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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

WASHINGTON, – Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced that USDA is seeking new proposals for cutting-edge projects that will provide new conservation opportunities through its competitive Conservation Innovation Grants (CIG) program. Through USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), the department will invest up to $25 million for projects that spark the development and adoption of innovative conservation technologies and approaches in areas like conservation finance, data analytics, and precision conservation to benefit producers on private agricultural and forest lands.

“Conservation Innovation Grants have played a critical role in developing and implementing creative new methods to conserve the nation’s private agricultural lands and strengthening rural communities,” said Vilsack. “Today’s announcement builds on our support of technologies and approaches that help producers increase resiliency to extreme weather such as drought and floods.”
CIG is authorized and funded under the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) and fosters innovative conservation projects that accelerate the transfer and adoption of promising technologies that benefit natural resources, agricultural production and forest management. The 2017 focus areas for project proposals include the following:

Innovative approaches that benefit historically underserved and veteran farmers and ranchers, beginning farmers and ranchers and those with limited resources;
Natural resources data analytics tools—such as software and mobile apps—that increase producer knowledge of conservation benefits and alternatives;
Precision conservation tools that uncover opportunities for better input management (for example, nutrient management addressing source, timing, rate and placement), or address in-field vulnerabilities;
Conservation finance approaches that demonstrate the potential for new investment strategies to accelerate and expand private lands conservation;
Demonstration, evaluation and quantification of the effects of water management and soil health practices to minimize off-site impacts of natural resource challenges, such as excess sediment and nutrient runoff;

Pay-for-success models that stimulate conservation adoption and achievement of measurable outcomes.
Potential applicants should review the announcement for program funding that is available on www.grants.gov. Proposals are due by Jan. 9, 2017, and final CIG funding is subject to fiscal year 2017 funding actions. American Indian tribes, state and local units of government, non-governmental organizations and individuals are eligible to submit proposals.

More information on the CIG program, including a link to application materials and submission procedures, can be found on the NRCS CIG website.

Innovative CIG projects in the conservation finance arena are testing new approaches, leveraging environmental markets and improving the ability to measure the impact of conservation actions on the landscape. For example, The Climate Trust has launched a Working Lands Carbon Fund to serve as a revolving source of financing for conservation projects that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and sequester carbon on working lands. CIG projects have also helped address water management needs, such as the SmartIrrigation Cotton App which helps schedules irrigation on operations in Georgia and northern Florida. More than one hundred and forty users, including agricultural producers and county agents, now use the app.

Since 2009, USDA has invested nearly $173 million to fund nearly 414 national CIG projects. USDA is continuing its commitment to increasing assistance to historically underserved and military veteran farmers and ranchers and the organizations that include and support them, with up to $2 million of this year’s funding has been set aside for projects that target these stakeholders.

CIG is part of the more than $29 billion USDA has invested since 2009 to help producers make conservation improvements, working with as many as 500,000 farmers, ranchers and landowners to protect more than 400 million acres nationwide, boosting soil and air quality, cleaning and conserving water and enhancing wildlife habitat. For an interactive look at USDA’s work in conservation and forestry over the course of this Administration, visit Caring for our Land, Air and Water: Preserving Precious Natural Resources forTomorrow

LA CROSSE, Wisc., Oct. 11, 2016 – Following a roundtable discussion with dairy producers near La Crosse, Wisc. today, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is offering to purchase $20 million of cheddar cheese to reduce a private cheese surplus that has reached record levels, while assisting food banks and other food assistance recipients.

While USDA projects dairy prices to increase throughout the rest of the year, many factors including low world market prices, increased milk supplies and inventories, and slower demand have contributed to a sluggish marketplace for dairy producers and caused dairy revenues to drop 35 percent over the past two years. Section 32 of the Agriculture Act of 1935 authorizes USDA to purchase surplus food to benefit food banks and families in need through its nutrition assistance programs.

“America’s farming families are being called on to demonstrate their world-famous resourcefulness and resilience in the face of this current market downturn, and USDA is making use of every tool that we have to help them,” said Vilsack. “For dairy farmers, this has included $11.2 million in payments in August through the Dairy Margin Protection Program, in addition to the surplus purchase offers. While our analysis predicts the market will improve for these hardworking men and women, reducing the surplus can give them extra reassurance while also filling demand at food banks and other organizations that help our nation’s families in need. Farmers at other points in the supply chain are also receiving a boost with over $7 billion in Agriculture Risk Coverage and Price Loss Coverage payments for the 2015 crop year, which by design kick in when times are tough. As always, we continue to watch market conditions and will explore opportunities for further assistance in the coming months. For producers challenged by weather, disease and falling revenue, we will continue to ensure the availability of a strong safety net to keep them farming or ranching.”

A solicitation will be issued shortly, and cheese deliveries to food banks and other food assistance recipients are expected to occur beginning in March 2017.

Also at the roundtable, Vilsack shared details of a new report by the USDA’s Office of the Chief Economist, which shows continued growth of the U.S. dairy sector is largely contingent on trade and that the Trans-Pacific Partnership could create an additional $150 to $300 million in annual U.S. dairy exports. Free trade agreements have contributed to the growth in U.S. dairy exports and helped to address tariff and nontariff barriers that disadvantage U.S. products in overseas markets. U.S. dairy exports to free trade agreement partners grew from $690 million in the year prior to each agreement’s entry into force to $2.8 billion in 2015, driven by lower trade barriers and increased U.S. competitiveness. For more information on TPP, visit www.fas.usda.gov/topics/trans-pacific-partnership-tpp.

USDA works to strengthen and support American agriculture, an industry that supports one in 11 American jobs, provides American consumers with more than 80 percent of the food we consume, ensures that Americans spend less of their paychecks at the grocery store than most people in other countries, and supports markets for homegrown renewable energy and materials. Since 2009, USDA has provided $5.6 billion in disaster relief to farmers and ranchers; expanded risk management tools with products like Whole Farm Revenue Protection; and helped farm businesses grow with $36 billion in farm credit. The Department has engaged its resources to support a strong next generation of farmers and ranchers by improving access to land and capital; building new markets and market opportunities; and extending new conservation opportunities. USDA has developed new markets for rural-made products, including more than 2,500 biobased products through USDA’s BioPreferred program; and invested $64 billion in infrastructure and community facilities to help improve the quality of life in rural America. For more information, visit www.usda.gov/results.

ST. LOUIS & SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif.- Monsanto Company (NYSE: MON) and Second Genome, Inc. have announced a research agreement to accelerate the discovery of new microbiome-based solutions to help farmers better manage environmental challenges on their farms. The collaboration will leverage Monsanto’s extensive genomic databases with Second Genome’s expertise in analyzing microbial function through big data metagenomics, protein discovery, machine learning, and predictive analytics. This research will immediately expand the sourcing and diversity of novel proteins for the development of next-generation insect-control solutions.

“Data science holds tremendous promise in unlocking new discoveries across our entire research and development pipeline,” said Tom Adams, Ph.D., biotechnology lead for Monsanto. “This collaboration highlights how advances in biology and data science are converging to create opportunities for agriculture to identify new solutions to age-old problems. Through Second Genome’s analytics, we aim to better predict the effectiveness of new applications across our research and crop portfolios.”

Under the agreement, Second Genome will apply its novel bioinformatics platform to predict and analyze the efficacy of beneficial proteins from the microbiome for agricultural use. The companies anticipate that the research will increase the discovery of proteins that could provide an insect-control benefit in agriculture. The multi-year agreement provides Monsanto with the option to pursue commercial opportunities resulting from insect-control research in agriculture, and Second Genome retains the right to apply discoveries in healthcare and other industries. Additional terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

“Similar to its role in human health, microbial function has a significant influence in agricultural applications and new research in microbiome science is likely to unlock new solutions for the agriculture industry,” said Glenn Nedwin, Ph.D., CEO and President at Second Genome. “This collaboration allows us to apply our broad microbiome technology platform with Monsanto’s vast microbial function data to develop new solutions that will contribute to the prosperity of growers in the future. At the same time, we can continue to focus our programs on areas of human health, where our team has demonstrated an ability to discover molecules of interest for major unmet medical needs.”

About Second Genome
Second Genome is a privately-held company based in South San Francisco, CA, that is leveraging expertise in microbiome science to discover and develop novel healthcare products, including therapeutic candidates for inflammatory bowel and metabolic diseases. Second Genome’s microbiome technology platform has broad applications in human and animal healthcare, nutrition, agriculture, the environment and industrial applications.

Please visit www.secondgenome.com for more information.

About Monsanto Company
Monsanto is committed to bringing a broad range of solutions to help nourish our growing world. We produce seeds for fruits, vegetables and key crops – such as corn, soybeans, and cotton – that help farmers have better harvests while using water and other important resources more efficiently. We work to find sustainable solutions for soil health, help farmers use data to improve farming practices and conserve natural resources, and provide crop protection products to minimize damage from pests and disease. Through programs and partnerships, we collaborate with farmers, researchers, nonprofit organizations, universities and others to help tackle some of the world’s biggest challenges. To learn more about Monsanto, our commitments and our more than 20,000 dedicated employees, please visit: discover.monsanto.com and monsanto.com. Follow our business on Twitter® at twitter.com/MonsantoCo, on the company blog, Beyond the Rows® at monsantoblog.com or subscribe to our News Release RSS Feed.

WASHINGTON, – The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has reached agreement with Brazil’s Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Food Supply to allow access for U.S. beef and beef products to the Brazilian market for the first time since 2003. Brazil’s action reflects the United States’ negligible risk classification for bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) by the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) and aligns Brazil’s regulations to the OIE’s scientific international animal health guidelines.

“After many years of diligently working to regain access to the Brazilian market, the United States welcomes the news that Brazil has removed all barriers to U.S. beef and beef product exports,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. “We are pleased that Brazil, a major agricultural producing and trading country, has aligned with science-based international standards, and we encourage other nations to do the same. Since last year alone, USDA has eliminated BSE-related restrictions in 16 countries, regaining market access for U.S. beef and pumping hundreds-of-millions of dollars into the American economy.

“The Brazilian market offers excellent long-term potential for U.S. beef exporters. The United States looks forward to providing Brazil’s 200-million-plus consumers, and growing middle class, with high-quality American beef and beef products,” Vilsack said.

Both countries will immediately begin updating their administrative procedures in order to allow trade to resume. U.S. companies will need to complete Brazil’s regular facilities registration process.

In a separate decision, USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) also recently determined that Brazil’s food safety system governing meat products remains equivalent to that of the United States and that fresh (chilled or frozen) beef can be safely imported from Brazil. Following a multi-year science based review consistent with U.S. food safety regulations for countries that export meat, poultry and egg products to the U.S., FSIS is amending the list of eligible countries and products authorized for export to the United States to allow fresh (chilled or frozen) beef from Brazil.

The Brazilian agreement is just the latest example of USDA’s ongoing efforts to knock down barriers to U.S. exports. In 2016 alone, these efforts have led to the reopening of the Saudi Arabian and Peruvian markets for U.S. beef, the South Korean market for U.S. poultry, and the South African market for U.S. poultry, pork and beef. In 2015, U.S. beef exports reached $6.3 billion thanks to aggressive efforts by USDA to eliminate BSE-related restrictions in 16 countries since January 2015, gaining additional market access for U.S. beef in Colombia, Costa Rica, Egypt, Guatemala, Iraq, Lebanon, Macau, New Zealand, Peru, Philippines, Saint Lucia, Singapore, South Africa, Ukraine, Vietnam and, now, Brazil.

The past seven years have represented the strongest period in history for American agricultural exports, with international sales of U.S. farm and food products totaling $911.4 billion between fiscal years 2009 and 2015.

Since 2009, USDA has worked to strengthen and support American agriculture, an industry that supports one in 11 American jobs, provides American consumers with more than 80 percent of the food we consume, ensures that Americans spend less of their paychecks at the grocery store than most people in other countries, and supports markets for homegrown renewable energy and materials. USDA has also provided $5.6 billion in disaster relief to farmers and ranchers; expanded risk management tools with products like Whole Farm Revenue Protection; and helped farm businesses grow with $36 billion in farm credit. The Department has engaged its resources to support a strong next generation of farmers and ranchers by improving access to land and capital; building new markets and market opportunities; and extending new conservation opportunities. USDA has developed new markets for rural-made products, including more than 2,500 biobased products through USDA’s BioPreferred program; and invested $64 billion in infrastructure and community facilities to help improve the quality of life in rural America. For more information, visit www.usda.gov/results.

ST. LOUIS- -Monsanto Company (NYSE: MON) announced today that the European Commission has granted import approval for Roundup Ready 2 Xtend® soybeans. This milestone allows for the import and food/feed use of Roundup Ready 2 Xtend soybeans into the European Union.

The European Commission’s approval follows Monsanto’s February announcement of Chinese import approval. With both the EU and Chinese import approvals and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the final stages of review for over-the-top use, Monsanto can now look forward to a full system launch in the United States in 2017 and continues to be in a strong position to supply roughly 15 million U.S. soy acres when the selling season arrives. A full system launch also is planned for Canadian soybean growers in 2017 given the previous Canadian regulatory approval for Roundup Xtend™ with VaporGripTM Technology and XtendiMax™ herbicide with VaporGrip Technology.

“We’ve seen great demand from growers for Roundup Ready 2 Xtend soybeans,” said Brett Begemann, Monsanto President and Chief Operating Officer. “Farmers are telling us they’re looking forward to the benefits of the full Xtend Crop System, including over-the-top use of dicamba and glyphosate. We’re excited to give Canadian growers this opportunity in 2017, along with US growers pending final EPA approval.”

Roundup Ready 2 Xtend is Monsanto’s newest soybean platform that includes tolerance to dicamba. This new dicamba-tolerant trait is stacked with the current Genuity® Roundup Ready 2 Yield® soybean trait technology, which offers farmers the highest yield opportunity with more beans per pod and more bushels per acre.

“It’s important to remind growers that, at this time, there are still no dicamba formulations registered for in-crop use in Roundup Ready 2 Xtend Soybeans or Bollgard II® XtendFlex® in the United States,” said Miriam Paris, U.S. soybean marketing manager. “The approvals for in-crop use of dicamba are in the late stages of review by the EPA and are tracking for a late Summer, early Fall approval. Pending dicamba over-the-top approval, growers will continue to maximize their yield opportunity through the weed management recommendations and incentives provided by Roundup Ready PLUS® Crop Management Solutions.”

About Monsanto Company
Monsanto is committed to bringing a broad range of solutions to help nourish our growing world. We produce seeds for fruits, vegetables and key crops – such as corn, soybeans, and cotton – that help farmers have better harvests while using water and other important resources more efficiently. We work to find sustainable solutions for soil health, help farmers use data to improve farming practices and conserve natural resources, and provide crop protection products to minimize damage from pests and disease. Through programs and partnerships, we collaborate with farmers, researchers, nonprofit organizations, universities and others to help tackle some of the world’s biggest challenges. To learn more about Monsanto, our commitments and our more than 20,000 dedicated employees, please visit: discover.monsanto.com and monsanto.com. Follow our business on Twitter® at twitter.com/MonsantoCo, on the company blog, Beyond the Rows® at monsantoblog.com or subscribe to our News Release RSS Feed.

WASHINGTON, – Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced that USDA is awarding $44.6 million through its Wetland Reserve Enhancement Partnership to support 10 wetland enhancement projects on private and tribal agricultural lands in 12 States. Recipients for each project are providing more than $4.3 million in matching funds, bringing the total investment to approximately $49 million. In total, the projects will help to protect, restore or enhance 15,000 wetland acres in critical watersheds across the United States.

“USDA is committed to protecting and enhancing our nation’s wetlands, which are critical to the quality of our nation’s waters, wildlife and landscapes,” said Vilsack. “By collaborating with private partners at the local and regional level, USDA is able to support innovative conservations solutions and expand the amount of dedicated resources. These are high impact projects that will ensure our land and water resources are healthy now and for the next generation.”

The Wetland Reserve Enhancement Partnership (WREP) was authorized by the 2014 Farm Bill and is administered by USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). WREP helps States, local governments, Tribes and other organizations collaborate with NRCS to work with private and Tribal landowners to voluntarily enroll eligible land into conservation easements that protect, restore and enhance wetlands on their property. WREP is a special enrollment option under the Agricultural Conservation Easement Program (ACEP).

Wetland reserve easements enable landowners to successfully reduce impacts from flooding, recharge groundwater, enhance and protect wildlife habitat and provide outdoor recreational and educational opportunities. The voluntary nature of NRCS easement programs allows effective integration of wetland restoration on agricultural land, providing benefits to farmers and ranchers who enroll in the program, as well as benefits to the local and rural communities where the wetlands exist.

Projects announcement today bring together partners leveraging technical and financial resources to address local concerns, such as water quality and flooding. Since 2009 private landowners, tribes and entities like land trusts and conservation organizations have enrolled nearly 1.3 million acres in NRCS wetland easement programs for a total NRCS investment of $3.2 billion in financial and technical assistance.

Today’s announcement includes projects in Arkansas, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Tennessee, Washington and Wisconsin.

A full list of projects funded is available on the WREP website. Examples include:

Iowa: Partners will address both long-term wetland restoration in the prairie potholes region and assist flood-affected landowners in the Iowa and Cedar River watersheds. The partnership will protect and restore up to 580 acres of prairie pothole wetlands and associated tallgrass prairie uplands on five sites within Prairie Pothole Joint Venture Priority Areas and Ducks Unlimited Living Lakes Initiative Emphasis Areas. Partner contributions will nearly double the acres of wetlands that will be protected and restored. NRCS plans to invest $3 million in this project.

Louisiana: Over the next three years, partners will enroll up to 2,100 acres of new conservation easements in seven Mississippi River Basin Initiative watersheds. Benefits to the region include increasing habitat for fish and wildlife, improving water quality by reducing nutrient and pesticide application, reducing flooding, recharging ground water and providing outdoor recreational opportunities. Significant wildlife benefits include restoration of critical habitat for the Louisiana black bear, migratory waterfowl and wetland-dependent wildlife. Special consideration will be given to historically underserved producers. NRCS plans to invest $5.1 million in this project.

New Hampshire: Due to projected increases in housing density by 2030, the U.S. Forest Service identified the Merrimack and Piscataqua-Salmon Falls River Watersheds as two of the most threatened watersheds in the nation. The goal of this project is to permanently protect, enhance and restore approximately 500 acres of wetlands, floodplains, riparian areas and upland forests in this rapidly developing area. The project will target priority wildlife habitat for the state-endangered Blanding’s turtle and New England cottontail as well as critical water resources providing multiple benefits to local communities. NRCS plans to invest $1.6 million in this project.

Tennessee: Partners in six states will enroll an additional 5,000 acres in conservation easements to improve water quality, expand habitat for federally protected species, reduce soil erosion and provide additional outdoor recreation opportunities. This is the third phase of work begun in 2012 that is on track to enroll more than 20,000 acres by 2019. The project area includes portions of 35 counties/parishes bordering the Mississippi River in Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri and Tennessee. NRCS plans to invest almost $12.2 million in this project.

Visit NRCS’s ACEP webpage to learn more about NRCS’s wetland conservation opportunities.

Since 2009, USDA has invested more than $29 billion to help producers make conservation improvements, working with a record 500,000 farmers, ranchers and landowners to protect land and water on over 400 million acres nationwide. For an interactive look at USDA’s work in conservation and forestry over the course of this Administration, visit USDA Results: Caring for our Air, Land and Water

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.

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.

WASHINGTON, – The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) reminds farmers and ranchers, families and small businesses affected by flooding in West Virginia that USDA has several programs which provide assistance before, during and after disasters. USDA staff in regional, State and county offices are ready to help.

When floods destroy or severely damage residential property, USDA Rural Development (RD) can assist with providing priority hardship application processing for single family housing. Under a disaster designation, RD can issue a priority letter for next available multi-family housing units.

As of June 28th the USDA Rural Development office in West Virginia reported that there are 364 apartments in facilities that are part of the RD Multi-Family Housing program which are available to people who have lost their homes. There are 178 one bedroom apartments, 182 two bedroom apartments, and 4 three bedroom apartments. While RD does not “place” people in these properties, the state RD office can provide the information on how flood victims can contact the owners and operators of these facilities. If you or a loved one has lost a home due to the tragic weather of June, please contact West Virginia’s USDA Rural Development State Office at (304) 284-4860 or email Housing Program Director David L. Cain at David.Cain@wv.usda.gov. Finally, while RD’s programs do not normally have disaster assistance authority, many of USDA Rural Development programs can help provide financial relief to small businesses hit by natural disasters, including low-interest loans to community facilities, water environmental programs, businesses and cooperatives and to rural utilities.

The USDA Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) coordinates with state, local and voluntary organizations to provide food for shelters and other mass feeding sites. Under certain circumstances, states also may request to operate a disaster household distribution program to distribute USDA Foods directly to households in need. In addition, FNS may approve a state’s request to implement a Disaster Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) when the President declares a major disaster for individual assistance under the Stafford Act in areas affected by a disaster. State agencies may also request a number of disaster-related SNAP waivers to help provide temporary assistance to impacted households already receiving SNAP benefits at the time of the disaster. Resources for disaster feeding partners as well as available FNS disaster nutrition assistance can be found on the FNS Disaster Assistance website.

For declared natural disasters that lead to imminent threats to life and property, the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) can assist local government sponsors with the cost of implementing recovery efforts like debris removal and streambank stabilization to address natural resource concerns and hazards through the Emergency Watershed Protection Program. In the declared West Virginia counties, NRCS staff is coordinating with state partners to complete damage assessments in preparation for sponsor assistance requests. NRCS also can help producers with damaged agricultural lands caused by natural disasters such as floods. The NRCS Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) provides financial assistance to repair and prevent excessive soil erosion that can result from high rainfall events and flooding. Conservation practices supported through EQIP protect the land and aid in recovery, can build the natural resource base, and might help mitigate loss in future events.

Severe weather forecasts often present the possibility of power outages that could compromise the safety of stored food. The USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) recommends that consumers take the necessary steps before, during, and after a power outage to reduce food waste and minimize the risk of foodborne illness. FSIS offers tips for keeping frozen and refrigerated food safe and a brochure that can be downloaded and printed for reference at home. For additional questions, call the USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline at 1-888-MPHotline (1-888-674-6854) on weekdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. ET or visit AskKaren.gov to chat live with a food safety specialist, available in English and Spanish.

The USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) administers many safety-net programs to help producers recover from eligible losses, including the Livestock Indemnity Program, the Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees, and Farm-Raised Fish Program, Emergency Forest Restoration Program (EFRP) and the Tree Assistance Program. The FSA Emergency Conservation Program provides funding and technical assistance for farmers and ranchers to rehabilitate farmland damaged by natural disasters. Producers located in counties that received a primary or contiguous disaster designation are eligible for low-interest emergency loans to help them recover from production and physical losses. Compensation also is available to producers who purchased coverage through the Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program, which protects non-insurable crops against natural disasters that result in lower yields, crop losses or prevented planting. USDA encourages farmers and ranchers to contact their local FSA office to learn what documents can help the local office expedite assistance, such as farm records, receipts and pictures of damages or losses.

Producers should use form FSA-576, Notice of Loss, to report prevented planting and failed acres in order to establish or retain FSA program eligibility. Prevented planting acreage must be reported no later than 15 calendar days after the final planting date as established by FSA and USDA Risk Management Agency (RMA). Producers must file a Notice of Loss for failed acres on all crops including grasses in a timely fashion, often within 15 days of the occurrence or when the losses become apparent. Producers of hand-harvested crops must notify FSA of damage or loss within 72 hours of when the date of damage or loss first becomes apparent.

Producers with coverage through the RMA administered federal crop insurance program should contact their crop insurance agent. Those who purchased crop insurance will be paid for covered losses. Producers should report crop damage within 72 hours of damage discovery and follow up in writing within15 days.

USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture provides support for disaster education through the Extension Disaster Education Network ( EDENThis is an external link or third-party site outside of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) website.). EDEN’s goal is to improve the nation’s ability to mitigate, prepare for, prevent, respond to and recover from disasters. Through the land-grant universities and Cooperative Extension System across the nation, EDEN links Extension educators from various disciplines to share research-based resources to reduce the impact of disasters.

For complete details and eligibility requirements regarding USDA’s disaster assistance programs, contact a local USDA Service Center ( http://offices.sc.egov.usda.gov/locator/app). More information about USDA disaster assistance ( http://www.usda.gov/documents/fact-sheet-usda-programs-assist-individuals-small-businesses.pdf) as well as other disaster resources is available on the USDA Disaster Resource Center website. In a continuing effort to better serve the public, USDA has developed a new and improved central resource for disaster related materials. In partnership with the Federal Emergency Management Agency and other disaster-focused organizations, USDA created a Disaster Resource Center ( http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/usda/usdahome?navid=disaster-help) website, utilizing a new online searchable knowledgebase. This knowledgebase is a collection of disaster-related resources that are powered by agents with subject-matter expertise. The new Disaster Resource Center website and web tool now provide an easy access point to find USDA disaster information and assistance.

BRIGHTON, Colo., The U.S. Departments of Agriculture (USDA) and Interior today announced more than $47 million in investments to help water districts and producers on private working lands better conserve water resources. The funds include $15 million in USDA funds and $32.6 million from the Bureau of Reclamation for local projects to improve water and energy efficiency and provide a strengthened federal response to ongoing and potential drought across 13 states in the West.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Reclamation Commissioner Estevan Lopez announced the funding in Brighton, Colo. The Bureau of Reclamation funding will support 76 local projects through the Department of the Interior’s WaterSMART program. Funding from USDA’s Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) will support on-farm water delivery system improvements through its Environmental Quality Incentives Program, in tandem with the 76 Interior-funded projects. Vilsack and Lopez were joined by a local water authority and landowner who spoke about the importance of the federal funding in the cost share program.

“By working with communities and producers to more wisely manage the water they have, we help ensure that this and future generations will have sufficient supplies of clean water for drinking, agriculture, economic activities, recreation, and ecosystem health,” said Secretary Vilsack. “As drought continues across the west, our farmers and ranchers are stepping up to the plate to partner with communities and strengthen efficiency to better conserve our water supply.”

“Water and energy efficiency are intricately linked,” Commissioner López said. “When we conserve water, we also conserve the energy it takes to move it. One way we can achieve these efficiencies is to bring federal resources to the table for local projects that focus on saving water. This program represents one more way we’re focusing resources on projects to provide resiliency in the face of drought.”

Interior’s funding is made available through competitive grant programs, which are part of the WaterSMART sustainable water initiative. The grants and selection process are managed by Interior’s Bureau of Reclamation, which is the nation’s largest wholesale water supplier, providing one in five western farmers with irrigation water for 10 million acres of farmland and potable water to more than 31 million Americans across 17 western states.

Of the 76 new projects announced today, Reclamation has selected 53 projects in 11 states to receive a total of $25.6 million in WaterSMART Water and Energy Efficiency Grants which, when leveraged with local and other funding sources, will complete more than $128 million in efficiency improvements. In addition to the new grants announced today, Reclamation will provide $2.1 million to support previously selected WaterSMART projects. Together, these projects are expected to enable water savings of more than 123,000 acre-feet. More details on the program and projects announced today can be found on the WaterSMART Water and Energy Efficiency Grants website.

Alongside the 53 water and energy efficiency grants, Reclamation also selected 23 additional cost share grants through its WaterSMART Drought Response Program, totaling $4.9 million, which when leveraged with cost-share funding will provide a total of $23.5 million in efforts associated with the program. More detail on the program and the projects announced today can be found on the Drought Response Program website.

Through its EQIP program, NRCS is investing $5.2 million in on-farm assistance to complement several projects that have been funded previously by BOR, and will provide an additional $10 million in 2017 to support some of the Reclamation projects announced today. NRCS is able to complement WaterSMART investments by targeting assistance in areas where WaterSMART sponsors indicated that water delivery system improvements might facilitate future on-farm improvements. NRCS will work with producers in select WaterSMART project areas to offer financial and technical assistance for practices that increase on-farm efficiencies, such as improving irrigation systems.

USDA works with private landowners to implement voluntary conservation practices that conserve and clean the water we drink. USDA support—leveraged with historic outside investments—boosts producer incomes and rewards them for their good work. At the same time, USDA investments have brought high quality water and waste services to rural communities, which are vital to their continued health and economic viability. For information on USDA’s drought mitigation efforts, visit USDA Drought Programs and Assistance. To learn more about how NRCS is helping private landowners adapt to changing climate conditions including drought, visit the NRCS’ drought resources.

This partnership is a priority action identified in the President’s Memorandum Building National Capabilities for Long-Term Drought Resilience and accompanying the Federal Drought Action Plan. USDA, as permanent co-chair, is working with DOI and other members of the National Drought Resilience Partnership to better coordinate drought-related programs and policies, help communities reduce the impact of current drought events and prepare for future droughts.

London/Rotterdam – Unilever, one of the world’s leading suppliers of Personal Care, Foods, Home Care and Refreshment products, announces that it has signed an agreement with Coca Cola FEMSA and The Coca Cola Company to sell the AdeS soy beverage business in Latin America for an aggregate amount of US$ 575 million.

“This sale is a step in reshaping our portfolio in Latin America to deliver sustainable growth for Unilever and enables us to sharpen our focus. AdeS is an iconic brand and we believe that its potential can be fully realized within the Coca-Cola system”, said Miguel Kozuszok, EVP Latin America Unilever.

“The acquisition of AdeS marks another milestone for the Coca-Cola system in providing increased choice of nutritious and delicious products to our consumers. AdeS is a leading brand in its category and we are very excited to add it to our stills portfolio. This continues the successful joint venture partnerships with our Latin American bottling partners and brings more innovative offerings to our markets,” said Brian Smith, President, Latin America Group, The Coca-Cola Company.

“AdeS complements and reinforces our non-carbonated beverage portfolio offer, providing our consumers with a wider range of choices. Together with our partner, The Coca-Cola Company, we will leverage the leading position of the AdeS brand, integrating it into our robust route-to-market model to drive value and further innovation on this new beverage platform,” said John Santa Maria, Chief Executive Officer of Coca-Cola FEMSA.

The AdeS brand currently has a presence in Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, Bolivia, Chile, and Colombia.

Nestlé in the United States welcomes the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) final rules on the revision of the Nutrition and Supplemental Facts labels and updating of the serving sizes.

“Nestlé applauds the FDA for taking these bold steps that will help consumers make more informed choices in the grocery aisle,” said Paul Bakus, President of Nestlé Corporate Affairs. “We share the FDA’s continued commitment to public health and will continue our ongoing journey to improve the nutritional quality of our foods and beverages.”

Nestlé supports food labeling that is based on sound science and presented in a simple, useful manner to help best serve consumers. Specifically, Nestlé supports:
The increased prominence of calories. Nestlé has always been in favor of giving calories more prominence, and we support the increased font size for calories in the Nutrition Facts Panel. We will also continue to inform consumers through the Facts Up Front nutrition information currently on 93% of Nestlé USA food and beverage labels.

The declaration of added sugars (and the inclusion of total sugars). Nestlé supports the FDA’s inclusion of added sugars in the Nutrition Facts Panel as a helpful tool that consumers can use to monitor their intake of added sugar. Nestlé is strongly committed to helping consumers meet the health recommendation to consume less than 10 percent of calories per day from added sugars, as illustrated by our recently updated Nestlé Policy on Sugars.

That serving sizes will be more realistic. Nestlé supports changes in serving sizes to more accurately reflect what and how much people are eating. To help consumers, Nestlé has also committed to provide on-pack portion guidance.

In line with its commitment to Good Food, Good Life®, Nestlé aims to lead industry efforts to help ensure consumers have access to the foods, beverages and information they need to make educated choices and consequently enjoy good health and wellness.

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.

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

WASHINGTON, – The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) today awarded $16.5 million in grants to support research into methods for boosting agriculture productivity and ensuring food security in the face of pests, diseases and a changing climate. In addition, USDA announced that it is seeking applications for the next round of projects, which will focus on pollinator health and plant and animal phenomics. The grants are made available through the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI), administered by USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA).

Established by the 2008 Farm Bill and re-authorized in the 2014 Farm Bill, AFRI is the nation’s premier, peer-reviewed competitive grants program for fundamental and applied agricultural sciences. In the seven years since AFRI was established, the program has led to true innovations and ground-breaking discoveries in agriculture to combat childhood obesity, improve and sustain rural economic growth, address water availability issues, increase food production, find new sources of energy, mitigate the impacts of climate variability and enhance resiliency of our food systems, and ensure food safety.

“In the face of diminishing land and water resources and increasingly variable climatic conditions, food production must increase to meet the demands of a world population projected to pass 9 billion by 2050,” said Vilsack. “Funding in research to respond to these challenges should be considered as an investment in our nation’s future, an investment which will pay big dividends in the years to come.”

The awards and available funding announced today fall into the AFRI Food Security Challenge Area, which funds projects that increase agricultural productivity and the availability and accessibility of safe, nutritious food. Fiscal year 2015 projects receiving support today focus on agriculture production systems, breeding and genomics of crops and livestock, and a national strategy for sustainable crop and livestock production. Since 2010, NIFA has awarded more than $219 million to the AFRI Food Security Challenge Area.

Fiscal year 2015 grants include:

USDA Agricultural Research Service, Fort Collins, Colo., $50,000
University of Illinois, Champaign, Ill., $2,397,840
Purdue University, West Lafayette, Ind., $500,000
Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa, $10,000
University of Kentucky, Lexington, Ky., $120,000
University of Maryland, College Park, Md., $2,397,840
Michigan State University, East Lansing, Mich., $2,327,840
University of Missouri, Columbia, Mo., $2,000,000
North Dakota State University, Fargo, N.D., $50,000
North Dakota State University, Fargo, N.D., $2,147,839
South Dakota State University, Brookings, S.D., $2,382,840
Utah State University, Logan, Utah, $150,000
Washington State University, Pullman, Wash., $40,000
Washington State University, Pullman, Wash., $2,000,000
Funded projects include North Dakota State University research to improve existing cropping systems through innovative seeding and nutrient management of cover crops. Purdue University will create a new open source framework that can help identify combinations of policies to improve the environment while ensuring food security. Information on all of these FY15 projects can be found on the NIFA website.

Fiscal year 2016 food security project proposals should emphasize pollinator health as well as breeding and phenomics of food crops and animals. Applications are due July 7, 2016 for a total of $16.8 million in available funding. For the first time, grant awards will be equally co-funded by eligible national and state commodity boards, as authorized by the 2014 Farm Bill. See the request for applications for more information.

President Obama’s 2017 budget request proposes to fully fund the AFRI program, doubling the amount that was available in 2016 to $700 million. Since its creation, AFRI has been funded at less than half the levels established in the 2008 Farm Bill, and USDA has only been able to fund one out of 10 research proposals presented, leaving thousands of innovative research proposals unfunded.

Since 2009, NIFA has invested in and advanced innovative and transformative initiatives to solve societal challenges and ensure the long-term viability of agriculture. NIFA’s integrated research, education, and extension programs, supporting the best and brightest scientists and extension personnel, have resulted in user-inspired, groundbreaking discoveries that are combating childhood obesity, improving and sustaining rural economic growth, addressing water availability issues, increasing food production, finding new sources of energy, mitigating climate variability, and ensuring food safety. To learn more about NIFA’s impact on agricultural science, visit www.nifa.usda.gov/impacts,

MINNEAPOLIS– SUPERVALU INC. (NYSE: SVU) today announced that it plans to transition to selling 100 percent cage-free eggs at its grocery retail banners by 2025 or sooner based on available supply, affordability and customer demand. Currently, cage-free eggs account for nearly 12 percent of the company’s total grocery retail egg sales.

“Our decision to move toward selling only cage-free eggs reflects our ongoing commitment to improving animal welfare practices across the industry,” said Mark Van Buskirk, SUPERVALU’s executive vice president, merchandising, marketing and retail. “Because there is currently a limited supply of cage-free eggs, the transition will take time. We will continue to work with our suppliers to move as quickly as possible toward a sustainable, 100 percent cage-free egg supply chain.”

In August 2015, SUPERVALU announced that all of its Wild Harvest shell egg products would be cage-free by the end of last year. Today, the Wild Harvest brand sells only 100 percent cage-free eggs.

“Our national Wild Harvest brand was a natural starting point for understanding customer interest and support for cage-free eggs,” said Van Buskirk. “We also offer additional store brand assortments that are 100 percent cage-free, and as the available supply increases, we will continue to expand our cage-free egg offerings.”

The company plans to report annually on its progress toward a 100 percent cage-free egg offering.

About SUPERVALU
SUPERVALU INC. is one of the largest grocery wholesalers and retailers in the U.S. with annual sales of approximately $18 billion. SUPERVALU serves customers across the United States through a network of 3,407 stores composed of 1,871 independent stores serviced primarily by the company’s food distribution business; 1,336 Save-A-Lot stores, of which 883 are operated by licensee owners; and 200 traditional retail grocery stores (store counts as of December 5, 2015). Headquartered in Minnesota, SUPERVALU has approximately 40,000 employees. For more information about SUPERVALU, visit www.supervalu.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.

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.

WASHINGTON, – The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) today announced the official launch of GroupGAP, a new certification program that helps small and mid-sized growers and cooperatives meet retailers’ on-farm food safety requirements.

“We know that GAP certification can sometimes be cost-prohibitive for smaller farmers,” said AMS Administrator Elanor Starmer. “GroupGAP allows these farmers to demonstrate compliance with strong food safety standards and share the cost of certification across a group of growers. That means greater market access for farmers, more options for consumers, and strong verification of food safety practices. It is a true win-win. We’re proud to have developed this innovative solution in partnership with our stakeholders.”

After a robust three-year pilot, AMS will today begin accepting applications for enrollment in GroupGAP, which certifies that grower groups are following industry-recognized food safety practices. By leveraging economies of scale and increasing efficiencies, GroupGAP improves market access for small and midsized farmers and benefits the entire produce industry.

The AMS Specialty Crops Inspection Division (SCI) performs Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) audits, which are voluntary audits to verify that farms are following industry-recognized food safety practices and recommendations from the Food and Drug Administration. Produce buyers, large and small, are increasingly requiring suppliers to be GAP certified. Under GroupGAP, farmers, food hubs, and cooperatives work together to obtain group certification. Their participation in the program in turn benefits retailers and other large-volume buyers, who are better able to meet the increasing demand for local foods and broaden their base of suppliers.

AMS GroupGAP audits include an analysis of the group’s system of oversight, a site visit to ensure compliance with various procedures, and spot checks to verify appropriate on-farm implementation. For more information or to submit an application, visit the GroupGAP Website at www.ams.usda.gov/services/auditing/groupgap. You can learn more about the AMS GAP Audit Program at www.ams.usda.gov/services/auditing.

GroupGAP is just one example of the many AMS programs and services that support strong local and regional food systems, as described at www.ams.usda.gov/services/local-regional. Across USDA, the Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food Initiative coordinates the Department’s policy, resources, and outreach efforts related to local and regional food systems. You can read more about the results of USDA investments in local food on the USDA website.