sales in 2015 and has a portfolio of large and leading branded platforms in North America and Europe in high-growth, on-trend food and beverage categories which focus on Premium Organic Dairy, non-GMO, Plant-based alternatives to milk & yogurt, Fresh Foods, and Coffee Creamers. With a strong entrepreneurial spirit, WhiteWave has a successful track record of transforming categories and creating large scale brands. WhiteWave’s business includes highly recognized, category leading brands such as Silk®, So Delicious®, Vega™, Alpro®, Provamel®, Horizon Organic®, Wallaby Organic®, Earthbound Farm® and International Delight®. Since becoming a public company in 2012, WhiteWave sales have increased at a 19 percent compound annual growth rate through 2015, and WhiteWave has doubled its operating income during this period.

Together, WhiteWave and Danone will create a truly unique global leader committed to addressing tomorrow’s consumer trends by providing healthy and sustainable eating and drinking options.

“At Danone, we constantly seek to align our vision of the world, our mission and our businesses: we believe we have a special responsibility, as expressed in our Manifesto, to help and support people in adopting healthier and more sustainable eating and drinking practices and constantly evolve our portfolio of brands and products to achieve this objective. To that extent, we found in WhiteWave the perfect alliance as we both believe in a healthier future and are conscious of our power to lead society forward”, said Emmanuel FABER, Danone Chief Executive Officer. “This unique combination positions us better to address tomorrow’s consumer trends and represents a great opportunity to step change the ambition of our plan for an Alimentation revolution and to accelerate our path towards strong sustainable and profitable growth by 2020. It will allow us to enhance Danone’s growth profile and reinforce our resilience through a broader platform in North America. We are convinced that combining with WhiteWave will create significant value for all of our stakeholders.”

Franck RIBOUD, Danone Chairman said: “I believe this acquisition advances Danone’s mission and rich history of being at the forefront of emerging consumer trends and commitment to creating economic and social value. The Danone Board of Directors and Strategy Committee unanimously
approved this transaction. We believe WhiteWave’s size, positioning and geographical footprint fit perfectly with Danone’s strategy and that it is the right transaction at the right time. The Danone Board will propose that shareholders approve the appointment of Gregg ENGLES, WhiteWave
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer as a member of our Board upon completing the transaction as we pursue our ambitious vision together.”

Gregg ENGLES, WhiteWave Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, said: “Today’s announcement is an exciting next chapter for WhiteWave, bringing together two leading companies with a shared mission of changing the way the world eats for the better. We believe this is a compelling
transaction that delivers significant cash value to our shareholders. Danone is a unique company with distinctive capabilities that will enable WhiteWave to reach its next phase of growth. Danone is a great cultural fit for our organization and I am excited for our employees to benefit from the opportunities presented by joining Danone, a leading global food company and the ideal strategic partner to support our future. I am pleased to be joining Danone’s Board to assist with the exciting and unique journey combining our two companies.”

Strategic Benefits
This transaction represents a key opportunity to enhance Danone’s growth profile and enriches WhiteWave’s opportunities. The strategic and financial benefits of Danone’s acquisition of WhiteWave include:

 Creating a leader strongly aligned with consumer trends for healthier and sustainable eating and drinking options: WhiteWave is well positioned in high growth categories that are supported by strong secular trends. Organic foods and beverages and non-GMO plantbased alternatives to milk and yogurt are among the fastest growing categories in the industry. WhiteWave has been the fastest growing food and beverage company in the United States and one of the fastest growing in Europe for the past four years. In joining Danone, WhiteWave will have the opportunity to continue its industry-leading growth as part of a larger global company with substantial financial, geographic and operational resources. Upon closing the transaction, Danone will have one of the most extensive portfolios of brands and products in fresh dairy, organic foods and beverages and plantbased
alternatives to milk & yogurt.

 Building a stronger North America platform: This transaction further diversifies Danone’s portfolio and broadens its presence in North America. The transaction will create a leading U.S. refrigerated dairy player, as well as one of the top 15 largest U.S. Food and Beverage manufacturers. Following the closing of the transaction, Danone’s North America footprint would increase from 12 to 22 percent of Danone’ total portfolio.

 Driving strong value and delivering attractive financial benefits. By building on its resources, scale, distinctive R&D and marketing capabilities, and route to market expertise especially in the chilled category, Danone will have significant opportunities to support WhiteWave’s
continued growth while also realizing significant sales growth and cost synergies. Danone expects the transaction to be solidly accretive to Danone’s earnings within the first year after closing and to be above 10 percent accretion based on expected run-rate synergies.

The transaction is expected to result in approximately $300mn of EBIT synergies by 2020.

Management and Governance
After the closing of the transaction, Danone will submit to its shareholders a resolution appointing Mr. Gregg ENGLES, to the Danone Board of Directors.

WhiteWave and Danone uniquely share common business values and a vision for providing people healthier foods and beverages. Following the closing of the transaction, Danone and WhiteWave expect to combine their U.S. activities into a Public Benefit Corporation. This commitment is in line with Danone’s long term mission for building economic and social value.

Danone and WhiteWave will establish a team to prepare for and to oversee the transition of the businesses.

Path to Completion
The transaction, which is expected to close by the end of the year, is subject to WhiteWave shareholders approval, receipt of required regulatory approvals, including in the European Union and the United States and other customary closing conditions.

The acquisition of WhiteWave is expected to be fully financed with debt for which Danone has received commitments from its banks. Danone expects to maintain a strong investment grade rating.

About Danone (www.danone.com)
Dedicated to bringing health through food to as many people as possible, Danone is a leading global food company built on four business lines: Fresh Dairy Products, Early Life Nutrition, Waters and Medical Nutrition. Through its mission and dual commitment to business success and social progress, the company aims to build a healthier future, thanks to better health, better lives and a better world, for all its stakeholders—its 100,000 employees, consumers, customers, suppliers, shareholders and all the communities with which it engages.

Present in over 130 markets, Danone generated sales of €22.4 billion in 2015, with more than half in emerging countries. Danone’s brand portfolio includes both international brands (Activia, Actimel, Danette, Danonino, Danio, evian, Volvic, Nutrilon/Aptamil, Nutricia) and local brands (Oikos, Prostokvashino, Aqua, Bonafont, Mizone, Blédina, Cow & Gate).

Listed on Euronext Paris and on the OTCQX market via an ADR (American Depositary Receipt) program, Danone is a component stock of leading social responsibility indexes including the Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes, Vigeo, the Ethibel Sustainability Index and the FTSE4Good Index.

About the WhiteWave Foods Company
The WhiteWave Foods Company is a leading consumer packaged food and beverage company that manufactures, markets and sells branded plant-based foods and beverages, coffee creamers and beverages, premium dairy products and organic produce. It sells products primarily in North America, Europe and through a joint venture in China. WhiteWave is focused on providing consumers with innovative, great-tasting food and beverage choices that meet their increasing desires for nutritious, flavorful, convenient, and responsibly-produced products.

The Company’s widely-recognized, leading brands distributed in North America include Silk®, So Delicious® and Vega™ plant-based foods and beverages, International Delight® and LAND O LAKES®* coffee creamers and beverages, Horizon Organic® and Wallaby Organic® premium dairy products and Earthbound Farm® organic salads, fruits and vegetables. Its popular plant-based foods and beverages brands in Europe include Alpro® and Provamel®. To learn more about WhiteWave, visit www.whitewave.com.

Although no illnesses or allergic reactions have been reported, Dole Fresh Vegetables is initiating a limited voluntary recall of the following products:

PRODUCT NAME
DOLE Baby Spinach 6 oz bag
BAG CODE
B2311020
BEST-BY DATE
9/4/2014
UPC 071430009642
B2311021
9/4/2014
B2311022
9/4/2014
B2311023
9/4/2014

DOLE Spinach 8 oz bag
B2311020
9/4/2014
UPC 071430009765
B2311021
9/4/2014
B2311022
9/4/2014
B2311023
9/4/2014
B2311024
9/4/2014
B2311025
9/4/2014

This recall is due to possible contamination of these products by walnuts. The walnuts fell from a tree into spinach bins being delivered from a field and were discovered at the plant. No illnesses or allergic reactions have been reported. However, people who have an allergy to tree nuts may have a serious or life- threatening allergic reaction if they consume these products or products containing walnuts.
This recall is for Arizona, Nevada, and New Mexico, for only DOLE Baby Spinach 6 oz bags and DOLE Spinach 8 oz bags with the specific Bag Codes and Best-by dates listed above. The bag code and best-by date are on the top right-hand corner of the front of the bag. Consumers who have purchased the designated products are instructed not to consume the product and to call the DOLE Consumer Center toll- free at 1-800-356-3111 from 8am to 3 pm Pacific Time, Monday through Friday, for a refund.

Food safety is the first priority of Dole Fresh Vegetables, so although the contamination is not confirmed, this recall is being initiated in an abundance of caution for the benefit of our customers.

PLANO, Texas, — Doritos, one of the marquee brands from PepsiCo’s Frito-Lay Division, is introducing a bold new offering for fans of Nacho Cheese, Cool Ranch…and peanuts: Doritos Crunch Nuts and Doritos Crunch Mix. Starting now, Doritos fans nationwide looking for a satisfying on-the-go option for their two beloved flavors can grab the bold new peanut-based snack — the first of its kind from Doritos.

Doritos Crunch Nuts includes roasted peanuts wrapped in a crunchy Doritos Nacho Cheese or Cool Ranch-flavored shell that delivers a bold burst of flavor. Doritos Crunch Mix is loaded with the Crunch Nuts and a variety of other flavorful bites — including 3-D triangles, puffs, pretzel bites and corn sticks — and is also seasoned with Doritos Nacho Cheese or Cool Ranch flavors. The Crunch Mix adds to the brand’s Mix lineup, which includes different Doritos shapes and flavors in one bag for a multi-sensorial experience.

The newest Doritos offerings add another snacking dimension for fans, complete with unique multidimensional packaging inspired by the iconic triangle-shaped Doritos tortilla chips. The sturdy, portable packaging can be opened and closed for snack sessions throughout the day.

“We know there’s a strong passion for Nacho Cheese and Cool Ranch flavors, with fans passionately taking sides over which flavor they love best,” said Ryan Matiyow, senior director of marketing, Frito-Lay North America. “Now we’re giving them another way to enjoy our boldest and longest-standing flavors — in the form of Doritos Crunch Nuts and Crunch Mix peanut snacks perfect for on-the-go occasions.”

Doritos Crunch Nuts and Crunch Mix are available in convenience stores and other retailers nationwide starting now in 3.00oz packages for a suggested retail price of $1.99. For more information, please visit: http://www.Doritos.com.

About Doritos
Doritos believes there’s boldness in everyone. We champion those who are true to themselves, who live life fully engaged and take bold action by stepping outside of their comfort zone and pushing the limits. Doritos is one of the many brands that makes up Frito-Lay North America, the $14 billion convenient foods business unit of PepsiCo (NYSE: PEP), which is headquartered in Purchase, NY. Learn more about Frito-Lay at the corporate website, http://www.fritolay.com/, the Snack Chat blog, http://www.snacks.com/ and on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/fritolay.

About PepsiCo
PepsiCo products are enjoyed by consumers one billion times a day in more than 200 countries and territories around the world. PepsiCo generated more than $66 billion in net revenue in 2014, driven by a complementary food and beverage portfolio that includes Frito-Lay, Gatorade, Pepsi-Cola, Quaker and Tropicana. PepsiCo’s product portfolio includes a wide range of enjoyable foods and beverages, including 22 brands that generate more than $1 billion each in estimated annual retail sales.

At the heart of PepsiCo is Performance with Purpose – our goal to deliver top-tier financial performance while creating sustainable growth in shareholder value. In practice, Performance with Purpose means providing a wide range of foods and beverages from treats to healthy eats; finding innovative ways to minimize our impact on the environment and reduce our operating costs; providing a safe and inclusive workplace for our employees globally; and respecting, supporting and investing in the local communities where we operate. For more information, visit www.pepsico.com.

MOSCOW, Russia – The Dow Chemical Company (NYSE: DOW) has officially launched a new sustainable agriculture program in Russia to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by implementing more sustainable farming practices and healthier seed crops, which will also promote better food choices for consumers in Russia. As the Official Carbon Partner of the Sochi 2014 Organizing Committee, this innovative project is part of the Company’s “Sustainable Future” program to mitigate the direct carbon footprint associated with the hosting of the Games by the Sochi 2014 Organizing Committee.

Traditional farming practices include the use of heavy machinery for deep tilling of fields each year which consume fuel, cause long-term soil erosion and lead to substantial GHG emissions. Dow Seeds, a unit of Dow AgroSciences, is deploying leading technology in Russia and engaging with local farmers to encourage low-till agriculture and other sustainable farming solutions to reduce the negative impact on the environment, while also enabling the production of healthier crops.

Dow is partnering with Farmer’s Edge (a world leader in precision agronomy) and ADVAG (a leader in Russian Agriculture Management) to work with five large farms: “Shatsk Zolotaya Niva” LLC (AgroTerra), KFH “Baigora”, “VAPC” LLC, SKPSSK “Izmalkovskiy” and “ADVAG – Baltic Farms” LLC. The program will provide access to state-of-the-art precision agriculture and advanced expertise to optimize farm productivity of Nexera™ hybrid canola seeds while focusing on more sustainable practices, such as reduced tillage, optimized use of nutrients and variable rate application of fertilizer.

The partnership is set to last for two years, and has the potential to eliminate up to 100,000 metric tons of GHG emissions at these five farms combined over a 10-year span. The emissions reductions will count toward the mitigation of the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games’ direct carbon footprint, estimated to be up to 360,000 MT.

“The project will demonstrate to the Russian Agricultural Industry how yields can be increased and optimized using more sustainable farming practices,” explains Dr. Nicoletta Piccolrovazzi, Sustainability and Technology Director, Dow Olympic Operations. “Advancing sustainability while enabling increased production of healthier oils is a very significant way to connect Dow’s ‘Sustainable Future’ program with the very values of the Olympic Movement, which combine the environment with the promotion of healthier lifestyles.”

Holistic Approach, Amplified Results

In addition to minimizing emissions, low -till farming has positive effects on the entire ecosystem, keeping existing carbon based materials in the soil rather than emitting them into the atmosphere. Maintaining higher carbon content in soil improves water retention, reduces the need for additional irrigation and decreases soil erosion. By increasing soil resilience, crops become stronger and better able to resist weeds and pests, therefore reducing the need for additional pesticide and herbicide applications. Avoiding overuse of fertilizers also decreases the emissions of nitrogen oxides, or gases with extremely high global warming potential. A resulting healthier ecosystem will lead to higher crop yields, ultimately benefitting the local economy.

This program also improves the quality of crops produced. Dow is focusing on rapeseed (canola), aiming to reduce Russia’s dependency on oil imports in the long term and promoting the use Omega-9 canola oils, which are low saturated fat oils for healthier food production. The seeds to be introduced by Dow are bred to work particularly well with reduced tillage practices, producing higher yields and, therefore, more efficient farms.

Training for farmers is another key component of the program, which focuses on mastering low-tillage practices to achieve higher crop yields, and using water and fertilizers in an optimized way. The training programs started in December of 2013, and a technological map and special guidelines will be developed for each farm to support the implementation in early 2014.

“Innovation and sustainability are part of our core as a Company. We feel these specific training programs have the potential to bring lasting, positive change to Russia’s environment, agricultural sector, and overall economy,” said Igor Savinskiy, country leader for Dow Seeds in Russia. “Enabling greenhouse gas emissions reductions that will support the climate goals of Sochi 2014 is a very special way to celebrate our 40 years presence in Russia.”

Contributing to more sustainable Olympic Games

As The Official Carbon Partner of the Sochi 2014 Organizing Committee, supporting sustainable agricultural practices is just one piece of Dow’s “Sustainable Future” program, a unique and innovative program to mitigate the direct carbon footprint associated with hosting the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games. Dow is collaborating with partners and customers in Russia to implement energy-efficient and low-carbon technologies that will result in a net decrease of GHG emissions in the key areas of infrastructure, industry and agriculture. All projects will be implemented in-country, generating benefits to the Russian economy by targeting upgrades in building infrastructures, farming practices and industrial processes.

“As The Official Chemistry Company of the Olympic Movement, we are in a unique position to advance sustainability beyond the Games and catalyze change globally through the excitement generated by the Olympics,” said George Hamilton, vice president, Dow Olympic Operations. “GHG emission reductions are happening in Russia as we speak, thanks to the low carbon and energy efficient technologies introduced through this unique sustainability program tailor-made by Dow for Sochi 2014.”

This Press Release is courtesy of www.dow.com

CAIRO, Sept. 27, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — IBM (NYSE: IBM), in collaboration with business partner ACME SAICO, today announced the automation of 22 wheat silos across Egypt by the end of this year using IBM AI-powered automation software. This supports the Ministry of Supply and Internal Trade’s plans to digitize the wheat supply chain and implement governance systems on the country’s strategic stock.

The Ministry of Supply and Internal Trade is a key ministry focused on achieving food security for Egypt. In line with the national plan for digital transformation, the Ministry of Supply and Internal Trade represented by the Egyptian Holding Company for Silos and Storage (EHCSS) selected IBM and ACME SAICO to create a platform powered by IBM’s AI-powered automation software in a hybrid cloud environment. Using IBM Cloud Pak for Business Automation and IBM Cloud Pak for Integration, the new solution will allow full automation and governance of all the steps of shipping, transport, storage, and supply of the wheat silos.

Through this advanced technology, the automated platform is engineered to collect data from different sensors that are embedded in the silos. These sensors will send near real-time quantitative analytics of the wheat supply and stock status to the main platform at the Ministry of Supply. Thus, the EHCSS will be able to monitor and store all information related to the incoming shipments to maintain quality standards, report accurate views of the stock in silos, as well as address leakage in wheat silos extensively. The system also designed to help to better manage the communication and coordination between different storage points, and mills.

“We are committed to expanding the wheat silos’ automation across the country. The automation enables us to instantly monitor the wheat stock through a digital platform, providing the needed visibility to secure the supply chain. The platform, powered by IBM technology, ensures efficiency, stock protection, in addition to addressing logistical redundancies. This project is part of Egypt’s digital transformation strategy to upgrade services ‘level and performance across all fields,” stated H.E. Dr. Ali El-Moselhi, Minister of Supply and Internal Trade.

“After renovating and increasing the number of silos across the nation, our goal was to build a digital platform to connect all silos with the main center at the EHCSS. Another goal was to automate the documentation processing of the wheat supply chain and monitoring process of the 22 silos and storage points,” added Major General Sherif Bassili, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Egyptian Holding Company for Silos & Storage.

“We are proud to be part of this strategic project that supports the country’s digital transformation journey. By offering IBM’s AI and hybrid cloud approach, we’re supporting Egypt to help them achieve its strategy for sustainable development as part of the country’s 2030 Vision,” said Wael Abdoush, General Manager, IBM Egypt

Dr. Khaled Derbala, CEO of ACME SAICO added: “We are honored to be part of this national achievement. After months of studying the nature of the food industry, we were able to create a robust and agile system to ensure more governance that doesn’t affect the flow of business. The Ministry was able to see the links between implementing their strategic plans and the tailored digital system we created with IBM.”

Earlier this year, the launch of the pilot model for the first automated wheat silo took place in Banha, Qualyubia Governorate. Following the success of the pilot, the Ministry decided to expand automation to 22 silos before the end of this year. All silos will be monitored from the Ministry headquarters and the General Authority for Supply Commodities through IBM Cognos Analytics with Watson connected to the automation platform in use.

As part of the sustainable development strategy of Egypt’s vision for 2030, the government is planning to automate 400 silos adding them to the wheat supply chain monitoring system.

About IBM
For more information about IBM please visit https://www.ibm.com/eg-en/cloud

Media Contact:
Nadine Hafez
nhafez@eg.ibm.com

The European Commission has today put Thailand on formal notice for not taking sufficient measures in the international fight against illegal fishing (IUU).

As a result of a thorough analysis and a series of discussions with Thai authorities since 2011, the Commission has denounced the country’s shortcomings in its fisheries monitoring, control and sanctioning systems and concludes that Thailand is not doing enough.

European Commissioner for Environment, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, Karmenu Vella, stated: “Our EU rigorous policy on a harmful practice such as illegal fishing, together with our genuine capacity to act, is paying off. I urge Thailand to join the European Union in the fight for sustainable fisheries Failure to take strong action against illegal fishing will carry consequences.”

Today’s Decision starts a formal procedure of dialogue with the Thai authorities to make them take the necessary corrective measures. They will be given six months to implement a corrective tailor-made action plan.

Should the situation not improve, the EU could resort to banning fisheries imports from Thailand. Such measure was taken in the past with Belize, Guinea, Cambodia and Sri Lanka. Imports from Belize were banned last year but due to the reforming efforts of the authorities they are now allowed.

On a more positive note, the European Commission acknowledges today that two fishing nations, Korea and the Philippines, have carried out appropriate reforms of their legal systems and are now equipped to tackle illegal fishing. It therefore stops the “identification” procedure that had started with a yellow card to Korea in November 2013 and the Philippines in June 2014.

Commissioner Vella noted that; “By using our market weight the EU is getting important players on board. Both Korea and the Philippines have taken responsible action, amended their legal systems and switched to a proactive approach against illegal fishing”.

Since they were issued with warnings, both Korea and the Philippines embarked on a series of reforms to upgrade their fisheries governance. Their legal systems are now aligned to international law.

As a result of the action taken by Korea and the Philippines, the Commission has stopped formal discussions with the countries’ authorities and looks forward to Korea and the Philippines becoming valuable allies on sustainable management within global and regional organisations.

Background
Between 11 and 26 million tonnes of fish, i.e. at least 15% of world catches, are caught illegally every year. This is worth between 8 and 19 billion euros. As the world’s biggest fish importer, the EU does not wish to be complicit and accept such products into its market. The so-called ‘IUU Regulation’, which entered into force in 2010[1], allows access onto the EU market only to fisheries products that have been certified as legal by the flag State concerned. When flag States are unable to certify their products, the Commission starts a process of cooperation and assistance with them to help improve their legal frameworks. The milestones of this process are the warnings (yellow cards), the green cards if issues are solved and the red cards if they aren’t – the latter leading to a trade ban.

Like Korea and the Philippines, in October 2014 also Fiji, Panama, Togo and Vanuatu got a green card, as they had solved the issues identified by the Commission. Formal dialogue is still ongoing with Ghana and Curaçao, which received formal warnings in November 2013; Papua New Guinea, warned in June 2014; and Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, warned in December 2014. Most of these countries are now cooperating constructively with the Commission, making significant progress in their fisheries management systems in order to curb illegal fishing.

By contrast, fisheries products caught by vessels from Sri Lanka, Guinea and Cambodia are banned from being imported into the EU. Belize was withdrawn from the black list in December 2014, after it adopted lasting measures to address the shortcomings of its fisheries systems.
The fight against illegal fishing is part of the EU’s forceful drive to ensure sustainable ocean governance and to project globally the principle of sustainability, enshrined in the Common Fisheries Policy.

On 23 July 2014, the 28 Environment Ministers adopted the Council position concerning the restriction or prohibition of the cultivation of GMOs in the territory of the Member States.

In practice, they were seeking to amend Directive 2001/18/EC on the deliberate release into the environment of GMOs, adding a new article widening the powers of the Member States to justify legally a national or regional ban on GMO cultivation. This amendment would also apply to the cultivation of GMOs authorised under Regulation (EC) No 1829/2003 covering food and feed containing or produced from GMOs.

The provisions of these two legislative texts establish a strict legal framework, authorising the marketing of GMOs only after approval based on a scientific assessment of the risks to human and animal health and to the environment.

It must be specified that the text under discussion concerns only the cultivation of GMOs for harvesting or on-farm research. In other words, GMO imports intended mainly for livestock are not covered by this legislation.

The compromise adopted by the Member States has entered into effect three years after the Parliament vote at first reading on 5 July 2011.

While such progress is welcomed by all, the underlying situation has become increasingly sensitive:

1. The European groundswell of opposition to GMOs is particularly pronounced with regard to their presence in food intended for human consumption, as reflected in the special Eurobarometer survey (no 354) of December 2010 regarding food-related risks, revealing that only 21% of Europeans concurred with the proposition that ‘GMO foods are safe for future generations’ (as opposed to 58% against).

An updated survey would be particularly welcome. It would very probably indicate that a large majority is still opposed to GMO cultivation in Europe.

2. In February 2014, the controversy surrounding TC1507 genetically modified maize, opposed by 19 governments out of 28, received intensive media coverage. Only five Member States (Spain, the United Kingdom, Estonia, Finland and Sweden) voted in favour of authorising this new GMO variety, leaving the Commission to take the final decision, which it has not yet done.

3. A backlog of applications has accumulated in the centralised EU authorisation system. In addition to the application for authorisation of TC 1507 maize, six other GMO authorisation procedures (five for maize and one for soya) are pending, a favourable opinion having been issued by the EFSA. Given the strong opposition of most of the Member States, the Commission is hesitating to put it to the vote.

4. It was against this background that the new Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, outlining Commission policy to the MEPs on 15 July 2014, set out his intentions: ‘I also intend to review the current legislation authorising the use of genetically modified organisms. I consider it unacceptable that, under current rules, the Commission is legally obliged to authorise the import and processing of new GMOs, even in cases where a clear majority of Member States are opposed to their use’.

This was confirmed in the mission statement sent to the new European Commissioner responsible for health and food safety, who will be required to review, in the first six months of his term of office, the existing decision-making process applicable to GMOs.

The rapporteur must therefore take account of the new political climate in drawing up his draft recommendation.

In this, he has the joint backing of the European Parliament, most of the Member States and the new Commission President, who are anxious to ‘extricate’ the GMO issue from the morass of bureaucracy that is proving so exasperating to all concerned.

II. Objectives and limits of the Council common position

It should be remembered that the principal objective of the this modification to the legislative framework is to provide greater latitude and greater legal security to Member States wishing to prohibit in all or part of their territory the cultivation of GMOs authorised at European level. This is specified by the Council in the fifth recital.

While the Council has adopted a number of Parliament’s amendments thereby endorsing its objectives, it has at the same time introduced a procedure imposing fresh obligations on the national authorities.

A Member State is initially required to submit a specific request (paragraphs 1 and 2 of Article 26b (new) to an undertaking seeking to market GMOs in the EU (phase I) so as to ensure that the authorisation does not encompass its national territory.

It is only if this initial phase is unsuccessful and the request opposed by the undertaking that the single (phase II) procedure will be applied (paragraph 3 of Article 26b (new)), enabling a Member State to invoke legal justifications in a bid to prohibit GMO cultivation.

In other words, this involves two consecutive phases, the second conditioned by the first, instead of the procedure set out in the original Commission proposal as amended by the EP and which should remain at the core of the amended version of the 2001 Directive.

However, the Council’s version, which runs counter to the European Parliament objective in its vote of 5July 2011, gives the uncomfortable impression of putting the cart before the horse.

This was why the rapporteur tabled Amendment 24 to paragraph 3 of Article 26b, which is essential if recourse to the phase I procedure by a Member State is to be optional.

Another restriction of the rights of Member States is the strict two-year deadline for procedures to be initiated at national level to prohibit GMO cultivation once EU authorisation has been accorded.

The rapporteur fails to see the reasons for this and considers that ten years, the statutory duration of authorisation, would be an appropriate deadline. That is the reason behind Amendment 25 to paragraph 4 of Article 26b.

The compensatory procedure provided for in paragraph 5 of by Article 26b is therefore no longer needed and Amendment 26 accordingly seeks deletion thereof.

Furthermore, regarding the open-ended list of reasons which may be invoked to justify a ban on GMO cultivation, the rapporteur takes the view that the absence of specific examples weakens the legal framework and has accordingly tabled Amendment 24 closely resembling the text adopted by absolute majority at first reading, except that it includes five categories of justification:

• Environmental criteria in addition to those outlined by the EFSA at European level, relating to local or systemic aspects of GMO utilisation in a given agronomic context;

• Regional development criteria;

• Land-use criteria;

• Socio-economic criteria, for example the high cost of contamination for conventional and/or organic farmers;

• Criteria relating to agricultural policy objectives.

These criteria will give Member States the necessary flexibility to take suitable measures without altering or undermining current EU risk assessment procedures.

III. Other amendments by the rapporteur

At first reading, the European Parliament adopted 28 amendments in its modified proposal, most of which were uncontroversial or supported by an absolute majority. The rapporteur accordingly tabled a total of 33 amendments, including the principal amendments adopted at first reading and not included in the Council common position.

In view of this:

– It is necessary to reaffirm the legal basis chosen by the European Parliament relating to the environment (Amendment 1). This new legislation seeks to modify not only Directive 2001/18/EC but also Regulation (EC) No 1829/2003, where the request for authorisation from a company relates to cultivation and food or feed. While the legal basis relating to the internal market was selected for the 2001 directive, the, legislators selected no less than three, relating to agriculture, the internal market and public health, for the 2003 regulation.

The text also seeks to achieve a major objective: giving greater flexibility to Member States to prohibit GMO cultivation within their territory on a number of grounds, including environmental considerations, such as the protection of biodiversity, habitats and ecosystems.

– It is necessary to improve risk evaluation procedures. Amendment 3 seeks to ensure implementation of the conclusions adopted by the ‘Environment’ Council of 4 December 2008 calling for comprehensive and effective assessment methods, bearing in mind that insufficient account has been taken to date of the long-term impact of GMO cultivation.

The rapporteur notes with satisfaction that this matter is included in the provisions of the Council text, which nevertheless needs to be improved. Amendment 33 accordingly seeks to make EFSA guidelines binding.

– It is necessary specify compulsory measures to safeguard the coexistence of different types of cultivation.

That was the purpose of the amendment to Article 26a tabled in plenary in July 2011, which the rapporteur wishes to re-table with Amendment 21.

It is important to include in this legislation compulsory provisions requiring Member States to safeguard the coexistence of different types of cultivation and to prevent any cross-border dissemination, a requirement heartily endorsed by most European farmers.

Modifications have also been proposed to guarantee the transparency of the procedure to restrict or prohibit GMO cultivation and ensure that such major decisions are made public.

Brussels, 7 September 2015

Annex: Comprehensive package of measures

1) To help farmers in short term cash flow difficulties
a) Targeted aid: The most significant part of the comprehensive package will be provided to all MS in envelopes to support the dairy sector. The Commission is working on a package of targeted aid for all Member States, having particular regard to those Member States which have been most affected by market developments. The Commission will shortly finalise the distribution key for these national envelopes.
b) Advancing Direct payments: Member States can pay up to 50% of their direct payment envelope from 16 October, provided that the necessary controls have been carried out. (Usual earliest date is December 1 – but existing rules already provide this flexibility.) The Commission will now propose to increase this to 70% – draft legislation in preparation.
c) Advancing certain Rural Development payments: Member States can already advance the area and animal-related payments for rural development (such as agri-environment, organic farming, areas with natural constraints, animal welfare) by paying up to 75% from October 16. The Commission will now propose to increase this rate to 85%.
In addition to this:
d) Financial instruments: The Commission is working closely with the European Investment Bank (EIB) on options for establishing financial instruments (NB Rural Development Programmes can be used for this). For example, Commission is working on designing Financial Instruments where re-payment schemes are linked to commodity price developments.
e) Income stabilisation tool: Member States/regions already have the option to include an income stabilisation tool in their Rural Development Programmes. Only a few Member States have programmed this tool, but it could be introduced by others with the next modification of Rural Development Programmes.

2) To address the market imbalance – Stimulating demand, reducing supply
a) Extending & Enhancing Private Storage Aid: In order to ease market pressure, the Commission has already extended the private storage aid and public intervention periods for butter and skimmed milk powder until next year. The Commission is now working on an enhanced scheme for SMP focusing on higher aid levels as well as on ways to ensure that the product is stored for the appropriate time to make the scheme even more effective in alleviating pressure on the supply side.
b) A new private storage scheme for pigmeat: the Commission is ready to table a proposal to open a new PSA scheme for pigmeat.
c) Promotion programmes: The Commission will increase the promotion budget in 2016 in addition to the €81 million already committed. A specific part of that enlarged budget will be reserved for the dairy and pigmeat sectors. The reformed promotion policy which also foresees higher co-financing rates (from 50 to 70-80%), a broader list of eligible products (including generic pigmeat promotion on the internal market), and a gradually increasing budget (up to 200 million € in 2019).
d) Information on Promotion opportunities: The Commission will set up with Member States an extensive series of information workshops on the new promotion rules to secure the best possible use of increased the new rules and the increased funding.
e) Strengthening of the Milk Market Observatory: For better market transparency, the Commission will continue to reinforce the Milk Market Observatory by further focusing on the type of information, the accuracy and the prompt publication of this information. Already over 30 000 people consult the new data on the MMO website every Thursday and the aim is to make the MMO the benchmark for the EU milk market.
f) Bilateral Trade Agreements: The EU has worked hard on a range of free trade agreements (the Balkans, CARIFORUM, Central American countries, South Korea, Morocco, Peru, Colombia, Moldova, Georgia, Ukraine), the most recent being with Canada and Vietnam. In the trade agreement with Vietnam, dairy tariffs will be reduced from a maximum of 19% to zero within 3-5 years. Negotiations are ongoing with significant markets such as the USA and Japan.
g) Tackling non-tariff barriers which block EU exports to non-EU markets: The Commission (DG SANTE, DG AGRI, DG TRADE) is working to resolve a number of Sanitary & PhytoSanitary (SPS) and technical barriers to trade (TBT) issues with third country partners. In 2014, specific SPS trade barriers for dairy products were resolved with Chile, China, Japan and S. Korea. Most recently, for African Swine Fever, the USA has accepted the EU regionalisation decisions, i.e. instead of listing Member States or regions individually, it will list any restricted zone in the EU established by the EU or any EU Member State. In concrete terms, this means that meat from cattle, sheep, pigs and goats slaughtered in Lithuania and processed in certified Lithuanian establishments is now eligible for export to the USA. The EU has also taken Russia to the WTO over its totally disproportionate EU-wide ban on all pigmeat products linked to African Swine Fever in 4 Member States.
h) Opening new markets: Commissioner Hogan himself has scheduled a number of promotion visits to third countries where important opportunities exist for EU agriculture and to help open doors for new exports. Already, Commissioner Hogan is committed to visits to China and Japan later this year and to Mexico and Colombia early in 2016.
In addition to this:
i) Using Rural Development Programmes: The 2014-2020 Rural Development Programmes also include 600 million EURO for quality products and promotion. Member states/regions have the possibility of increasing this envelope, provided that this is in line with the programmes’ underlying strategy. Moreover, Member States/regions have several other options under their RDPs to provide a wider range of effective measures to boost competitiveness, to preserve and valorise specific local production systems, or to accompany the restructuring of a sector, such as the dairy sector. There is also the option for support for restoring agricultural production potential damaged by natural disasters and catastrophic events, which has potential for the pigmeat sector, in order to have a ready-to-use measure at hand in case of an outbreak such as the African Swine Fever.

(3) To tackle supply chain challenges
a) Establishing a new High Level Group: The Commission will set up a new, dedicated High Level Group to focus on a number of specific and clearly defined issues. This will include credit for farmers, and financial and risk hedging instruments such as futures markets for agricultural products. On this HLG, Commissioner Hogan will work closely with Commissioner Bienkowska. (A High Level Group normally comprises senior officials from national Ministries.)
b) Evaluating the Milk Package and encouraging wider use of certain measures: The Commission will bring forward to 2016 the report on the (2012) “milk package” originally foreseen for 2018, in order to consider its possible prolongation and improvement, including the extension of its provisions to other sectors. Introduced as a response to the 2009 dairy crisis, the Milk Package provides a range of measures aimed at giving producers a stronger position in the dairy supply chain, such as written contracts, collective bargaining, encouraging Producer Organisations, but the take-up has been slow in some regions because market conditions have been relatively favourable since 2012. The Commission will also promote similar provisions under existing rules for other sectors, e.g. for producer organisations etc.
c) Improving exchanges of experience, e.g. on unfair trading practices: The Commission will also organise a range of meetings to discuss experiences and share best practices. For example, on unfair trading practices, discussion can look at how the code of conduct is working and the experiences in Member States such as Spain and the UK. There is also the potential for events to discuss financial and risk hedging instruments, such as forward contracts, futures markets, etc.

(4) To tighten the link between agriculture and society at large:
a) Addressing the needs of vulnerable groups: In the context of the current refugee crisis, there are ways of addressing the nutritional needs of refugees, for example through the distribution of dairy products.
b) The scheme for school fruit and school milk: Under the present School Milk Scheme, there is room for increasing the use of the EU support for milk distributed to schoolchildren. (Unlike for the School Fruit Scheme, there is no financial ceiling per Member State.) Moreover, the Commission will work with the Council and parliament to try and reach an early conclusion in the ongoing negotiations for a wider school scheme currently in negotiation.

In addition to this:
State Aids: There are also a number of tools that can be mobilised at national level. Member States have the possibility of providing national funding under the de minimis rules (below €15.000 for agricultural primary production or €200.000 for marketing and processing activities over 3 years). Even outside RDPs, Member States may use State aids, for example aid for investments, for agri-environment-climate or animal welfare commitments, for organic farming, or for the participation in quality schemes, etc. Under certain conditions, State Aids can also cover promotion, the closure of production capacity and, under strict conditions, rescue and restructuring aid for companies in severe financial difficulties, etc.

SEATTLE – Evolution Fresh is initiating a voluntary product recall of approximately 1,700 bottles of “Organic Sweet Greens and Ginger” juice with a best by date of March 2, 2014. The juices, which make up less than half of one percent of total Evolution Fresh production, were sold beginning on January 18, 2014, only in California and Nevada at approximately 120 grocery stores.

The company initiated the recall after identifying a small number of Organic Sweet Greens and Ginger juices with best by dates of March 2, 2014 that were swollen and is currently conducting an investigation. There are no customer complaints or known illnesses related to this product at this time. Regardless, customer well-being is Evolution Fresh’s top priority, so this voluntary product recall is being initiated out of an abundance of caution.

Organic Sweet Greens and Ginger juices with other best by dates are not included in this recall, nor are any other Evolution Fresh products. This product was only sold at grocery retailers in California and Nevada, not Starbucks retail stores.

Customers in possession of the recalled product should not consume it and should discard it. Customers with questions may contact the company by phone at 1-800-794-9986 to get a refund.

This Press Release is courtesy of www.starbucks.com

Educators from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and five U.S. territories recently met in Arlington, Virginia to discuss local implementation of the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP), one of the nation’s largest nutrition education programs.

Through nutrition education, EFNEP helps limited-resource families and children gain the knowledge and skills to change their current attitudes and behaviors when it comes to choosing nutritionally sound diets and improve their health and well-being. USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) administers EFNEP and provides national program leadership.

“The 2015 EFNEP Conference brought together about 170 representatives from 1862 and 1890 land-grant universities (LGUs) to coordinate, collaborate, and receive training that they can take back and implement in their respective university programs,” said Stephanie Blake, NIFA EFNEP program coordinator.

Conference agenda items included an update on changes to packaged food nutrition labels, youth participant evaluation forms, a new adult behavior checklist, and an Internet tool used for EFNEP evaluation and reporting called the Web-Based Nutrition Education Evaluation and Reporting System. EFNEP coordinators also shared ideas and resources through breakout session presentations and poster exhibits.

EFNEP has assisted more than 32 million families and youth since the program’s inception in 1969. Last year, EFNEP reached nearly 122,000 adults and 400,000 children directly and about 360,000 family members indirectly. Among the results listed in EFNEP’s 2014 Impacts Report, 94 percent of adult participants reported improved diets, 86 percent of youth participants reported an increased ability to choose healthy food, and 84 percent of adults reported being better able to manage food resources.

“EFNEP is about reducing health disparities of some this nation’s most vulnerable audiences through hands-on learning experiences and interactive nutrition education,” said Helen Chipman, NIFA national program leader for food and nutrition education. “This annual meeting, combined with other cooperative state and federal efforts, improves EFNEP’s ability to promote nutritional health and well-being among low-income families and children.”

While LGUs manage state EFNEP programs, local educators run them at the county level. “Our educators are so successful because they are members of the communities they support and dedicated to reaching diverse, low-income populations,” Blake said.

Contact your local Cooperative Extension office for more EFNEP information.

Through federal funding and leadership for research, education, and extension programs, NIFA focuses on investing in science and solving critical issues impacting people’s daily lives and the nation’s future. For more information, visit www.nifa.usda.gov.

WASHINGTON, Jan. 26, 2015 – This weekend, the U.S. Department of Agriculture reached agreement with Chinese officials to allow all U.S. grown apples to gain access to the Chinese market. This will allow a greater share of U.S. apple exports to China in the coming months and has the potential to increase U.S. fresh apple exports, which were valued at more than $1 billion in 2013, by approximately 10 percent. With this new agreement, the apple industry estimates that within two years, exports to China will reach 5 million bushels annually, a value of nearly $100 million per year. The agreement was reached during bilateral discussions between USDA and China’s General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) in San Francisco.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today made the following statement regarding this announcement:

“USDA values the relationship we are forging with China to bring mutually-beneficial food and agricultural trade to Americans and Chinese alike. The new access for American exports we’re announcing today is the culmination of decades of hard work by USDA staff. These efforts will result in high quality, fresh U.S. apple varieties available for consumers in China and a significant boost in sales for American apple producers.

“USDA remains a strong partner and advocate in the international marketplace, working with foreign governments and international organizations to ensure the smooth and safe flow of international trade. The past six years have been the strongest in history for agricultural trade, with U.S. agricultural product exports totaling $771.7 billion since 2009. Strong agricultural exports contribute to a positive U.S. trade balance, create jobs and boost economic growth. As the President said in his recent State of the Union address, we now look to Congress build on this success and pass a bipartisan Trade Promotion Authority bill to continue to support a robust trade agenda that will create thousands of new American jobs.”

British cherry growers are on course for their most productive season for over 30 years, latest industry figures can reveal.
Since the start of the British cherry season in May growers have produced 2682 tonnes – an uplift of 80 per cent on the 1488 tonnes produced in 2014 (British Summer Fruit data 24 August 2015).

Even better news for growers is that UK cherries are also in high demand with Tesco seeing record sales of nearly 80 per cent compared with what it sold in 2014.

The greater availability has led to Tesco more than doubling the amount of cherries it buys from British growers this summer.
Last year the supermarket bought more than 335 tonnes of British grown cherries while this year it took more than 750 tonnes – a rise of 125 per cent.

Tesco cherry buyer Tom Emmett said: “Shoppers prefer British cherries as they’re considered to be amongst the best in the world – not only the richness of their taste but also the juiciness of their flesh and overall texture. Nothing beats a British cherry.
“It’s all about availability – if we can get British grown cherries then we know our shoppers will buy them. They are extremely popular and one of the absolute joys of summer.”

English cherries were once one of Britain’s most popular fruits but poor weather, high labour costs and old-fashioned picking methods saw volumes of home grown cherries greatly diminish over the last 50 years.

The importation of cheaper cherries from Turkey, Spain and America also contributed to the decline in UK production.
Production hit rock bottom in the year 2000 when the entire British cherry industry produced just 400 tonnes. But since then things have slowly started looking up again.

More and more British growers are now seeing higher yields by using dwarf root stock, grafted onto new tree varieties. These produce much smaller trees which can be grown in plastic tunnels, creating a micro climate with temperatures similar to the Mediterranean. And these new smaller cherry trees can now be picked by workers on foot rather than ladders, cutting costs still further and enabling English cherries to compete with foreign rivals for the first time in many decades.

Tom Emmett added: “At the moment demand for British cherries exceeds supply. The good news is that by the end of the decade we should be able to completely meet that demand for the whole for the whole British season. That’s an amazing turnaround from just ten years ago.”

One of the UK’s biggest cherry producers is Haygrove Growing, whose 100 acre orchards are based near Kington in Herefordshire.

Their Managing Director James Waltham said: “Thanks to a combination of great varieties which are better suited to the UK climate, year-on-year performance of cherry orchards in general is far more consistent than it used to be, bringing greater yield and superior quality fruit.
“The British cherry season is also growing. Where it once lasted barely two months, the season now extends from early June until early September; thanks both to new varieties and modern growing systems, particularly the use of polytunnels.

“We’ve also had a good growing season. After a mild autumn in 2014, followed by a winter that was sufficiently cold, we had good weather for pollination at spring. Weather through the summer has also been relatively good with no periods of excessive heat”.

ROME, 02 July 2021 / PRN Africa / — Science, technology, innovation and data are key to transforming agri-food systems, said FAO Director-General QU Dongyu at the 2021 Integration Segment of the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations (ECOSOC) on Friday.

The Integration Segment brought together high-level participants and experts ahead of the High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) beginning on 6 July. The virtual event hosted three panel discussions on ECOSOC’s and HLPF’s overall theme for 2021: ‘Sustainable and resilient recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic that promotes the economic, social and environmental dimensions of sustainable development: building an inclusive and effective path for the achievement of the 2030 Agenda in the context of the decade of action and delivery for sustainable development’.

Qu Dongyu stressed that building back more resilient, healthy, equitable and sustainable societies is “one of the most critical issues currently facing humanity.”

He continued by saying that FAO’s Strategic Framework seeks to support the 2030 Agenda through the transformation of agri-food systems, stressing two important elements: “First, tapping into science, technology and innovation, ensuring it is accessible and relevant to all. Second, improving the use of data, especially big data, bringing together different sources to inform decision-making, thereby strengthening governance, institutions and human capacity.”

ECOSOC’s Integration Segment meets annually to help UN Member States and others map ways to achieve sustainable development, with an emphasis on cutting-edge issues of global concern.

Building back better from COVID-19

The panel was moderated by Juan Sandoval Mendiolea, Deputy Permanent Representative of Mexico to the United Nations and Vice-President of ECOSOC. António Vitorino, Director-General of the International Organization for Migration, Soumya Swaminathan, Chief Scientist at World Health Organization and Peter Major, Chair of the 24th Session of the Commission on Science and Technology for Development all joined Qu Dongyu on the panel.

The Integration Segment built upon three informal virtual conversations organised over the course of May and June, which identified the key policy options for integration issues and COVID-19 recovery to inform the event’s panel discussions. FAO led the preparatory Integration Dialogue on 10 June, with Deputy Director-General Beth Bechdol presenting agri-food systems transformation and green recovery from COVID-19 as two major priorities going forward, highlighting some of FAO’s strategic actions and key programs working in those areas as examples.

Key takeaways from the preparatory conversations were that concerted efforts are needed to step up public and private sector investments in agri-food systems to address the nexus between food security, disasters and conflict, and that green recovery of agri-food systems will address both food security and climate risk. Science, technology, and innovation were also highlighted as important catalysts for progress, including the power of geospatial information to help bridge the digital gap across many communities and sectors. Finally, it was stressed that global collaboration and action is fundamental to addressing all of the mentioned challenges.

High-Level Political Forum 2021

The ECOSOC Integration Segment meets just prior to the start of the High-Level Political Forum (HLPF). Juan Sandoval Mendiolea, ECOSOC’s Vice-President, will share the key findings of the Segment’s panel discussions at the HPLF, highlighting the main policy recommendations and providing policy guidance on how to ensure a sustainable and resilient recovery from COVID-19 that puts us on track to realise the 2030 Agenda.

As a lead entity, FAO will participate in several high-level events and discussions during the HPLF, stressing the message that we must achieve MORE efficient, inclusive, resilient and sustainable agri-food systems for better production, better nutrition, a better environment, and a better life, leaving no one behind, if we are to achieve the SDGs by 2030. FAO will advocate for agri-food systems transformation as a major driver of accelerated, sustainable and inclusive recovery from the pandemic and its economic shocks and the need to leverage accelerators, including technology, innovation, data, governance, human capital and institutions to fast track progress.

The HLPF 2021 is the core United Nations platform for follow-up and review of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals. It will take place from 6 July to 15 July 2021 and discuss Sustainable Development Goals 1 on no poverty, 2 on zero hunger, 3 on good health and well-being, 8 on decent work and economic growth, 10 on reduced inequalities, 12 on responsible consumption and production, 13 on climate action, 16 on peace, justice and strong institutions, and 17 on partnerships in depth. The Forum will also consider the integrated, indivisible and interlinked nature of the Sustainable Development Goals.

SOURCE Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)

WASHINGTON, – Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack issued the following statement today on the Farm Income and Financial Forecasts for 2015 and 2016, released by USDA’s Economic Research Service.

“Today’s farm income forecast anticipates continued growth in median farm household income to a record level of $81,666 in 2016, up 4.5 percent. This trend reflects the investments made by USDA and the work of the Obama Administration to protect and ensure a strong farm safety net. Since 2009, USDA has made significant and targeted investments of more than $850 million across the United States toward building a robust local and regional food system that has the infrastructure to support a more diverse agricultural economy. For those producers challenged by weather, disease and falling prices, we have built a strong safety net to help keep them farming or ranching another season. During the same time period, rural communities have been infused with billions of dollars to build schools, hospitals, and public safety headquarters.

“Businesspeople and businesses of all sizes have availed themselves of USDA’s business loans and grants to spur growth that complements the agricultural economy. We’ve brought new or improved high-speed internet service to six million Americans in rural areas, along with investments in electricity, water and wastewater, and clean power. Taken together, these investments are strengthening rural communities.

“And we will continue to stand with farming families, small businesses and rural communities as they continue to help our country build a brighter future. Thanks to their ability to remain competitive through thick and thin, America’s farming families continue to be respected the world over for their high-quality goods, ability to manage risk and their capacity to reshape rural communities with biobased innovations that have led to increased job opportunities.

“Overall, net farm income for all producers is forecast down slightly, 3 percent, relative to 2015. This is an improvement from the double digit declines seen in 2014 and 2015, and it reflects a more competitive trade environment, softening projection for global demand and a continuation of the dip in agricultural commodity prices. While agricultural exports climbed more than 45 percent in value, totaling $911.4 billion over the past 5 years and besting all previous records in terms of value and volume and acting as an engine for America’s farm economy, today’s forecast shows how weaker foreign demand can weigh on farm income.

“Nevertheless, today’s forecast indicates a farm economy that has absorbed a challenge and will begin to see greater opportunities for growth in the months ahead. USDA and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) will continue to ensure American farming families have open markets and a level playing field by working to remove unfair barriers to trade and negotiating trade agreements, such as the Trans Pacific Partnership, that benefit all of agriculture.”

Full Forecast: www.ers.usda.gov/topics/farm-economy/farm-sector-income-finances/highlights-from-the-farm-income-forecast.aspx

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today proposed to update the Nutrition Facts label for packaged foods to reflect the latest scientific information, including the link between diet and chronic diseases such as obesity and heart disease. The proposed label also would replace out-of-date serving sizes to better align with how much people really eat, and it would feature a fresh design to highlight key parts of the label such as calories and serving sizes.
“Our guiding principle here is very simple: that you as a parent and a consumer should be able to walk into your local grocery store, pick up an item off the shelf, and be able to tell whether it’s good for your family,” said First Lady Michelle Obama. “So this is a big deal, and it’s going to make a big difference for families all across this country.”

“For 20 years consumers have come to rely on the iconic nutrition label to help them make healthier food choices,” said FDA Commissioner Margaret A. Hamburg, M.D. “To remain relevant, the FDA’s newly proposed Nutrition Facts label incorporates the latest in nutrition science as more has been learned about the connection between what we eat and the development of serious chronic diseases impacting millions of Americans.”
Some of the changes to the label the FDA proposed today would:

Require information about the amount of “added sugars” in a food product. The 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans states that intake of added sugar is too high in the U.S. population and should be reduced. The FDA proposes to include “added sugars” on the label to help consumers know how much sugar has been added to the product.
Update serving size requirements to reflect the amounts people currently eat. What and how much people eat and drink has changed since the serving sizes were first put in place in 1994. By law, serving sizes must be based on what people actually eat, not on what people “should” be eating. Present calorie and nutrition information for the whole package of certain food products that could be consumed in one sitting.

Present “dual column” labels to indicate both “per serving” and “per package” calorie and nutrition information for larger packages that could be consumed in one sitting or multiple sittings.

Require the declaration of potassium and vitamin D, nutrients that some in the U.S. population are not getting enough of, which puts them at higher risk for chronic disease. Vitamin D is important for its role in bone health. Potassium is beneficial in lowering blood pressure. Vitamins A and C would no longer be required on the label, though manufacturers could declare them voluntarily.

Revise the Daily Values for a variety of nutrients such as sodium, dietary fiber and Vitamin D. Daily Values are used to calculate the Percent Daily Value on the label, which helps consumers understand the nutrition information in the context of a total daily diet.

While continuing to require “Total Fat,” “Saturated Fat,” and “Trans Fat” on the label, “Calories from Fat” would be removed because research shows the type of fat is more important than the amount.

Refresh the format to emphasize certain elements, such as calories, serving sizes and Percent Daily Value, which are important in addressing current public health problems like obesity and heart disease.

The proposed updates reflect new dietary recommendations, consensus reports, and national survey data, such as the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, nutrient intake recommendations from the Institute of Medicine, and intake data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). The FDA also considered extensive input and comments from a wide range of stakeholders.

“By revamping the Nutrition Facts label, FDA wants to make it easier than ever for consumers to make better informed food choices that will support a healthy diet.” said Michael R. Taylor, the FDA’s deputy commissioner for foods and veterinary medicine. “To help address obesity, one of the most important public health problems facing our country, the proposed label would drive attention to calories and serving sizes.”

The Nutrition Facts label has been required on food packages for 20 years, helping consumers better understand the nutritional value of foods so they can make healthy choices for themselves and their families. The label has not changed significantly since 2006 when information on trans fat had to be declared on the label, prompting manufacturers to reduce partially hydrogenated oils, the main source of trans fat, in many of their products.

The changes proposed today affect all packaged foods except certain meat, poultry and processed egg products, which are regulated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service.

The FDA is also proposing to make corresponding updates to the Supplement Facts label on dietary supplements where applicable.

The agency is accepting public comment on the proposed changes for 90 days.

For more information:

Federal Register notice
2nd Federal Register notice
Nutrition Facts at a Glance
Questions and Answers
Consumer Update: Nutrition Facts Label: Proposed Changes Aim to Better Inform Food Choices
Consumer Update: Food Serving Sizes Getting a Reality Check
Consumer Update: Proposed Nutrition Facts Label Changes Based on Science and Research
FDA Voice Blog
What’s Different infographic (PDF – 587KB)
Serving size infographic (PDF – 556KB)
Sound bites
Let’s Move!
The FDA, an agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, protects the public health by assuring the safety, effectiveness, and security of human and veterinary drugs, vaccines and other biological products for human use, and medical devices. The agency also is responsible for the safety and security of our nation’s food supply, cosmetics, dietary supplements, products that give off electronic radiation, and for regulating tobacco products.

This Press Release is courtesy of www.fda.gov

ATLANTA, – U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) officials today joined 15 national and regional philanthropic partners to announce a new initiative to bolster the supply chain for local food systems around ten key U.S. cities. The project, dubbed ‘Food LINC’, will connect demand for local food in ten urban areas with supply from farmers and ranchers, strengthening each region’s local food business sector and also increasing consumer access to healthy, local food. The announcement was made at the Wallace Center’s National Food Hub Conference in Atlanta.

“USDA, the Appalachian Regional Commission and the Delta Regional Authority recognized that our investments in local food infrastructure have the most success in communities with strong coordination between producers, food purchasers, and access to shared resources. Food LINC aims to replicate that coordination in ten cities to create market opportunities for the areas’ producers, meet demand for locally produced food and create or sustain jobs along that local supply chain,” said Vilsack. “More than 160,000 farmers are tapping into demand for local and regional foods, and industry estimates predict more growth in the next several years. With the help from our partners, USDA can ‘supercharge’ our resources to create lasting impacts for farmers, ranchers, and rural communities as a whole.”

Nearly $3 million in combined private and federal funding will support coordination by a host organization in each city. A full-time Food LINC coordinator will be embedded in each host organization for up to three years. The knowledge gained through their experiences will help the partnership determine next steps to link producers and entrepreneurs with families and institutional consumers to develop more robust local and regional food systems.

USDA, the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) and the Delta Regional Authority (DRA), have committed $850,000 in public funds to the project, leveraging an additional $2 million so far from private philanthropic partners.

Host organizations include Common Market Georgia; Louisville’s Farm to Table, Kentucky; the Conservation Fund in North Carolina; Rocky Mountain Farmers Union in Colorado; La Montañita in New Mexico; Fair Food Philadelphia; Metro Washington Council of Governments in Washington, D.C.; Appalachian Sustainable Development in Virginia; Soul City Hospitality in Mississippi; and Communities Unlimited in Tennessee.

Philanthropic partners so far include the Agua Fund, CoBank, The Duke Endowment, Gates Family Foundation, Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust, Kentucky Agricultural Development Board, Oak Foundation, The One Foundation, Prince Charitable Trusts, RSF Social Finance, 11th Hour Project of the Schmidt Family Foundation, Surdna Foundation, Thornburg Foundation, Town Creek Foundation and Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation.

Additional support provided by the Surdna Foundation will also enable the Wallace Center to spread the benefits of this initiative by documenting the work in each region and sharing best practices with other organizations working to grow similar opportunities in their communities nationwide.

Food LINC is part of USDA’s Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food Initiative (KYF2) supporting the Obama Administration’s work to strengthen economic bonds between rural and urban areas, creating sustainable wealth for rural communities and putting more money into the pockets of rural producers. Launched in 2009, KYF2 breaks down bureaucratic silos and takes stock of USDA programs that support the growing demand for local and regional food systems. Learn more about the $1 billion USDA has invested in 40,000 projects to develop local market opportunities at https://medium.com/usda-resultsThis is an external link or third-party site outside of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) website. as USDA celebrates Know your Farmer Month in April.

DECATUR, Ill., – The first loaded vessel has departed Archer Daniels Midland Company’s (NYSE: ADM) new export terminal in Barcarena, in the northern Brazilian state of Pará. The terminal is a significant addition to ADM’s expanding logistical network in Brazil, and offers an efficient pathway for the export of grain from the increasingly productive western and northern regions of the country. ADM received approval to begin operations at the terminal at the end of July.

“We are pleased to see operations underway at our new terminal in Barcarena,” said Valmor Schaffer, president, ADM South America. “This terminal positions ADM to continue to grow hand in hand with Brazil’s expanding agricultural production, particularly in the country’s highly productive northern and western regions.”

ADM acquired the terminal in 2012. It currently has the capacity to handle approximately 1.5 million metric tons of grain on an annual basis; ADM intends to expand the terminal’s capacity to 6 million tons by 2016.

“The Barcarena terminal builds on our existing network, which uses inland waterways, rail, and truck transportation to move crops and products throughout Brazil,” Schaffer added. “We are excited by the opportunities presented by Brazil’s expanding agricultural production, and look forward to continuing to be a part of the country’s success.”

About ADM in Brazil
ADM is one of the largest agribusiness companies in Brazil. With more than 4,700 employees, the company processes soy at four facilities, and markets the soy oil brands Concórdia and Corcovado. The company operates the largest biodiesel plant in Brazil, four fertilizer blending facilities, a cocoa processing plant, a sugar cane processing facility that produces ethanol, and more than 40 elevators across the country. In March, ADM announced plans to construct a soy protein production complex next to the company’s existing soybean processing facility in Campo Grande, Mato Grosso do Sul.

About ADM
For more than a century, the people of Archer Daniels Midland Company (NYSE: ADM) have transformed crops into products that serve vital needs. Today, 31,000 ADM employees around the globe convert oilseeds, corn, wheat and cocoa into products for food, animal feed, industrial and energy uses. With more than 270 processing plants, 470 crop procurement facilities, and the world’s premier crop transportation network, ADM helps connect the harvest to the home in more than 140 countries. For more information about ADM and its products, visit www.adm.com.

New Zealand dairy co-operative Fonterra Co-operative Group Limited and a leading Chinese infant food manufacturer Beingmate intend to form a global partnership that will help meet China’s growing demand for infant formula. The partnership will create a fully integrated global supply chain from the farm gate direct to China’s consumers, using Fonterra’s milk pools and manufacturing sites in New Zealand, Australia, and Europe. The partnership is intended to increase the volume and value of Fonterra’s ingredients and branded products exported to China.

It will be achieved in two phases:
– Fonterra will shortly start the process to issue a partial tender offer to gain up to a 20 per cent stake in Beingmate
– After gaining regulatory approvals and Fonterra satisfactorily completing the partial tender offer, Fonterra and Beingmate will set up a joint venture to purchase Fonterra’s Darnum plant in Australia and will establish a distribution agreement to sell Fonterra’s Anmum™ brand in China.

Fonterra Chief Executive Theo Spierings said the partnership between two leading dairy nutrition companies will be a game changer that will provide a direct line into the infant formula market in China, which is the biggest growth story in paediatric nutrition in the world. The partnership will also play a part in promoting leading product quality and safety standards in the infant formula market in China, participating in the ongoing development of the Chinese dairy industry, and supporting the development of Beingmate’s business.

“By working together with Beingmate, we will strengthen our infant formula brand presence in China and link China to high quality ingredients from New Zealand, high value paediatric products made at Darnum in Australia, and whey specialty ingredients manufactured at our new plant in Heerenveen in the Netherlands and in alliance with Dairy Crest in the United Kingdom,” said Mr Spierings. “We will also work with Beingmate to evaluate mutual investments in dairy farms in China.

“This will be another milestone in our strategy to create additional demand for ingredients and high-value paediatric and maternal nutrition products made from our New Zealand milk, complemented by milk drawn from our other international milk pools.

“China is our number one market and the proposal to join forces with Beingmate will be an important building block in Fonterra driving volume and value, and taking a step forward in terms of being a globally relevant co-operative.

“Our partnership with Beingmate will show the benefits of an integrated and secure supply chain, starting in New Zealand – our number one milk pool – where we are fast-tracking investment in milk processing capacity to meet global demand.”

Beingmate Chairman Mr. Wang Zhentai said, “Working together with Fonterra, we will create globally competitive, safe and secure supply chains to deliver high quality, advanced dairy nutrition to meet the needs of China’s growing population as well global consumers. The partnership will see our business take a significant step forward in its globalisation ambitions.”

The China dairy industry and infant nutrition market

Fonterra Chairman John Wilson said Fonterra has been committed to being a part of China’s dairy industry and contributing to its development for many years.

“Fonterra is already playing its part in the creation of a vibrant, local dairy industry through our farms investment, sharing technical expertise, providing high-quality imported ingredients to local food manufacturers and innovative dairy solutions to the foodservice sector,” said Mr Wilson.

“We are looking for this global partnership to take our relationship with China and its consumers to a whole new level. It will benefit Fonterra, Beingmate and all our stakeholders and is part of our drive to increase returns to our farmer shareholders.”

Mr. Wang from Beingmate said, “The proposed partnership is well-aligned with the Chinese government’s desire to see a strengthened focus on quality and consumer safety in the local dairy industry. We believe this global partnership will play a constructive role in the development of China’s and the global dairy industry as both parties work together to drive a two-way flow of capital, technology, supply and distribution.”

Mr Spierings said by working alongside Beingmate, the partnership will participate in growth in a category where there is huge demand.

“The infant formula market in China is worth about NZ$18 billion today and is expected to be worth NZ$33 billion by 2017. This growth is driven by increasing urbanisation, higher disposable incomes, a preference for premium brands, and relaxation of the one child policy,” he said.

Mr Spierings said Fonterra and Beingmate have a shared commitment to international best practice quality standards and are committed to stringent processes and controls around procurement of raw materials, fresh milk collection, production process testing, the addition of nutrients, pre-delivery inspection and tracking and tracing of manufactured product.

“In addition, Beingmate has an extensive distribution network and local knowledge that complements Fonterra’s commitment to food safety and quality.

“What Fonterra brings to the table is world-leading expertise in dairy, particularly in the areas of farm management, milk production, dairy processing, quality control, tracking and tracing, dairy nutrition and innovation,” said Mr Spierings.

This is courtesy of www.fonterra.com

The House of Commons Select Exiting the European Union Committee has published a report into the consequences of “no deal” for UK business. FDF’s Tim Rycroft gave evidence to the committee on the disastrous consequences of a no-deal exit for food and drink manufacturing.

Tim Rycroft, Chief Operating Officer for the Food and Drink Federation said:

“FDF welcomes the findings in the Committee’s report. A no-deal exit from the EU would be disastrous for the UK’s food and drink industry, as we said in our evidence to the Committee.

“Within weeks it is likely that shoppers would notice significant and adverse changes to the products available and random, selective shortages. Limited shelf life products would face the most immediate risk.

“The run up to 31 October 2019 is particularly stark. Food and drink manufacturers will not be able to secure additional frozen and chilled warehousing space or logistics capacity for stockpiling, as the required space is already booked for the peak Christmas production period. Manufacturers will therefore have no spare production capacity or ability to store ingredients and finished products. UK food imports will climb from autumn onwards as fresh food stocks decline, so any ‘no deal’ disruption will have a major impact on availability.”

“Our industry employs 450,000 people and has a turnover of £104bn. Analysis released earlier this week by the UK Trade Policy Observatory found that no-deal would destroy £18.5bn of UK food and drink manufacturing, with grave consequences for UK consumers.”

BENTONVILLE, Ark., – In front of hundreds of associates, suppliers and nonprofit organizations at its Global Sustainability Milestone Meeting, Walmart today announced its commitment to create a more sustainable food system. The company will reach this goal through four key pillars: improving the affordability of food for both customers and the environment, increasing access to food, making healthier eating easier, and improving the safety and transparency of the food chain.

“The future of food is absolutely critical for both our society and for our business, which means we have a huge opportunity to make a difference here,” said Doug McMillon, president and chief executive officer of Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. “We’ve learned on our sustainability journey that we’re most successful when our initiatives create social and environmental value and business value at the same time. Food is our number one category worldwide, and we are going to do even more in our grocery business in the years ahead. Paving a sustainable future for food is necessary for society and our business.”

The four pillars outlined in Walmart’s sustainable food system commitment aim to address major issues and threats facing today’s global food system, including how to address the food needs of a growing population while reducing environmental impact; meeting an increasing consumer demand for greater food transparency; providing more options for healthier eating; and alleviating global hunger. While Walmart has already made significant progress across the four pillars, today’s announcement outlines new steps towards a more sustainable food system:

Affordable: Continuing to reduce the “true cost” of food. Working collaboratively with suppliers, Walmart has the opportunity to lower the “true cost” of food – not only by providing everyday low costs for customers, but also by decreasing the environmental impact of agricultural practices. The company has already made enhancements in the area of sustainable agriculture, and will advance this work through the launch of its Climate Smart Agriculture Platform. The Platform is designed to provide increasing visibility over the next ten years to agricultural yields, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and water usage, while driving adoption of best practices in sustainable agriculture. Working with suppliers and others, these efforts will improve environmental outcomes, as well as the well-being of farmers and consumers.

Accessible: Fighting hunger by providing for those in need. Walmart believes that everyone should have access to affordable, nutritious, sustainably-grown food. That means making it easy for customers to buy food through the company’s network of thousands of stores around the world, and increasingly through home delivery and convenient collection points. Yet for too many, even this access may be out of reach. Since announcing its “Fighting Hunger Together” commitment in 2010, Walmart and Sam’s Club facilities have donated more than 1.58 billion pounds of food, surpassing the initial goal of 1.1 billion over five years, a year early. In addition, Walmart and the Walmart Foundation will elevate their commitment to accessibility by aiming to provide 4 billion healthier meals to those who need them in the U.S. over the next five years.
Healthier: Making eating healthy easier. Walmart is committed to ensuring that eating healthier is easy and affordable. The company has reduced sodium by 13 percent and sugar levels by 10 percent in Great Value, Marketside and nationally branded products, and launched its “Great for You” icon to empower consumers to identify healthier food options on store shelves. Moreover, to help more consumers to adopt healthier eating habits,
starting in 2015, Walmart and the Walmart Foundation will provide nutrition education to 4 million U.S. households.

Safe and Transparent: Showing consumers where food comes from. A transparent food chain fosters improved food safety, worker safety, and animal welfare. Walmart will work to provide more information and transparency about the products on its shelves so customers can see where an item came from, how it was made, and decode the ingredient label.
As with all of its sustainability initiatives, Walmart will continue to collaborate with its suppliers to track and report the progress of creating a truly sustainable food system, and will take additional steps in the years ahead to advance the affordability, accessibility, healthier eating, safety and transparency of the food supply system.

“Walmart has made major progress since we set out to achieve our three ambitious sustainability goals to create zero waste, be powered by 100 percent renewable energy, and sell products that sustain people and the environment. We believe it’s especially critical to focus our time and effort on advancing the sustainability of our food products and practices,” said McMillon. “Grocery is a very personal category – it’s about what you feed your kids and how you take care of yourself. It’s about your health and wellbeing. And it all comes down to trust. Customers have to trust us on food. When we focus on food, we are doing right by our customers, our communities, and our planet.”

For more details and to watch the replay of Walmart’s Global Sustainability Milestone Meeting, please visit: http://news.walmart.com/events/global-sustainability-milestone-meeting.

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About Walmart
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT) helps people around the world save money and live better — anytime and anywhere — in retail stores, online, and through their mobile devices. Each week, more than 250 million customers and members visit our 11,053 stores under 71 banners in 27 countries and e-commerce websites in 11 countries. With fiscal year 2014 sales of over $473 billion, Walmart employs approximately 2 million associates worldwide. Walmart continues to be a leader in sustainability, corporate philanthropy and employment opportunity. Additional information about Walmart can be found by visiting http://corporate.walmart.com on Facebook at http://facebook.com/walmart and on Twitter at http://twitter.com/walmart.

WASHINGTON, Today, U.S. Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell reviewed the 2015 fire season and provided insight into longer term trends and challenges for the agency during testimony before the House Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry Subcommittee. Tidwell highlighted concerns over the increasing cost of suppressing wildfire, emphasizing that more than half of the agency’s annual budget now goes toward fire suppression.

Tidwell outlined two key issues the Forest Service is wrestling with that must be resolved by Congress.

First, the chronic increase in the portion of the Forest Service budget devoted to fire suppression must be stopped. The current rate of increase results in progressively less funding for fire prevention and restoration activities. In 1995, fire suppression made up 16 percent of the Forest Service’s annual appropriated budget-this year, for the first time, more than 50 percent of the budget will be dedicated to fire.

This trend is having a debilitating impact on the Forest Service budget, as well as non-suppression activities within the agency. According to the Forest Service Report Rising Firefighting Costs Raises Alarms three quarters of Forest Service trails cannot be maintained to standard. That not only impacts families wanting to use those trails, it also puts at risk small businesses and communities that depend on recreation jobs and dollars.

“Left unchecked, the share of the budget devoted to fire in 2025 could exceed 67 percent,” said Tidwell. “We are at a critical moment in the history of the Forest Service. Urgent action is needed in order to ensure that the Forest Service does not become further hindered by the continually increasing percentage of our budget that is dedicated to wildfire suppression activities.”

Second, we must stop the practice of “fire transfer” which occurs when fighting fires in a given year costs more than Congress appropriates for that specific function, and the Forest Service must deplete restoration, watershed and recreation programs to pay for fire suppression. This fiscal year the transfer was a record $700 million.

It is this double-hit-permanent shifting and fire transfer-that severely impacts the Forest Service’s ability to restore forests and serve the public. Experience shows that acting now to reduce the threat of future wildland fires drastically reduces costs in the long run.

The agency’s fire management goal, especially near homes and communities, is to prepare forests and grasslands to resist stresses like drought and to be more resilient following disturbances, including wildfires. Large-scale restoration projects are designed to restore fire-adapted forests while helping, in the long run, to lower the growth of both wildfire suppression cost and the share of the Forest Service budget that goes to fight wildfires. To accomplish this, the Forest Service is accelerating restoration and management of the national forests through innovative, science-based approaches, increased collaboration and using new authority provided by the 2014 Farm Bill to increase the pace and scale of restoration.

“Despite the severe loss of resources and staffing for restoration work, we are still getting good work done,” said Tidwell. “We accomplished more than 4.6 million acres of restoration that improves the health of our forests and watersheds in 2014, an increase of nine percent compared to 2011. We are eager and poised to do even more, if we can solve the two-part suppression budget crisis.”

The cost of fighting wildfires this season reached a record high, exceeding $1.7 billion. During the 2015 fire season, the Forest Service spent 24 days with all available ground and air assets committed to priority work managing more than 50,000 wildfires across the nation.

The frequency and intensity of wildfire, prolonged drought, increased development in areas near forests, and the way that fire suppression is paid for all combine to limit the agency’s capacity to realize additional gains in land management and restoration. More than nine million acres have already burned across the United States this season, destroying 2,500 single family homes and disrupting many businesses.

“The greatest losses this year involved the fatalities of 13 wildland firefighters who made the ultimate sacrifice to protect the lives of others,” said Tidwell.

The mission of the U.S. Forest Service, an agency of the Department of Agriculture, is to sustain the health, diversity and productivity of the nation’s forests and grasslands to meet the needs of present and future generations. The agency manages 193 million acres of public land, provides assistance to state and private landowners and maintains the largest forestry research organization in the world. Public lands the U.S. Forest Service manages contribute more than $13 billion to the economy each year through visitor spending alone. Those same lands provide 20 percent of the nation’s clean water supply, a value estimated at $7.2 billion per year. The agency also has either a direct or indirect role in stewardship of about 80 percent of the 850 million forested acres within the U.S., of which 100 million acres are urban forests where most Americans live.

WASHINGTON, Today, Agriculture Deputy Secretary Krysta Harden announced the availability of $400,000 in funding to establish the Socially Disadvantaged Farmers and Ranchers Policy Research Center. The Center will be established at an 1890 Land-Grant college or university and will specialize in policy research impacting socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers. Qualifying universities across the country are now invited to apply to be the Research Center’s home.

“America’s farmers and ranchers are more diverse than ever before and it is critical that our policies and programs reflect that,” said Deputy Secretary Harden. “This Center will serve as another tool for socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers to get the resources they need. It will also assist us in our efforts to help beginning farmers from all walks of life get their start in agriculture.”

According to the 2012 Agricultural Census, minority and historically under-represented communities are part of the continued growth among new and beginning farmers and ranchers. According to the Census, 22 percent of all farmers were beginning farmers in 2012. That means 1 out of every 5 farmers operated a farm for less than 10 years.

Universities seeking to apply to host the Socially Disadvantaged Farmers and Ranchers Policy Research Center must apply in the next 30 days. Proposals must be received by September 11, 2014, at 5:00 pm EST, at www.grants.gov.

Last month, Deputy Secretary Harden announced the availability of over $9 million in outreach and technical assistance for minority farmers and ranchers and military veterans that are new to farming and ranching through the 2501 Program. The deadline for applications for 2501 Program funding has been extended to August 27, 2014, and applications must be submitted through www.grants.gov. More information about the 2501 Program is available at: http://www.outreach.usda.gov/grants/index.htm.

Today’s announcement was made possible by the 2014 Farm Bill. The Farm Bill builds on historic economic gains in rural America over the past five years, while achieving meaningful reform and billions of dollars in savings for taxpayers. Since enactment, USDA has made significant progress to implement each provision of this critical legislation, including providing disaster relief to farmers and ranchers; strengthening risk management tools; expanding access to rural credit; funding critical research; establishing innovative public-private conservation partnerships; developing new markets for rural-made products; and investing in infrastructure, housing and community facilities to help improve quality of life in rural America. For more information, visit www.usda.gov/farmbill.

ANCHORAGE, – Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced that USDA is providing more than $352 million in loans and grants to upgrade rural water and wastewater systems nationwide and make infrastructure improvements in rural Alaska villages. The projects funded will not only help ensure rural places have access to clean water, but will also create jobs and help communities retain and attract new businesses and families.

“These investments are critical for our health and safety, and in the long term for sustainable economic development,” Vilsack said. “Investments like these in the nation’s water infrastructure also are critical to address the impact of climate change on our water supplies. The projects supported with these resources will ensure rural families have access to clean water and create jobs in communities across the country.”

Climate change is putting more stress on municipal water systems, Vilsack noted. Many areas around the country have seen changes in rainfall, resulting in more floods and droughts, declines in snowpack, intense rain as well as more frequent and severe heat waves. All of these are placing fiscal strains on communities – causing them to make more frequent and often costly repairs and upgrades.

Vilsack announced the awards during a speech here today at the annual conference of the Alaska Federation of Natives.

Since 2009, USDA Rural Development has invested nearly $11 billion in new and improved water and wastewater infrastructure that has benefited nearly 15 million rural residents and almost 6 million households and businesses.

USDA is providing $175 million in loans and $165 million in grants through the Water and Environmental Program. This is part of more than $1.5 billion USDA invested in rural water and wastewater projects during the 2014 Fiscal Year, which ended September 30.

In Alaska, the city of Buckland is receiving a $45,000 grant to conduct a cost analysis for preliminary engineering and environmental reports for a proposed solid waste site.

Edgerton, Wis., is receiving a $7.8 million loan and $2.5 million grant to upgrade its 31-year-old water treatment facility. The city is under a schedule of compliance with the Department of Natural Resources. The new facility will allow the city to meet newly imposed discharge limits.

In addition to the investments to upgrade rural water and wastewater systems, Vilsack announced six grants totaling $12.1 million to help rural Alaskan villages make infrastructure improvements. The Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium has been selected for a $5 million grant to remove dire sanitation conditions in the community of Akiachak. Many residents there lack indoor plumbing and must haul water and utilize honey buckets for waste disposal. The consortium will use the grant to construct sewer mains, build a lift station and bury water mains.

Akiachak is one of many communities targeted for special assistance through USDA’s StrikeForce Initiative for Rural Growth and Opportunity. USDA launched StrikeForce in 2010 to address persistent poverty in the United States through intensive outreach and stronger partnerships with community leaders, businesses, foundations and other groups that are working to combat poverty. Since then, the Department has partnered with more than 400 community organizations to support more than 80,000 projects that have leveraged nearly $10 billion in investments into rural America.

The investments announced today are provided through USDA’s Rural Utilities Service (RUS), which also administers infrastructure programs that fund broadband and rural electric systems to meet the needs of rural communities. View the complete list of recipients and projects receiving funding under today’s announcement.

USDA’s infrastructure investments have had a profound impact on rural communities. This year alone, USDA provided nearly $10 million to improve water and waste systems to help 74,000 residents of drought-affected areas of rural California.

In April, USDA allocated $150 million in Farm Bill grants plus $237 million in Rural Development funds for the Department’s largest Earth Day investment in rural water and wastewater systems. Of the nearly $387 million awarded for 116 Earth Day projects, 16 were in areas of persistent poverty and 29 were in communities served by USDA’s StrikeForce Initiative for Rural Growth and Opportunity.

President Obama’s historic investments in rural America have made our rural communities stronger. Under his leadership, these investments in housing, community facilities, businesses and infrastructure have empowered rural America to continue leading the way – strengthening America’s economy, small towns and rural communities.

TREVOSE, PA. — As California’s agriculture industry continues to plan for months of extreme rain followed by months of longer drought, the University of California Davis (UC Davis) and wine industry solutions provider Winesecrets have aligned with GE to pilot an innovative program to use captured rainwater in wine production. Reusing rainwater, rather than pulling freshwater from the aquifer, the pilot program offers a unique way to supply the needed wash water in winemaking.

GE’s Water & Process Technologies provided a reverse osmosis (RO) system and a Total Organic Carbon (TOC) analyzer to the winery at UC Davis as an inventive way to use existing technologies with advanced digital capabilities for a new application. The pilot enables the winery at UC Davis to have more control over its source water by not having to rely on the aquifer with its varying water quality and availability.

“The new pilot with GE, Winesecrets and UC Davis to use recycled rainwater is exciting. The rainwater is cleaner than groundwater sources, as it doesn’t contain as much mineral content—that makes filtering the water easier. The rainwater is collected from the roof of the Jess S. Jackson Sustainable Winery Building and other campus buildings. It then goes through the treatment system so that it can be used to clean the tanks and equipment at the winery. We treat about 7,000 gallons per day of water for use in the winery,” said Jill D. Brigham, Sustainable Wine and Food Processing Center, University of California, Davis.

The rainwater capturing system transports the rainwater through downspouts to a holding tank with a capacity of 1,200 gallons. After going through a 50-micron media filter, it is pumped into two 45,000-gallon storage tanks that feed the water treatment system.

Rainwater inherently has fewer contaminants than traditional municipal water sources like rivers, lakes and groundwater. This also reduces overall treatment costs making the process more environmentally friendly, sustainable and cost-effective. Relying on stored rather than municipal water puts the winery in control of its supply avoiding the costs of using municipal water as well as the varied quality of municipal water. Having a secure supply is a substantial benefit especially in areas of drought or complex water rights.

Water & Process Technologies’ RO system purifies the rainwater to a potable level and removes contaminants such as pesticides, herbicides, viruses, toxins, dust, pollen, bacteria and pollution. The TOC analyzer measures that the potable product water consistently meets the required quality.

“Combining the use of Water & Process Technologies’ reverse osmosis and TOC analyzer technologies, the pilot purifies the rainwater so it can be used at the winery. It has the potential to greatly enhance the industry’s sustainability efforts particularly in areas like California that are looking for alternate sources of water during times of drought,” said Kevin Cassidy, global leader, engineered systems—GE’s Water & Process Technologies.

About Water & Process Technologies
With operations in 130 countries and employing over 7,500 people worldwide, GE’s Water & Process Technologies applies its innovations, expertise and global capabilities to solve customers’ toughest water and process challenges. It offers a comprehensive set of chemical and equipment solutions, as well as predictive analytics, to enhance water, wastewater and process productivity. Water & Process Technologies strives to enable customers to meet increasing demands for clean water, overcome scarcity challenges, strengthen environmental stewardship and comply with regulatory requirements.

About GE
GE (NYSE: GE) is the world’s Digital Industrial Company, transforming industry with software-defined machines and solutions that are connected, responsive and predictive. GE is organized around a global exchange of knowledge, the “GE Store,” through which each business shares and accesses the same technology, markets, structure and intellect. Each invention further fuels innovation and application across our industrial sectors. With people, services, technology and scale, GE delivers better outcomes for customers by speaking the language of industry. www.ge.com

WASHINGTON, – A $90 million grant program was approved by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) yesterday for a global partnership to promote investments in biodiversity conservation, preserve wildlife and encourage sustainable livelihoods in Africa and Asia.

The new Global Partnership on Wildlife Conservation and Crime Prevention for Sustainable Development builds on the urgent need to address wildlife poaching and illegal trade as a development issue that deprives countries of their natural assets. It aims to strengthen cooperation between development partners that will bring together biodiversity conservation, sustainable livelihoods activities, and poverty reduction.

“The GEF is pleased to support the critical fight against illegal wildlife trade and poaching, and we are looking forward to work with country partners and other stakeholders to address this significant driver of biodiversity loss that has such negative impacts on protected area sustainability and human wellbeing in Africa and elsewhere,” said Naoko Ishii, GEF CEO and Chairperson.

“The recent wildlife poaching crisis in Africa has undermined its financial, social and economic capital while threatening the development of tourism and fueling political instability,” said Makhtar Diop, Vice-President of the Africa Region, World Bank. “We hope that this partnership will preserve wildlife and increase the resilience of communities whose livelihoods depend on these natural resources.

Participating countries include Botswana, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Congo Republic, Gabon, Mozambique, Tanzania, Zambia, India, and Indonesia. The GEF agencies contributing to the partnership include the Asian Development Bank, International Union for Conservation of Nature, United Nations Development Program, United Nations Environment Program, the World Bank and World Wildlife Fund. In addition to the GEF grant funds, the partnership will leverage US$513 million in co-financing from other sources including, IBRD and IDA. The World Bank, as lead agency of the new program, will coordinate the partnership and ensure a cross-fertilization of the lessons learned across projects and countries.

“UNDP is fully committed to work with our partner countries in addressing the illegal wildlife trade which is pushing endangered species toward extinction, fueling corruption and conflict, destroying lives and deepening poverty and inequality. We believe that addressing the current crisis involves three key strategies: generating sustainable livelihoods for communities, strengthening law enforcement, and reducing the demand for illegally traded wildlife, strategies which are employed by the recently approved program,” said Adriana Dinu, Executive Coordinator, Environmental Finance, UNDP.

The country projects will focus on designing and implementing national strategies to improve wildlife and protected areas management, enhance community livelihood benefits, reduce poaching, and eliminate illegal wildlife trade. The activities will use an approach that create stronger incentives for local communities to engage in protecting wildlife and for public-private partnerships to invest in sustainable local development.

“Industrial scale poaching is violently upending pathways out of poverty for thousands of rural families across Africa,” said Paula Caballero, Senior Director, Environment & Natural Resources Global Practice, World Bank. “This program will build on national efforts to stop the slaughter and will once more make a country’s wildlife wealth available to support pro-poor decision-making.”

“This program aims to raise the scale of what the GEF can do to stop the bleeding across Africa and lay the foundation for wildlife to become a positive force for economic development across the continent,” said Gustavo Fonseca, Director of Programs in the GEF.

Illegal wildlife trade is a multifaceted global threat that is gaining increased international attention. The problem is particularly acute in Africa, where species such as the African elephant, white and black rhinos, and several other species are being poached to the brink of extinction. In 2014, over 25,000 elephants were slaughtered for their ivory. Presently, the global wildlife market is estimated at $8 billion – $10 billion annually, with wildlife crime becoming more international and better connected to organized crime and insurgency. (Chatham House)

Crime affecting natural resources and the environment inflict damage on developing countries worth more than US$70 billion a year (World Bank 2014). This means that when natural resources and wildlife are extracted illegally, private and public income is effectively lost. This World Bank-led partnership will support international efforts to stop the environmental and social crises generated by the poaching and illegal wildlife trafficking between Africa and Asia.

“Vulnerability to environmental crimes, and the underlying demand driving the related trade, is often deepened by overarching problems of governance, corruption, and weaknesses in accountability at the national level,” said Leonard McCarthy, WBG Vice-President for Integrity. “This cancer of corruption can only be excised through hard-nosed prosecution, transparency and partnership”.

The multilateral treaty known as the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) aims to ensure that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten the survival of species. CITES parties banned trade in ivory in 1990. Building on CITES decisions and work done to operationalize those decisions, the London Conference on the Illegal Wildlife Trade in 2014 and the follow-up Kasane Conference in 2015 resulted in a declaration signed by 46 countries to restate support for the ban under CITES and stop illegal wildlife trade around the world. The World Bank is a member of the International Consortium on Combating Wildlife Crime (ICCWC), an effort led by CITES to bring coordinated support to national wildlife law enforcement agencies, and will work with partners to ensure a successful implementation of the new Global Partnership on Wildlife Conservation and Crime Prevention for Sustainable Development.

MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota – General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) has acquired EPIC Provisions, a rapidly growing, premium meat snacks company based in Austin, Texas. EPIC will operate under General Mills’ Annie’s business, which itself has experienced strong sales growth since General Mills acquired the company more than a year ago. EPIC will maintain its present location in Austin.

“The acquisition of EPIC positions General Mills for exciting growth with a highly authentic brand in an entirely new natural snacking category,” said John Foraker, President of Annie’s. “A purpose-driven brand like EPIC perfectly aligns with the experience and capabilities set that Annie’s brings to the table. EPIC has tremendous potential for growth in the natural snacking category. We’re committed to maintaining the great-tasting EPIC snacks people love, while further building this important brand to drive positive impact we can be proud of well into the future.”

EPIC Provisions was launched in 2013 by cofounders Taylor Collins and Katie Forrest, both competitive athletes seeking a convenient way to add nourishing animal protein to their diets. The original EPIC meat, fruit, and nut bar — the first of its kind — has created a new snacking category. EPIC Bars come in unique flavors including Bison Bacon Cranberry, Beef Habanero Cherry, Chicken Sesame BBQ, and Pulled Pork Pineapple.

Today the brand has evolved its product offerings to include EPIC Jerky Bites and EPIC Hunt and Harvest Trail Mix.

Both Collins and Forrest will continue with the business following the acquisition.

“We’re proud of the rapid growth EPIC Provisions has achieved during the past three years,” said Collins and Forrest. “Our decision to join General Mills provides EPIC with the scale to bring our products to even more consumers, and to significantly increase the positive impact of our business on grassland regeneration and proper livestock management practices. We look forward to working with Annie’s and General Mills to continue this momentum and to build upon the authenticity of the brand we created.”

EPIC snacks are sold primarily in the natural channel including nationally at Whole Foods, Sprouts, and Natural Grocers, but are also sold at sporting and hiking shops including REI, as well as some conventional grocers.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

About EPIC
EPIC Provisions is a category-creating meat snacks company based in Austin, Texas. The company was launched in 2013 by cofounders Taylor Collins and Katie Forrest, both competitive athletes seeking a convenient way to add nourishing animal protein to their diets. EPIC Bars, EPIC Bites, and EPIC Hunt and Harvest Mix are convenient snacks made with natural, meat-based whole ingredients.

About Annie’s
Headquartered in Berkeley, Calif., Annie’s, Inc. is a rapidly growing natural and organic food company with a widely recognized brand. Founded in 1989, Annie’s markets more than 145 products and is present in more than 35,000 retail locations in the United States and Canada.

About General Mills
General Mills is one of the world’s leading food companies, operating in more than 100 countries around the globe. Its brands include Cheerios, Yoplait, Totino’s, Häagen-Dazs, Yoki, Pillsbury, Nature Valley, Betty Crocker, Fiber One, Old El Paso, Wanchai Ferry, and more. Headquartered in Minneapolis, Minn., USA, General Mills had fiscal 2015 worldwide sales of $17.6 billion.

MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota – General Mills announces its 150th birthday today with plans for a year-long celebration. To celebrate its impact on a century and a half of food around the world, General Mills will share and highlight nostalgic food memorabilia from its historical archives. And honoring its journey of developing leading brands, life-changing inventions and cultural icons, General Mills is pledging “a future of continued innovation – and striving to help make its communities and the world a better place.”

“Ours is a rich history,” said Ken Powell, chairman and chief executive of General Mills. “Morning, noon and night, for 150 years, General Mills has served the world by making food people love. Today we proudly bring quality foods and leading brands to people in 130 countries around the world – and we’re especially excited about all we will do in our next 150 years.”

“General Mills is a part of Americana,” says Tom Forsythe, chief communications officer for General Mills. “We invented the Nerf ball, built the ‘Black Box,’ and along the way we’ve touched people’s lives with our iconic brands.”

General Mills will not only celebrate its past, but will also be looking ahead to the future throughout the year. “We’re going to continue meeting consumers’ changing needs through innovation and determination,” Powell explains, “and we’re going to continue to work to make our communities and the world a better place.”

Our history
General Mills traces its roots to 1866, when Cadwallader C. Washburn built single mill on the banks of the Mississippi River in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Through hard work and determination, Washburn’s mill grew into a multi-billion dollar company and one of the largest food companies in the world.

Over its 150 years, General Mills has woven part of the fabric of American culture, including:

Life-changing innovations and inventions –

Dr. Howard Bauman, a Pillsbury food scientist, developed the Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) system that remains the gold standard of ensuring food safety in processing facilities around the world.

General Mills’ mechanical division teamed with University of Minnesota professor James Ryan to create the Ryan flight recorder, also known as the “Black Box.” The invention changed the face of aviation, and a version of the Ryan recorder flies today in every global commercial aircraft. General Mills also created and built the small deep-dive submarine ALVIN, that made the first-ever dives to the Titanic.

Advertising “Firsts” – General Mills created what is believed to be the first singing radio commercial for Wheaties in 1926, and sponsored the first televised commercial sports broadcast in 1939. Bisquick created and sponsored one of the first radio “soap opera,” Betty and Bob. General Mills also owned or sponsored popular shows like The Lone Ranger, Jack Armstrong, the All-American Boy and The Bullwinkle Show.

Leading Brands – Beginning with Gold Medal Flour, General Mills created many of the world’s most recognizable and beloved food brands. Its iconic brands include Betty Crocker, Pillsbury, Cheerios, Wheaties, Yoplait, Nature Valley, Old El Paso and more. Its international brands include Häagen-Dazs, Wanchai Ferry, Yoki, Green Giant, Latina, and Frescarini, among others. General Mills also created many iconic brand characters, including the Pillsbury Doughboy, Betty Crocker, the Green Giant, BuzzBee, the Trix Rabbit and Lucky the Leprechaun.

Call to Service – During World War I, the company supported relief missions, providing food to war-ravaged Europe. In World War II, General Mills built precision targeting technologies, including the jitterbug torpedo, as well as producing foods for the Army’s K rations and C rations. In the 1960s, Pillsbury provided NASA astronauts with space foods, leading to the launch of Space Food Sticks. In 1954, the company created the General Mills Foundation, through which it fueled more than $2billion dollars in support to nonprofit organizations

Beyond Food – General Mills was also a leading manufacturer of toys, with Kenner, Parker Brothers, Play-Doh and Lionel Trains. It invented the Nerf ball, Care Bears and Paint-by-Number; marketed Spirograph, Monopoly, Risk, Clue and Stretch Armstrong; and gave the world the Betty Crocker Easy Bake Oven. Beyond toys, the company developed O-Cel-O Sponges; operated clothing brands such as Eddie Bauer, Foot-Joy, Talbots, Izod and Lacoste; and made furniture such as Dunbar and Pennsylvania House. It was also a major restaurateur with Olive Garden, Red Lobster, Burger King and more.

Natural and Organic – General Mills entered the natural and organic market in 2000, acquiring Small Planet Foods which included Cascadian Farm and Muir Glen. It also added LÄRABAR, Liberté, Mountain High, Food Should Taste Good, Immaculate Baking and most recently, Annie’s.
General Mills today

General Mills is one of the world’s top ten food companies. Dedicated to putting consumers first, General Mills continues to innovate around the world to meet changing consumer needs. In the U.S., General Mills is removing artificial flavors and colors from artificial sources from all of its Big G cereals.

It is also a leader in sustainable business practices, with industry-leading commitments on climate change, and a pledge to sustainably source 100 percent of its top 10 ingredients by the year 2020.

The future

General Mills’ strategies for “the next big thing” include partnering with emerging food brands and entrepreneurs to create new and on-trend breakthrough foods through the company’s new business development and venturing unit, 301 Inc., providing knowledge, expertise and access to capital.

“What’s exciting is all that we will do in the future,” Powell adds. “The past is prologue. The future is what we’re about. We’re going to continue our strong focus on sustainability and advocate for food security, because food is essential to life.”

MINNEAPOLIS – General Mills today announced the launch of a global innovation challenge to reduce greenhouse gases (GHG) through nitrogen fertilizer optimization technologies for sustainable agriculture. The company seeks commercially available, proven, ready-to-use technologies that minimize the loss of nitrogen to the environment, increase agricultural production and nitrogen use efficiency in the field, and enhance sustainable agriculture.

The innovation challenge is targeted on technologies that improve efficiency of nitrogen use while enhancing productivity, thereby limiting nitrogen loss to the environment through release of nitrous oxide, a greenhouse gas, and/or nitrogen run-off in water systems. General Mills seeks best practices in nitrogen fertilization technologies to minimize the loss of nitrogen from the field while increasing yield.

“Accelerating adoption of innovative on-farm nitrogen management tools will improve farmer economics, environmental outcomes, and farm communities,” said Jerry Lynch, General Mills vice president and chief sustainability officer. “This is an extension of the commitment we made in April with Walmart. It will reduce GHG emissions and nitrogen runoff and aligns well with our commitment to sustainably source our 10 priority ingredients by 2020.”

General Mills is partnering with Walmart to commit $100,000 to provide assistance to farmers for the purchase of these new technologies which will contribute to the six million ton GHG commitment made earlier this year. Although the fund will not cover the entire cost of the technology, the aim is to help offset farmers’ improvement investments.

“By collaborating with some of the best companies and technologies in the world, we believe we can find the breakthrough innovation that will help farmers reduce environmental impacts while improving farm profitability,” said Mike Helser, leader of the General Mills Worldwide Innovation Network program. “Our connected innovation approach has enabled product development and enhancements in the past and we are excited to expand our program.”

Proposals are due by September 1, 2014 and winners will be announced on October 1, 2014. The winners of the challenge will be invited present their technologies at the mid-winter Field to Market workshop held in Idaho Falls in early 2015. Entries are now being accepted at gwin.com/sustainability.

About General Mills
General Mills is one of the world’s leading food companies, operating in more than 100 countries around the world. Its brands include Cheerios, Fiber One, Haagen-Dazs, Nature Valley, Yoplait, Betty Crocker, Pillsbury, Green Giant, Old El Paso, Wanchai Ferry, Yoki and more. Headquartered in Minneapolis, Minn., USA, General Mills had fiscal 2014 worldwide sales of US $17.9 billion.

About G-WIN
General Mills Worldwide Innovation Network (G-WIN) actively seeks partners who can help deliver breakthrough innovation. G-WIN enhances and accelerates the company’s innovation efforts by teaming up with world-class innovators from outside of General Mills.

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – General Mills today unveiled its line-up of new products set debut this summer. Leading this collection is a host of new products to align with growing consumer interest in wellness, including new Yoplait Plenti, Nature Valley Toasted Oats Muesli, and Annie’s organic soups.

The company’s broad portfolio of new products can be found in its 2015 New Product Showcase, available on the General Mills company blog, A Taste of General Mills

“General Mills has been growing for more than a century, constantly innovating and investing to meet changing consumer needs. As we enter fiscal 2016, we are keenly aware of our consumers changing food preferences. This presents a tremendous opportunity to create growth for General Mills,” said Ken Powell, General Mills Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. “We remain deeply committed to following our consumers and adapting our portfolio to their tastes and interests.”

Powell and other General Mills executives will discuss the company’s Fiscal 2016 plans for growth at its Investor Day event in Boston on Tuesday, July 14. A webcast of the company’s Investor Day presentation is available here.

Addressing Wellness

Around the world consumers are focused on wellness and have new interests in products make with simple ingredients, foods free from gluten, natural and organic foods, foods that deliver more fiber, more protein and more whole grain, and foods free from artificial ingredients. General Mills is responding to these evolving consumer preferences with:

Nature Valley Toasted Oats Muesli – A blend of simple ingredients including toasted oats, sun flower seeds, dried cranberries, raisins, toasted coconut, almonds and pumpkin seeds, new Nature Valley Toasted Oats Muesli can be eaten plain, with milk or yogurt. Each quarter-cup serving has less than 5 grams of sugar. Available in Original or Blueberry flavors in the U.S., and Field Berry and Coconut Almond varieties in Canada.

Yoplait Plenti – This new line from Yoplait combines Greek Yogurt with whole grain oats, flax and pumpkin seeds for hearty, protein-packed yogurt. With 12 grams of protein in each cup, Yoplait Plenti is available in eight flavors including blueberry, black cherry, coconut, peach raspberry, spiced apple, strawberry and vanilla.

Annie’s organic soups – Available in the soup aisle for the first time, Annie’s introduces its new organic soup line in flavors like Star Pasta & Chicken Soup, Tomato Soup, Creamy Tomato & Bunny Pasta Soup, Bunny Pasta & Chicken Broth Soup and Creamy Carrot & Bunny Pasta.

Food Should Taste Good Real Good Bars – These delicious, indulgent bars combine large, whole nuts, seeds and real fruit pieces with fair trade chocolate and unexpected culinary spices like Madagascar vanilla, shaved coconut and chai. Food Should Taste Good Real Good Bars are gluten free and contain no-GMOs, no artificial colors, flavors or preservatives.

Nature Valley Simple Nut Bars – Simply made with the inherent goodness of whole nuts, seeds, honey, tapioca syrup and sea salt, these naturally gluten-free bars come in two varieties: Almond, Cashew & Sea Salt, and Roasted Peanut & Honey.

Cheerios Plus—In Canada, Cheerios Plus combines delicious toasted Cheerios with crunchy granola clusters mixed with nutritious protein or flax seed. Available in Cinnamon Coconut and Honey Almond.

Yoplait O’Fruit – In China, this drinkable yogurt has big fruit pieces that requires an extra-large straw to drink. It is one of three different lines of Yoplait launching this summer in China, which also includes Perle de lait, a thick and creamy French style yogurt, and Panier de fruits, a fruit-on-the-bottom yogurt.
The company has also announced significant moves to update the recipes for existing products in the U.S. including reducing sugar in Yoplait Original by 25 percent. General Mills has also made significant announcements on cereal. In February, General Mills said it would make the most popular flavors of Cheerios gluten-free, thanks to the company’s newly developed technology that separates its oats, which are naturally gluten-free, from other gluten-containing grains that find their way into the oat supply.

And just last month, General Mills announced it would remove artificial flavors and colors from artificial sources in Big G cereals, replacing these ingredients with fruit and vegetable juices and spice extracts. Seventy-five percent of the Big G portfolio will meet this claim by January with the remainder by the end of calendar year 2017.

Meal time short-cuts

While consumers are increasingly interested in wellness, they are also seeking contemporary solutions to help save time in the kitchen.

“Many millennials enjoy cooking and are interested bringing ethnic, international flavors to meal time. They cook from scratch less often than previous generations and look to convenient short cuts that not only satisfy their desire to cook, but also allow them to put dinner on the table in 20 to 30 minutes,” said Jeanine Bassett, vice president of Consumer Insights at General Mills.

General Mills, who has a long history of convenient meal helpers, is introducing new, convenient products that allow consumers to customize meal time. Most notable, this includes:

Progresso Cooking Stock – Progresso’s new line of premium Cooking Stocks are made by simmering real bones, vegetables and herbs to create a meaty, homemade flavor. And, with no artificial flavors or preservatives, Progresso Cooking Stock can be a go-to starter for soups, sauces and other culinary creations.

Green Giant Fire Roasted Vegetables – For the first time, Green Giant is bringing mouthwatering fire roasted vegetables to the frozen aisle, making it easy to create restaurant inspired dishes at home. Available in four varieties: Fire Roasted Zucchini, Carrots and Onions; Fire Roasted Corn, Peppers &Onions; Fire Roasted Root Vegetables with Red Onions; and Fire Roasted Tri-Color Peppers.

Old El Paso Mini Taco Boats – Say yes to tacos with Old El Paso’s new Mini Soft Tortilla Taco Boats. Its mini size fits perfectly in your hand, and the boat shape makes tacos easier to serve and hold, even packed full of all your favorite fresh fixings.
Latina Fresh Gluten Free Pasta – Gluten-free households across Australia can now enjoy a delicious pasta dinner with new Gluten-Free Pastas from Latina Fresh. Made with quality ingredients and no artificial colors or flavors, the Latina Fresh gluten free line includes Fettuccini, Lasagna sheets, Beef Ravioli and Ricotta & Spinach Agnolotti.
Sweet Treats

Even people following a wellness lifestyle, can find a little room for an indulgent treat. General Mills is introducing new a range of sweet treats from the ultra-indulgent to the permissible:

Cinnabon Mini Pull-Aparts – Pillsbury brings Cinnabon’s deliciously fluffy and gooey cinnamon rolls home in delectable, bite-sized pieces. Each package of new Cinnabon Mini Pull-Aparts comes with 12 mini pull-apart rolls and signature Cinnabon cinnamon and creamy frosting.

Häagen-Dazs Stick Bars – In France, Häagen-Dazs introduces a new line of ice cream stick bars in five flavors: Macadamia Nut Brittle, Salted Caramel, Pralines & Cream, Vanilla Caramel Almond, and Chocolate Choc Almond.

FiberOne Cheesecake Bars – Consumers seeking a wellness lifestyle can still make room for indulgence. With only 150 calories, these new bars are made with irresistible layers of graham cracker crust, creamy cheesecake and flavorful toppings like strawberry and salted caramel.
Betty Crocker Mug Cake – In Brazil, Betty Crocker introduces a no-bake mug cake, a baking mix that can be prepared in a coffee mug and heated the microwave for 90 seconds. Available in four varieties: Brigadeiro, Beijinho, Paçoca and Orange.
Food for Fun

General Mills is also tapping into some of the hottest movie equities with products featuring Minions, Star Wars and Disney’s Frozen, letting consumers of all ages bring the magic of the movies into their lives to make breakfast and snacking fun. New to shelves will include Limited Edition Star Wars and Minions cereals, in addition to Yoplait Go-Gurt and kid yogurts featuring characters from Disney’s Frozen.

About General Mills
General Mills is one of the world’s leading food companies, operating in more than 100 countries around the world. Its brands include Cheerios, Fiber One, Häagen-Dazs, Nature Valley, Yoplait, Betty Crocker, Pillsbury, Green Giant, Old El Paso, Wanchai Ferry, Yoki and more. Headquartered in Minneapolis, Minn., USA, General Mills had fiscal 2015 worldwide sales of US $18.8 billion.

ST. LOUIS –Throughout the corn-growing season, farmers across the Midwest will battle corn rootworms. Now there is a new tool to help them combat this yield-robbing pest. Genuity® has launched a free application (app) available for iPad® device users that helps farmers assess their risk for corn rootworm pressure and provides field-specific recommendations for the farmer.

This app was designed by Monsanto insect management technical development representatives, product managers and technical agronomists and is the first app to provide users with valuable information related to rootworm risk and active pest management for the current season.

“After watching corn growers battle this damaging pest season after season, we saw a real need for this kind of app to assist farmers in making management decisions in real time,” said Tom Eickhoff, agronomic systems lead for Monsanto. “In addition to proven Genuity trait performance and in-field experts, this free app is another great resource for our farmers.”

The Genuity Rootworm Manager app allows farmers to do a field-by-field assessment that considers several important factors to determine the threat from corn rootworm to the crop. The Genuity Rootworm Manager app uses several crop and corn rootworm metrics to evaluate risk of plant injury from corn rootworm, including field location, pest population and previous crop and pest management history.

“This tool follows proven pest management recommendations for scouting, practicing crop rotation, utilizing dual modes of action when planting and suggesting specific insecticides based on crop type,” says Eickhoff. “Plus this app allows the user to set alerts, take custom notes, access scouting reports and share results via email.”

For more information, visit Genuity.com/RootwormManager or visit the iTunes® App Store to download.

About Monsanto Company
Monsanto Company is a leading global provider of technology-based solutions and agricultural products that improve farm productivity and food quality. Monsanto remains focused on enabling both small-holder and large-scale farmers to produce more from their land while conserving more of our world’s natural resources, such as water and energy. To learn more about our business and our commitments, please visit: www.monsanto.com. Follow our business on Twitter® at www.twitter.com/MonsantoCo, on the company blog Beyond the Rows at www.monsantoblog.com, or subscribe to our News Release RSS Feed.

Individual results may vary and performance may vary from location to location and from year to year. This result may not be an indicator of results you may obtain as local growing, soil and weather conditions may vary. Growers should evaluate data from multiple locations and years whenever possible.

Always read and follow grain marketing and all other stewardship practices and pesticide label directions. Genuity® is a registered trademark of Monsanto Technology LLC. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. ©2014 Monsanto Company.

– See more at: http://news.monsanto.com/press-release/products/genuity-launches-first-its-kind-app-technology-corn-rootworm-risk-assessment#sthash.c8obMQwi.dpuf

Glencore plc (“Glencore”) is pleased to announce that it has entered into a definitive agreement with Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (“CPPIB”) for the purchase by a wholly owned subsidiary of CPPIB of a 40% equity interest in Glencore Agricultural Products (“Glencore Agri”), for an aggregate consideration of US$2.5 billion payable in cash upon closing, subject to customary working capital closing adjustments (‘’the Transaction’’).

The Transaction values 100% of the equity in Glencore Agri at US$6.25 billion. As at 31 December 2015, the business had long-term debt of US$0.6 billion and working capital (net of cash) of US$3.0 billion (including readily marketable inventories of US$2.5 billion) which it intends to finance with short term debt on closing.

The Transaction is subject to customary regulatory approvals and closing conditions and is expected to close during the second half of 2016. The proceeds from the Transaction will be used by Glencore to reduce net indebtedness.

Glencore Agri is a differentiated and vertically-integrated business focused on the global agricultural products value chain. Built around a network of high-quality origination and logistics assets, comprising over 200 storage facilities, 31 processing facilities and 23 ports in strategic
locations around the world, Glencore Agri is well-positioned in key export regions and in the trade of major agricultural commodities including grains, oilseeds products, rice, sugar, pulses and cotton. In the year to 31 December 2015, Glencore Agri reported earnings before interest
and tax of US$524 million, and at 31 December 2015 had gross assets of US$10,187 million.

Upon closing, Glencore Agri will be governed by its own board of directors. CPPIB shall have the right to appoint two directors to the Board of Glencore Agri alongside two Glencoreappointed directors and the CEO, Chris Mahoney. At shareholder meetings Glencore and CPPIB representatives shall vote in proportion to their shareholdings, subject to certain reserved matters.

In addition, and consistent with the mutual commitment to a successful long-term partnership, Glencore and CPPIB have agreed to an initial four year lock-up period subject to a carve-out for Glencore to sell up to a further 20% stake. As well as customary exit provisions, including a right of first refusal, each of Glencore and CPPIB may call for an initial public offering of Glencore Agri after eight years from the date of closing.

Commenting on the Transaction, Ivan Glasenberg, CEO of Glencore, said:
“We are pleased to be partnering with CPPIB as we embark on the next stage of the development of Glencore Agri. Under Glencore’s ownership the business has been successfully rebased, particularly following the Viterra acquisition in 2012 and is well-positioned to benefit from long-term global macro and sector trends. CPPIB have a proven track record in the sector and share our vision for the future growth of the business through value-creating organic and inorganic growth opportunities for the benefit of all stakeholders. We welcome them aboard and look forward to continuing our good relationship as we work together.”

Commenting on the Transaction, Chris Mahoney, CEO of Glencore Agri, said:
“This is an important day in the evolution of Glencore Agri, and we look forward to working with CPPIB to continue to build the Glencore Agri business over the long-term. With the investment potential created by this partnership, and given the existing network of high-quality origination,
logistics and port assets in key export regions, the business is now well-placed to take advantage of the significant opportunities that are expected to emerge across the sector in the coming years.”

Commenting on the Transaction, Mark Jenkins, Senior Managing Director and Global Head of Private Investments at CPPIB, said:
“As an asset class, agriculture is an excellent fit for a long-term investor like CPPIB, and we are excited about the opportunity to acquire a significant stake in Glencore Agri, a leading agricultural business. Glencore Agri complements our existing portfolio of agriculture assets,
bringing global exposure, scale and diversification. In addition, Glencore Agri’s experienced management team has a proven track record of growth, and combined with a successful business model, we see this as a compelling opportunity that aligns with CPPIB’s long-term investment horizon.

With key international climate negotiations quickly approaching in Paris, Paul Grimwood, Nestlé USA’s Chairman and CEO, released a joint letter to U.S. and world leaders alongside the chief executive officers of Mars, Incorporated, General Mills, Unilever, Kellogg Company, New Belgium Brewing, Ben & Jerry’s, Clif Bar, Stonyfield Farm and Dannon USA pledging to accelerate business action on climate change and urging governments to do the same by forging a robust international agreement this December.

“Global weather patterns affect crop yields, water availability and infrastructure integrity. These changes impact the business we do every day as well as the work of farmers, suppliers and distributors across our vast network of partners, said Paul Grimwood, Chairman and CEO, Nestlé USA. “Nestlé intends to flourish for at least another 150 years, and we believe tackling climate change is key to a healthy planet and healthy people.”

The letter, coordinated by the nonprofit sustainability advocacy organization Ceres, was spotlighted today at a bipartisan, bicameral briefing on climate change in Washington, D.C. featuring a half-dozen food company executives, including a representative from Nestlé.

“Climate change is bad for farmers and agriculture. Drought, flooding, and hotter growing conditions threaten the world’s food supply and contribute to food insecurity,” states the letter, which appears in the Washington Post and Financial Times. “As world leaders convene in Paris you will have an opportunity to take action on climate change that could significantly change our world for the better.”

“It’s extraordinary to see these iconic food companies, many of which are long-standing competitors, unite at this pivotal moment to urge our political leaders to act swiftly and decisively on global warming, which poses a direct threat to global food supplies,” said Mindy Lubber, President of Ceres.

Nestlé has set targets to reduce direct greenhouse gas emissions per ton of product by 35 percent since 2005, by 2015. The company has also pledged to achieve 100 percent renewable energy across their operations, through RE100, a global initiative to engage, support and showcase influential companies committed to using 100 percent renewable power that now involves more than 30 companies globally.

Nestlé is a member of Ceres’ Business for Innovative Climate and Energy Policy (BICEP), an advocacy coalition of companies working with policymakers to pass meaningful energy and climate legislation. This marks the first time these businesses have publicly united on the need for a strong global climate deal at the 21st Conference of Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, also known as “COP21.” Governments of more than 190 nations will meet in Paris this December at COP21 to discuss a possible new global agreement on climate change aimed at keeping global warming below the 2°C threshold.

Read the full letter here: http://www.ceres.org/press/press-releases/global-food-companies-unite-on-climate-action

About Ceres: Ceres is a nonprofit organization mobilizing business leadership on climate change, water scarcity and other global sustainability challenges. Ceres directs the Investor Network on Climate Risk (INCR), a network of more than 110 institutional investors with collective assets totaling more than $13 trillion. Ceres also directs BICEP, an advocacy coalition of 36 businesses committed to working with policy makers to pass meaningful energy and climate legislation. For more information, visit http://www.ceres.org or follow on Twitter @CeresNews.

Davos-Klosters, Switzerland, 22 January 2020 – The World Economic Forum, the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and Rabobank, together with a growing roster of private and public sector partners have come together to launch the Food Action Alliance (FAA). The FAA brings together the international community to tackle an urgent historic challenge: to reshape the way we think, produce, supply and consume food.

The FAA is a coalition of organizations and initiatives who through collective action significantly strengthen the impact of agricultural value chains to produce food efficiently, sustainably and accessibly, in support of a transition to healthier diets and improved environmental outcomes. The FAA builds on the extensive experience of World Economic Forum’s New Vision for Agriculture initiative.

It mobilizes a next generation of multistakeholder partnerships that build on existing synergies and complementary capacities to deliver food systems that are efficient, sustainable, inclusive, nutritious and healthy in line with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It does so by providing a framework for collective knowledge and action on systemic issues such as on food security and nutrition, inclusive growth and decent jobs, environmental sustainability and climate resilience – affecting the sustainability of global food systems.

Partners of the FAA include African Development Bank (AfDB), Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), Bayer AG, Bharat Krishak Samaj (Farmers’ Forum India), Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Global Environmental Facility (GEF), Grow Africa, Grow Asia, IDH – The Sustainable Trade Initiative, Indigo Ag, Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), Rabobank, Royal DSM, Southern African Confederation of Agricultural Unions (SACAU), UPL, World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), WWF International and the World Economic Forum.

“Partners in the Food Action Alliance believe that fragmentation within the current food system represents the most significant hurdle to feeding a growing population nutritiously and sustainably. We urgently need new business models and innovative partnerships to transform the way food is produced, supplied and consumed,” said Sean de Cleene, Member of the Executive Committee and Head of Food Systems Initiative, World Economic Forum.

To achieve a vision for efficient, sustainable, inclusive, nutritious and healthy food systems, the FAA brings together stakeholders from all sectors – government, business, farmer associations, international organizations, civil society and academia – to mobilize a country driven agenda towards meeting the SDGs. Ishmael Sunga, Chief Executive Officer of the Southern African Confederation of Agricultural Unions (SACAU) said: “Putting farmers at the heart of discussions for solutions and actions is key to implement pathways for food systems transformation. Partners in the Alliance have the potential to significantly support economic development, decent jobs, sustainable and resilient agriculture practices, benefiting millions of smallholder farmers.”

The current food system is not structured to cope with a rapidly growing population, climate shocks and the rise of hunger and obesity. Under business-as-usual scenarios, an estimated 637 million people will be undernourished while health systems could face a bill of $1.2 trillion every year from 2025 for treating medical conditions related to obesity. Today’s agricultural supply chain, from farm to fork, accounts for between 21% to 37% of greenhouse gas emissions.

The food system is inefficient in many respects. For example, around one-third of food, accounting for around $1 trillion, is wasted across the supply chain. Many farming methods that are successful in increasing output – and therefore farmer incomes – deplete natural resources such as soils and forests, making them unsustainable in the longer term.

“We need wider and deeper collaboration along the food value chain to de-risk investing in agriculture. This will in turn allow financial system partners and investors to come in and provide the much-needed access to finance. The Food Action Alliance brings these players together in coalitions, which can jointly create solutions for people, planet and markets,” said Wiebe Draijer, Chairman of the Managing Board, Rabobank.

The Food Action Alliance will play a key role in advancing the goals toward the United Nations 2021 Food Systems Summit, which will bring together the international community raising the urgency for food system transformation to the highest level. Agnes Kalibata, President, AGRA and the UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for the 2021 Food Systems Summit said: “We need transformative thinking and action to achieve the goals we have set for ourselves by 2030 – for people, for the environment and for our shared future. By demonstrating concrete business models and pathways to transforming food systems, the Food Action Alliance is a great example of a new approach that can make a significant contribution to the 2021 Food System Summit and, more importantly, deliver on aspirations of countries and all our people.”

The Food Action Alliance will be initially active in Latin America, Africa, India and South-East Asia. Various multistakeholder consultations are taking place to identify flagship opportunities for improving the scale and sustainability of existing agricultural value chains. Expert groups focused on generating and disseminating knowledge and developing new solutions on issues such as resilient farming practices, financial solutions and technology platforms will support existing and new initiatives.

“The Food Action Alliance provides the links between projects, initiatives and organizations needed to achieve change at scale. Together, we believe that coordinated action has the potential to improve the economic livelihoods of hundreds of millions of smallholder farming families and create a sustainable food system for future generations”, said Gilbert F. Houngbo, President of IFAD.

The World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2020 is taking place from 21-24 January in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland. The meeting brings together nearly 3,000 global leaders from government, international organizations, business, civil society, media, culture, foremost experts and the young generation from all over the world, at the highest level and in representative ways. Convening under the theme, Stakeholders for a Cohesive and Sustainable World, participants are focused on defining new models for building sustainable and inclusive societies in a plurilateral world. The meeting engages some 50 heads of state and government, more than 300 ministerial-level government participants and business representation at the chief executive officer and chair level.

ALPHARETTA, Georgia, — Golden Peanut and Tree Nuts, a subsidiary of Archer Daniels Midland Company (NYSE: ADM), announced today that it will invest to significantly expand the capacity of its peanut oil processing facility in Dawson, Georgia.

“The peanut—and peanut oil—business in the U.S. is poised for growth, and we’re investing to meet our customers’ needs,” said Greg Mills, president, Golden Peanut and Tree Nuts. “Consumers today are looking for cleaner labels, and peanut oil is non-GMO, non-trans fat, and—when highly refined—allergen-exempt. The U.S. is currently a net importer of peanut oil, and with the increase we’re seeing in domestic demand as well as the current strong outlook for the U.S. peanut crop, Golden is ready to meet customer needs with domestic production.”

The project is targeted for completion in Q2 of 2016.

About Golden Peanut and Tree Nuts
Golden Peanut and Tree Nuts, a subsidiary of Archer Daniels Midland Company, is a leading handler, processor and exporter of peanuts and tree nuts. Headquartered in Alpharetta, Georgia, the company has 13 processing facilities in the U.S., one in Argentina and three in South Africa.

About ADM
For more than a century, the people of Archer Daniels Midland Company (NYSE: ADM) have transformed crops into products that serve the vital needs of a growing world. Today, we’re one of the world’s largest agricultural processors and food ingredient providers, with more than 33,000 employees serving customers in more than 140 countries. With a global value chain that includes more than 460 crop procurement locations, 300 ingredient manufacturing facilities, 40 innovation centers and the world’s premier crop transportation network, we connect the harvest to the home, making products for food, animal feed, chemical and energy uses. Learn more at www.adm.com.

DECATUR, Ill., – Golden Peanut Company LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Archer Daniels Midland Company (NYSE: ADM), announced today that it has acquired the assets of SA Groundnut Marketing (PTY) Ltd. (SAGM), which will become part of Golden Peanut and Tree Nut S.A.

“This is an exciting expansion in Golden Peanut’s South African operations,” said Kris Lutt, president, Golden Peanut Company. “The facility in Hoopstad will help us serve our customers by adding to our global capacity while expanding our grower network in one of the best peanut growing regions in South Africa.”

Late last year, Golden Peanut entered into the South African peanut market with the purchase of an 80 percent ownership stake in a bulk warehouse and a shelling plant in Hartswater. The Hoopstad facility, which is located in one of South Africa’s prime peanut growing regions, builds on that investment. Golden Peanut, which has been managing operation of the plant under contract with SAGM since April 2014, intends to retain the vast majority of the company’s full-time employees, and will continue to employ many of the seasonal and part-time workers traditionally employed by SAGM.

“We look forward to welcoming the Hoopstad employees to the Golden Peanut and ADM team, and working with them to help align the facility with our certifications and standards,” Lutt added. “We also are excited to show our new suppliers how they will benefit by working with Golden Peanut and ADM.”

Since 1990, global production of peanuts, also known as groundnuts, has nearly doubled, from 22 million to 40 million metric tons, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

About Golden Peanut
Golden Peanut, a wholly owned subsidiary of Archer Daniels Midland Company, is a leading handler, processor and exporter of raw process peanuts, peanut oil and peanut-related ingredients. Headquartered in Alpharetta, Georgia, the company operates seven processing facilities in the U.S. and one in Argentina. In South Africa, Golden Peanut is the majority owner of a bulk warehouse and shelling plant in Hartswater, and is 50 percent owner of pecan processor and marketer GPC Pecan S.A.

About ADM
For more than a century, the people of Archer Daniels Midland Company (NYSE: ADM) have transformed crops into products that serve vital needs. Today, 31,000 ADM employees around the globe convert oilseeds, corn, wheat and cocoa into products for food, animal feed, industrial and energy uses. With more than 270 processing plants, 470 crop procurement facilities, and the world’s premier crop transportation network, ADM helps connect the harvest to the home in more than 140 countries. For more information about ADM and its products, visit www.adm.com.

As AGCO’s newest core brand, GSI’s long and proud history of supporting farmers has accelerated as a member of the AGCO family. Together AGCO and GSI continue to demonstrate that they are aggressive global innovators of agricultural solutions, offering technology based products that impact many sectors of the agricultural industry.

GSI is the leading manufacturer of grain storage systems and a full line supplier of swine and poultry production equipment. GSI equipment is constantly evolving to give you more control, with less complexity, over your operation. “Technology continues to change farming practices. At GSI we are integrating technology into our product designs to provide industry leading reliability, efficiency, and ease of use” Jeff Feldkamp, GSI’s Director of Engineering – North America.

GSI Grain Systems are designed to give you control over your operation and returns on your investments. Whether you store grain on your own farm or through your local elevator, GSI supports you with quality products and services by providing a complete line of durable storage, drying and material handling equipment. With the largest product offering available to them, GSI Dealers can create a system designed to meet your farm’s specific needs, no matter your size. GSI equipment and control systems have continued to evolve with technology, allowing you to monitor your system and stay in control no matter where you are. GSI Grain Systems empower you to start your harvest earlier, control your harvest schedule, and market your grain when and where you choose, allowing you to capture premium prices when the time is right. With GSI, you get products that not only save you money, but make you money.

GSI Protein equipment, through its Automated Production Systems (AP) and Cumberland brands, deliver swine and poultry farmers a full line of reliable and efficient solutions. GSI provides growers with feed storage and delivery systems designed to perform in the harsh environment of livestock production facilities while optimizing feed conversions to maximize profits. Providing the ideal environmental conditions is essential in maintaining health and achieving the reproductive and growth potential of both swine and poultry. GSI provides a full line of durable and energy efficient heating, cooling and ventilation products combined with sophisticated, yet simple to operate, control systems that monitor and maintain the environment while providing offsite access and notification of any problems that arise. Animal agriculture is a twenty-four hour a day job and swine and poultry producers rely on GSI’s rugged products, industry leading support and trained Dealer network to provide peace of mind and a return on their investment.

As global populations continue to grow, the need for more innovative and efficient grain, poultry, and swine production equipment will become increasingly important. GSI is positioned to support this ever growing demand. Committed to delivering comprehensive solutions, GSI supports farmers around the world by continuously providing you with equipment that works as hard as you do.

www.agcocorp.com

H.J. Heinz Company and Kraft Foods Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: KRFT) today announced that they have entered into a definitive merger agreement to create The Kraft Heinz Company, forming the third largest food and beverage company in North America with an unparalleled portfolio of iconic brands.

Under the terms of the agreement, which has been unanimously approved by both Heinz and Kraft’s Boards of Directors, Kraft shareholders will own a 49% stake in the combined company, and current Heinz shareholders will own 51% on a fully diluted basis. Kraft shareholders will receive stock in the combined company and a special cash dividend of $16.50 per share. The aggregate special dividend payment of approximately $10 billion is being fully funded by an equity contribution by Berkshire Hathaway and 3G Capital.

The proposed merger creates substantial value for Kraft shareholders. The special cash dividend payment represents 27% of Kraft’s closing price as of March 24, 2015. Also, by continuing to own shares of the new combined company, Kraft shareholders will have the opportunity to participate in the new company’s long-term value creation potential.

Global Brand Portfolio Powerhouse
The combination of these iconic food companies joins together two portfolios of beloved brands, including Heinz, Kraft, Oscar Mayer, Ore-Ida and Philadelphia. Together the new company will have eight $1+ billion brands and five brands between $500 million and $1 billion. The complementary nature of the two brand portfolios presents substantial opportunity for synergies, which will result in increased investments in marketing and innovation.

Alex Behring, Chairman of Heinz and the Managing Partner at 3G Capital, said, “By bringing together these two iconic companies through this transaction, we are creating a strong platform for both U.S. and international growth. Our combined brands and businesses mean increased scale and relevance both in the U.S. and internationally. We have the utmost respect for the Kraft business and its employees, and greatly look forward to working together as we integrate the two companies.”

Warren Buffett, Chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway said, “I am delighted to play a part in bringing these two winning companies and their iconic brands together. This is my kind of transaction, uniting two world-class organizations and delivering shareholder value. I’m excited by the opportunities for what this new combined organization will achieve.”

“Together we will have some of the most respected, recognized and storied brands in the global food industry, and together we will create an even brighter future,” said John Cahill, Kraft Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. “This combination offers significant cash value to our shareholders and the opportunity to be investors in a company very well positioned for growth, especially outside the United States, as we bring Kraft’s iconic brands to international markets. We look forward to uniting with Heinz in what will be an exciting new chapter ahead.”

“We are thrilled about the unique opportunities this merger will create for our
consumers worldwide, as well as our employees and business partners. Together, Heinz and Kraft will be able to achieve rapid expansion while delivering the quality, brands and products that our consumers love,” said Bernardo Hees, Heinz Chief Executive Officer. “Over the past two years, we have transformed Heinz into one of the most efficient and profitable food companies in the world while reinvesting behind our key brands and continuing our relentless commitment to quality and innovation.”

Management and Governance
When the transaction closes, Alex Behring, Chairman of Heinz and the Managing Partner at 3G Capital, will become the Chairman of The Kraft Heinz Company. John Cahill, Kraft Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, will become Vice Chairman and chair of a newly formed operations and strategy committee of the Board of Directors.

Bernardo Hees, Chief Executive Officer of Heinz, will be appointed Chief Executive Officer of The Kraft Heinz Company. The new executive team for the combined global company will be announced during the transition period, but no later than transaction closing.

The Board of Directors of the combined company will consist of five members appointed by the current Kraft Board, as well as the current Heinz Board, including three members from Berkshire Hathaway and three members from 3G Capital.

Long-Term Ownership
3G Capital and its principals have a proven track record of investing in and growing iconic brands. In previous transactions over the years, 3G has partnered with other long-term investors to build significant shareholder value by driving innovation and growth and expanding the international reach of its companies and brands.

Berkshire Hathaway and 3G Capital have a history of successful partnerships and are committed to long-term ownership of The Kraft Heinz Company as it strengthens its leadership position in the industry.

Commitment to Communities
The Kraft Heinz Company will be co-headquartered in Pittsburgh and the Chicago area.

Understanding the need to preserve both Heinz and Kraft’s heritage in their respective hometowns of Pittsburgh and the Chicago area, the new company is committed to supporting local charities and community relationships in the communities in which they operate.

Structure, Terms and Synergies
Existing Heinz shareholders will have a 51% ownership stake in the combined company, and existing Kraft shareholders will have a 49% ownership stake on a fully diluted basis. Each share of Kraft will be converted into one share of The Kraft Heinz Company.

The significant synergy potential includes an estimated $1.5 billion in annual cost savings implemented by the end of 2017. Synergies will come from the increased scale of the new organization, the sharing of best practices and cost reductions.

The transaction is expected to be EPS accretive by 2017. Once the transaction is complete, The Kraft Heinz Company plans to maintain Kraft’s current dividend per share, which is expected to increase over time. Kraft has no plans to change its dividend prior to closing.

The special cash dividend of $10 billion in the aggregate to existing Kraft shareholders will be paid upon closing and will be funded by an equity investment by Berkshire Hathaway and 3G Capital. Shares of the company will continue to be publicly traded.

As the cash consideration is fully funded by common equity from Berkshire Hathaway and 3G Capital, the merger is not expected to increase the debt levels of The Kraft Heinz Company. The Company is fully committed to deleveraging in a timely manner and to maintaining an investment grade rating going forward.

Approvals
The transaction is subject to approval by Kraft shareholders, receipt of regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions and is expected to close in the second half of 2015.

ABOUT HEINZ
H.J. Heinz Company, offering “Good Food Every Day”™ is one of the world’s leading marketers and producers of healthy, convenient and affordable foods specializing in ketchup, sauces, meals, soups, snacks and infant nutrition. Heinz provides superior quality, taste and nutrition for all eating occasions whether in the home, restaurants, the office or “on-the-go.” Heinz is a global family of leading branded products, including Heinz® Ketchup, sauces, soups, beans, pasta and infant foods (representing over one third of Heinz’s total sales), Ore-Ida® potato products, Weight Watchers® Smart Ones® entrées, T.G.I. Friday’s® snacks, and Plasmon infant nutrition. Heinz is famous for its iconic brands on six continents, showcased by Heinz® Ketchup, The World’s Favorite Ketchup®.

ABOUT KRAFT FOODS GROUP
Kraft Foods Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: KRFT) is one of North America’s largest consumer packaged food and beverage companies, with annual revenues of more than $18 billion. The company’s iconic brands include Kraft, Capri Sun, Jell-O, Kool-Aid, Lunchables, Maxwell House, Oscar Mayer, Philadelphia, Planters and Velveeta. Kraft’s 22,000 employees in the U.S. and Canada have a passion for making the foods and beverages people love. Kraft is a member of the Standard & Poor’s 500 and the NASDAQ-100 indices. For more information about Kraft, visit www.kraftfoodsgroup.com and www.facebook.com/kraft.

ABOUT BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY
Berkshire Hathaway and its subsidiaries engage in diverse business activities including property and casualty insurance and reinsurance, utilities and energy, freight rail transportation, finance, manufacturing, retailing and services. Common stock of Berkshire Hathaway is listed on the New York Stock Exchange, trading symbols BRK.A and BRK.B.

ABOUT 3G CAPITAL
3G Capital is a global investment firm focused on long-term value, with a particular emphasis on maximizing the potential of brands and businesses. The firm and its partners have a strong history of generating value through operational excellence, board involvement, deep sector expertise and an extensive global network. 3G Capital works in close partnership with management teams at its portfolio companies and places a strong emphasis on recruiting, developing and retaining top-tier talent. 3G Capital’s main office is in New York City. For more information on 3G Capital, please go to http://www.3g-capital.com.

The Häagen-Dazs brand is stepping up its ongoing commitment to the Häagen-Dazs loves Honey Bees™ program with a new sustainable agricultural program for its farmer suppliers in partnership with the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation. For over 40 years, the non-profit Xerces Society has worked to protect insects through the conservation of invertebrates and their habitat, and in the last 20 years has built an internationally respected pollinator conservation program. Xerces also has the largest pollinator conservation team in the world.

“The Häagen-Dazs brand is recognized worldwide for its commitment to sourcing the best ingredients and crafting them into the finest ice cream available. This partnership will enable the Häagen-Dazs brand to implement a sustainable agricultural program focused on improving the health of the bee populations near the farms where our ingredients grow,” says Alex Placzek, Director of the Häagen-Dazs brand. “Our farmer partners are equally interested in doing their part by installing and maintaining pollinator habitat that will have a direct impact on honey bee health and native pollinator populations.”

Over the course of 2015 and 2016, the Xerces staff will work with Häagen-Dazs berry and nut farmers to develop custom farm conservation plans for each farm to include assessments of the existing pollinator habitat and opportunities for improvement; implementation plans for installing wildflower meadows, cover crops and/or hedgerows; and a pesticide risk assessment and strategies for mitigating pesticide impacts.

“We are starting with the crops where we source the most volume but will continue to build out the program after this initial start to ensure the farms that grow our ingredients are safer for bees and other pollinators,” adds Placzek. “It’s simply the right thing to do to ensure that bees can continue to thrive and enrich the planet.”

“Partnering with Häagen-Dazs’ supplier-farms to foster pollinator conservation has the potential to create a significant amount of habitat for bees and reduce pesticide impacts,” says Scott Hoffman Black, Executive Director of the Xerces Society. “We are excited by the opportunity offered to us by Häagen-Dazs and value the leadership they are demonstrating in sustainable management of farms.”

Background: In 2007, beekeepers in the U.S. began reporting that 25 percent of the honey bee population across the country had mysteriously died; a staggering phenomenon scientists named Colony Collapse Disorder, or CCD. Bees are responsible for pollinating more than 100 different crops, $15 billion worth annually in the U.S., including one third of all the natural foods we eat. But honey bees were dying at an alarming rate and key scientists were stumped as to the cause.

For Häagen-Dazs ice cream, the reality of this threat spurred the super-premium ice cream maker to launch its national Häagen-Dazs loves Honey Bees campaign in 2008 to help protect the petite pollinators. The brand uses only the finest ingredients in its recipes, such as crunchy nuts and fresh fruits and berries, all pollinated by the bees. In fact, bees are the little champions behind more than 40 percent of the Häagen-Dazs brand’s ice cream flavors.

Since 2008, the Häagen-Dazs brand has donated more than $1,000,000 to fund sustainable pollination and CCD research at Pennsylvania State University and University of California, Davis.

For full details on how the Haagen-Dazs brand is helping bees and how you can take part, please visit www.Haagendazs.us You may also visit www.facebook.com/HaagenDazsUS, www.twitter.com/HaagenDazs_US, www.pinterest.com/haagendazs or watch us on YouTube at www.youtube.com/HaagenDazsUS.

About Häagen-Dazs
Crafted in 1960 by Reuben Mattus in his family’s dairy, Häagen-Dazs ice cream is the original super premium ice cream. True to tradition, we are committed to using only the purest ingredients in crafting the world’s finest ice cream. Truly made like no other®, today Häagen-Dazs ice cream offers a full range of products from ice cream and gelato to sorbet, frozen yogurt and frozen snacks in more than 65 flavors. Häagen-Dazs products are available around the globe for ice cream lovers to enjoy. For more information, please visit www.haagendazs.com.
The Häagen-Dazs trademark is licensed to Nestlé by General Mills. © HDIP, Inc.

About The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation
Protecting the Life that Sustains Us
The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation is a nonprofit organization that protects wildlife through the conservation of invertebrates and their habitat. Established in 1971, the Society is at the forefront of invertebrate protection, harnessing the knowledge of scientists and the enthusiasm of citizens to implement conservation programs worldwide. Over the last two decades, the Society has built an internationally respected pollinator conservation program that has worked with farmers on three continents. To learn more about the Society’s work, please visit www.xerces.org

HARTFORD, Conn., — Eight hundred Hartford families in need will receive enough food to supplement meals for a week plus daily essentials, thanks to a partnership between PepsiCo and Feed the Children. The event kicks off at 11:00a.m. EST at Xfinity Theatre, 61 Savitt Way, Hartford, Ct.

This is the seventh year PepsiCo and Feed the Children have partnered to help feed families in Hartford, where more than 37 percent of the population lives below the poverty line[1]. This distribution event is part of a larger initiative between the two organizations to help feed communities in cities throughout the United States.

The receiving families have been identified and preselected by Community Renewal Team, a Hartford-based not-for-profit organization that helps individuals and families access resources that will help meet immediate and longer-term needs, improve job skills, maintain or increase their independence, stabilize living situations, and achieve educational goals.

“All of us at Community Renewal Team are thrilled to be able to help with this wonderful annual event sharing food and essentials with hundreds of families from throughout the Greater Hartford area,” said Lena Rodriguez, President and CEO of Community Renewal Team. “We’re proud to work with Feed the Children and PepsiCo to make this day a huge success.”

“We’re excited to partner with Feed the Children, Community Renewal Team and Price Rite helping our friends and neighbors in the Hartford community,” said Victoria South, account manager, northeast region sales, PepsiCo’s Frito-Lay division. “Frito-Lay and PepsiCo are committed to giving back to our communities where we live and work, and providing enough food to supplement meals for a week is a small way we can help make a difference.”

Each qualifying recipient at today’s event will be given:

One 25-pound box of nonperishable food items
One 15-pound box of personal-care items
One box of AVON products
One 20-count bag of Frito-Lay Better-For-You snacks
PepsiCo beverages
Fresh produce and non-perishable food from Price Rite
Life Original Cereal
Standard Quaker Oats
Chewy Granola Bars
Volunteers from PepsiCo, Price Rite, Community Renewal Team and Feed the Children will be onsite serving families and assisting with distribution during today’s event.

About Feed the Children
Established in 1979, Feed the Children exists to defeat hunger. It is one of the largest U.S.-based charities and serves those in need in the U.S. and in 10 countries around the world. It provides food, education, essentials and disaster response. Domestically, it operates 5 distribution centers (located in Oklahoma, Indiana, California, Tennessee and Pennsylvania).

In fiscal year 2016, through its domestic and international programs, Feed the Children distributed 105 million pounds of food and essentials worldwide with a total value of $415 million, working with partner agencies to benefit 5.9 million people globally. It is accredited by GuideStar Exchange and the BBB Wise Giving Alliance.

Visit www.feedthechildren.org for more information.

About PepsiCo
PepsiCo products are enjoyed by consumers one billion times a day in more than 200 countries and territories around the world. PepsiCo generated approximately $63 billion in net revenue in 2016, driven by a complementary food and beverage portfolio that includes Frito-Lay, Gatorade, Pepsi-Cola, Quaker and Tropicana. PepsiCo’s product portfolio includes a wide range of enjoyable foods and beverages, including 22 brands that generate more than $1 billion each in estimated annual retail sales.

At the heart of PepsiCo is Performance with Purpose – our fundamental belief that the success of our company is inextricably linked to the sustainability of the world around us. We believe that continuously improving the products we sell, operating responsibly to protect our planet and empowering people around the world is what enables PepsiCo to run a successful global company that creates long-term value for society and our shareholders. For more information, visit www.pepsico.com.

GUANGDONG PROVINCE, China – H.J. Heinz Company CEO Bernardo Hees joined Chinese Government Officials today to celebrate the opening of the Company’s largest infant cereal production plant in the world. The 80,000 square meter state-of-the-art factory, located in Foshan City, Guangdong Province, ushers in a new chapter for Heinz’s growth in China, a longstanding strategic location for the Company. The grand opening and commencement of production at the factory today coincides with the 30th anniversary of Heinz’s presence in China, where the Company operates six other facilities. The factory will create 200 new jobs for the Foshan region and position Heinz to significantly increase production in the country.

“Since the Company’s founding in 1869, Heinz has been dedicated to providing the world’s highest-quality foods and beloved brands to consumers everywhere,” said Heinz CEO, Bernardo Hees. “With this new world-class facility, we are proud to deepen our commitment to China and its people. The new facility will allow Heinz to continue to grow and exceed consumer expectations, while sustaining our leadership in the food industry.”

Hees praised the Guangdong Province’s regional workforce and cited the factory’s strategic location as another asset for continued growth. Located between East and Southeast Asia, Foshan is one of the most dynamic business environments in the Pearl River Delta economic zone.

“We are proud to welcome Heinz to our region,” said Mr. Liu Yuelun, Party Chief of Foshan Municipality. “We have worked closely with Heinz and Mr. Hees as this impressive project has come to life, and we will support the Company’s continuing development in this region that is rich with opportunity.”

Heinz’s Commitment to Food Safety Remains Paramount at New Factory

The new factory integrates the food industry’s most advanced infrastructure to uphold the Company’s relentless focus on quality and safety. Advanced technologies, including drum dryers, powder handling systems and packaging machinery from global leaders including Andrtiz Gouda, GEA Group, and Bosch, will enhance production speed, while ensuring the most stringent quality controls. Every product that leaves this factory must undergo rigorous quality tests, from raw materials through semi-finished product to finished products, before being shipped to market.

Additionally, addressing Chinese consumers’ concerns about food allergens, this facility will completely isolate allergens from raw material storage to the production process in order to exceed international standards and serve as an industry leader in the handling of allergens.

Three Decades of Efforts Establishes a No. 1 Infant Food Brand

One of the first Fortune 500 companies to enter China, today Heinz is one of the world’s largest producers of baby rice cereal and bottled baby food, trusted globally for its quality and enduring expertise in infant nutrition. Heinz infant cereals have been available in the Chinese market for 30 years, constantly holding the No. 1 market position. Data shows that more than 50% of infants in China eat Heinz products on a regular basis.

“We have consistently lived our Heinz value of putting the consumer first, focusing on the development and innovation of infant nutrition ranging from infant formula and cereals to wet baby foods and noodles, to teething rusks, and nutritional snacks. We are committed to providing Chinese babies with the safest and highest quality foods,” said Grace Chen, Managing Director of Heinz China.

The launch of this plant is a milestone for the continued strategic growth of Heinz in China, and around the world, as well as the evolution of China’s infant food industry.

ABOUT HEINZ: H.J. Heinz Company, offering “Good Food Every Day”™ is one of the world’s leading marketers and producers of healthy, convenient and affordable foods specializing in ketchup, sauces, meals, soups, snacks and infant nutrition. Heinz provides superior quality, taste and nutrition for all eating occasions whether in the home, restaurants, the office or “on-the-go.” Heinz is a global family of leading branded products, including Heinz® Ketchup, sauces, soups, beans, pasta and infant foods (representing over one third of Heinz’s total sales), Ore-Ida® potato products, Weight Watchers® Smart Ones® entrees, T.G.I. Friday’s® meals & snacks, and Plasmon infant nutrition. Heinz is famous for its iconic brands on six continents, showcased by Heinz® Ketchup, The World’s Favorite Ketchup®.

GUANGDONG PROVINCE, China- -H.J. Heinz Company CEO Bernardo Hees joined Chinese Government Officials today to celebrate the opening of the Company’s largest infant cereal production plant in the world. The 80,000 square meter state-of-the-art factory, located in Foshan City, Guangdong Province, ushers in a new chapter for Heinz’s growth in China, a longstanding strategic location for the Company. The grand opening and commencement of production at the factory today coincides with the 30th anniversary of Heinz’s presence in China, where the Company operates six other facilities. The factory will create 200 new jobs for the Foshan region and position Heinz to significantly increase production in the country.

“Since the Company’s founding in 1869, Heinz has been dedicated to providing the world’s highest-quality foods and beloved brands to consumers everywhere,” said Heinz CEO, Bernardo Hees. “With this new world-class facility, we are proud to deepen our commitment to China and its people. The new facility will allow Heinz to continue to grow and exceed consumer expectations, while sustaining our leadership in the food industry.”

Hees praised the Guangdong Province’s regional workforce and cited the factory’s strategic location as another asset for continued growth. Located between East and Southeast Asia, Foshan is one of the most dynamic business environments in the Pearl River Delta economic zone.

“We are proud to welcome Heinz to our region,” said Mr. Liu Yuelun, Party Chief of Foshan Municipality. “We have worked closely with Heinz and Mr. Hees as this impressive project has come to life, and we will support the Company’s continuing development in this region that is rich with opportunity.”

Heinz’s Commitment to Food Safety Remains Paramount at New Factory

The new factory integrates the food industry’s most advanced infrastructure to uphold the Company’s relentless focus on quality and safety. Advanced technologies, including drum dryers, powder handling systems and packaging machinery from global leaders including Andrtiz Gouda, GEA Group, and Bosch, will enhance production speed, while ensuring the most stringent quality controls. Every product that leaves this factory must undergo rigorous quality tests, from raw materials through semi-finished product to finished products, before being shipped to market.

Additionally, addressing Chinese consumers’ concerns about food allergens, this facility will completely isolate allergens from raw material storage to the production process in order to exceed international standards and serve as an industry leader in the handling of allergens.

Three Decades of Efforts Establishes a No. 1 Infant Food Brand

One of the first Fortune 500 companies to enter China, today Heinz is one of the world’s largest producers of baby rice cereal and bottled baby food, trusted globally for its quality and enduring expertise in infant nutrition. Heinz infant cereals have been available in the Chinese market for 30 years, constantly holding the No. 1 market position. Data shows that more than 50% of infants in China eat Heinz products on a regular basis.

“We have consistently lived our Heinz value of putting the consumer first, focusing on the development and innovation of infant nutrition ranging from infant formula and cereals to wet baby foods and noodles, to teething rusks, and nutritional snacks. We are committed to providing Chinese babies with the safest and highest quality foods,” said Grace Chen, Managing Director of Heinz China.

The launch of this plant is a milestone for the continued strategic growth of Heinz in China, and around the world, as well as the evolution of China’s infant food industry.

ABOUT HEINZ: H.J. Heinz Company, offering “Good Food Every Day”™ is one of the world’s leading marketers and producers of healthy, convenient and affordable foods specializing in ketchup, sauces, meals, soups, snacks and infant nutrition. Heinz provides superior quality, taste and nutrition for all eating occasions whether in the home, restaurants, the office or “on-the-go.” Heinz is a global family of leading branded products, including Heinz® Ketchup, sauces, soups, beans, pasta and infant foods (representing over one third of Heinz’s total sales), Ore-Ida® potato products, Weight Watchers® Smart Ones® entrees, T.G.I. Friday’s® meals & snacks, and Plasmon infant nutrition. Heinz is famous for its iconic brands on six continents, showcased by Heinz® Ketchup, The World’s Favorite Ketchup®.

PITTSBURGH– Building on the “happiness theme” launched in 2014, Heinz® Ketchup lovers across America are invited to share their happiest moments in an online contest. Watch this year’s promotional video now.

To enter, consumers are asked to share a short comment or video about when they are happiest and upload it to social media using the hash tag #HeinzHappyContest, or by visiting the contest website HowDoYouHappy.com.

99 people will win $100 for their creative comments and one grand prize winner will receive $5,700 for the most creative video submission.

“Heinz has been bringing enjoyment and happiness to mealtimes for generations, and we want to continue that tradition with this campaign,” said Joe Giallanella, Brand Manager for Heinz Ketchup.

This contest will be part of a broader campaign that incorporates Heinz’s Foodservice partners. Limited edition bottles will appear in stores beginning in late December with a special label asking fans, “How Do You Happy?”

“We are excited to see what makes our fans happy, and are thrilled to share their happiness with everyone else,” said Giallanella.

Contest Rules:

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY to enter the Contest. A purchase does not increase your chances of winning. Open only to legal residents of the 50 U.S. & DC, who, as of the date of entry, are 18 or older. Void where prohibited. The Heinz® Ketchup How Do You Happy Contest starts at 12:01: am ET on 12/29/14 and ends at 11:59 pm ET on 2/23/15. Sponsored by H. J. Heinz Company, L.P. For Official Rules, visit www.HowDoYouHappy.com.

About Heinz:
H.J. Heinz Company, offering “Good Food Every Day”™ is one of the world’s leading marketers and producers of healthy, convenient and affordable foods specializing in ketchup, sauces, meals, soups, snacks and infant nutrition. Heinz provides superior quality, taste and nutrition for all eating occasions whether in the home, restaurants, the office or “on-the-go”. Heinz is a global family of leading branded products, including Heinz® Ketchup, Sauces, Soups, Beans, Pasta, and Infant foods (representing over one third of Heinz’s total sales), Ore-Ida® potato products, Weight Watchers® Smart Ones® entrees, T.G.I. Friday’s® frozen snacks, and Plasmon® infant nutrition. Heinz is famous for its iconic brands on six continents, showcased by Heinz® Ketchup, The World’s Favorite Ketchup®.

HERSHEY, Pa.- The Hershey Company (NYSE: HSY) today announced the results of its first phase in tracing its global palm oil supply chain. Working in partnership with The Forest Trust (TFT), Hershey has traced its supply chain to more than 94 percent of all the mills that supply its palm and palm kernel oil globally.

Hershey’s supply mapping has given the company insight into its palm oil sources from suppliers originating back to the mill level. This information will help the company better understand if any sourcing is linked to areas of potential deforestation or social challenges within the production of its palm oil. While Hershey completes its mill-level mapping, the company has begun the next phase of work – mapping its palm oil supply chain back to the plantation level – which it expects to complete in 2016.

Key highlights of Hershey’s palm oil tracing:

More than 1,200 mills supply palm oil to Hershey manufacturing facilities worldwide
Mills are located in two regions; Southeast Asia (1,235 mills) and Central America (11 mills)
Palm oil is used in 13 Hershey plants located in three countries: The United States (9 plants), Mexico (2 plants) and China (2 plants)
Tracing Hershey’s palm oil supply is part of a commitment the company made in 2014 to source responsible, traceable palm oil. As part of this commitment, Hershey implemented a new, comprehensive palm oil sourcing policy for all of its palm suppliers.

“This first phase of mapping is critical to meeting our high standards for ethical palm oil sourcing,” said Frank Day, Vice President of Global Commodities at The Hershey Company. “We will use this information to work with our suppliers to meet our rigorous new policy requirements and Hershey’s Supplier Code of Conduct. Should issues arise in our palm oil supply chain through this process, we will work quickly to remediate them.”

The mapping work is helping to clarify the level of cooperation needed from palm oil suppliers for Hershey to achieve its responsible sourcing goals. Hershey is working with TFT, a respected global non-profit organization that works with companies to help transform the way they source their products.

The Hershey Company’s updated responsible palm oil sourcing policy is available on the company’s website.

About The Hershey Company
The Hershey Company (NYSE: HSY), headquartered in Hershey, Pa., is a global confectionery leader known for bringing goodness to the world through its chocolate, sweets, mints and other great-tasting snacks. Hershey has more than 22,000 employees around the world who work every day to deliver delicious, quality products. The company, which has more than 80 brands around the world that drive over $7.4 billion in annual revenues, includes such iconic brand names as Hershey’s, Reese’s, Hershey’s Kisses, Jolly Rancher, Ice Breakers and Brookside. Hershey is focused on growing its presence in key international markets while continuing to build its competitive advantage in North America. Additionally, Hershey is expanding its portfolio into categories beyond confectionery, finding new ways to bring goodness to people everywhere.

At Hershey, goodness has always been about more than delicious products. For 120 years, Hershey has been committed to good business by operating fairly, ethically and sustainably to make a positive impact on society. This means contributing to a better life for its employees, consumers, communities, and, ultimately, creating a bright future for children in need. This commitment is exemplified by Milton Hershey School, established in 1909 by the company’s founder and administered by Hershey Trust Company. The children who attend the school receive education, housing, and medical care — thriving as direct beneficiaries of The Hershey Company’s success.