McCain Cultivates a Greener Future with New 'Farms of the Future'

TORONTO, ON – February 03, 2026 – Global frozen food giant McCain Foods has unveiled significant progress in its environmental initiatives with the release of its 2025 Global Sustainability Report. The report highlights the completion of a key 2021 pledge: the establishment of three 'Farms of the Future' by 2025, culminating in the launch of a pioneering new site in the United Kingdom. This milestone coincides with the company setting refreshed and more ambitious sustainability targets for 2030, reinforcing its commitment to reshaping the future of food production.

The Root of Innovation: A UK Farm of the Future

The centerpiece of the announcement is the launch of McCain’s Farm of the Future UK. Located on a 202-hectare site in North Yorkshire, the facility is the company's third commercial-scale research hub dedicated to testing and scaling regenerative agriculture practices. Developed in partnership with the University of Leeds, the farm will serve as a living laboratory, building on learnings from its counterparts in Canada and South Africa.

What sets the UK site apart is its plan to pilot a groundbreaking circular nutrient system. In collaboration with the University of Leeds National Pig Centre, the farm will use pig manure to enrich soils, creating a closed-loop model that reduces waste and chemical fertilizer dependency. This mixed-farming approach aims to demonstrably improve soil health and biodiversity while simultaneously lowering greenhouse gas emissions.

Practices like controlled traffic farming to minimize soil compaction, maintaining year-round soil cover with cover crops, and actively building biodiversity will be central to the farm's operations. Potato production is slated to begin in 2026, with the university partnership providing independent data validation on key metrics.

"Farm of the Future UK marks an important step in how we are scaling regenerative agriculture across our global Farms of the Future effort," said Max Koeune, President and CEO of McCain Foods, in a statement. "Each site helps us test real solutions with farmers, understand what works, and share that knowledge across our grower network. This is how we strengthen the resilience of our farms, support our partners, and build a more sustainable food system for the long term."

Cultivating Change: Regenerative Agriculture in Practice

The Farms of the Future are the most visible component of McCain’s broader goal to implement regenerative agriculture practices across 100% of its global potato acreage by 2030. The company defines this as an ecosystem-based approach focused on improving soil health, optimizing water use, boosting biodiversity, and reducing reliance on synthetic inputs.

The 2025 report reveals substantial progress toward this ambitious target. Nearly 70% of the company's global acreage is now "Onboarded" to its Regenerative Agriculture Framework, which represents the initial stage of engagement and data sharing. Furthermore, 44% of acreage is considered "Engaged" or at a higher level, indicating active implementation of regenerative practices. In Great Britain, the adoption rate is even higher, with 86% of potato acreage at the "Engaged" level or above.

To facilitate this transition, McCain has provided over 25,600 hours of training to its farming partners and established financial incentives and loans to de-risk the adoption of new methods. The company has also established 30 smaller-scale "Innovation Farms" globally to test specific techniques before wider deployment.

Measuring the Impact: Emissions, Energy, and Beyond

McCain's sustainability efforts extend beyond the farm gate, with the report detailing significant achievements in its own operations. The company has achieved a 28% absolute reduction in its Scope 1 and Scope 2 greenhouse gas emissions since 2017. A key contributor to this reduction is a shift in energy sourcing, with 60% of its total electrical energy consumption now coming from renewable sources.

Looking ahead, McCain has strengthened its 2030 commitments by updating its targets with the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), ensuring they align with the latest climate science to limit global warming. This move signals a deeper focus on climate resilience and nature-based solutions.

"We are pleased with our progress... but as we look to 2030 and beyond, we recognize the years ahead will bring challenges and the journey will not be easy," stated Charlie Angelakos, Vice President of External Affairs and Sustainability. "We must build on our lessons learned as well as deep partnership and collaboration with our partners across the value chain to ensure we deliver sustainable progress and create a resilient business."

Other operational highlights include designing 98% of its packaging to be recyclable and achieving a 6% reduction in the sales-weighted average sodium content in its appetizer products since 2018.

A Global Responsibility: Supporting Communities and Good Food

Parallel to its environmental goals, McCain has advanced its social responsibility initiatives. The company surpassed a key community target, having supported 18,459 vulnerable farmers and their families since 2018 through programs designed to improve livelihoods. Initiatives like "Project Utthan" in India have reportedly helped farmers increase their income by up to 25% by transitioning to higher-yield crops.

Food donation remains a cornerstone of its community work, with 34.4 million meals donated to food banks and NGOs in 2025, bringing the total to over 226 million meals since 2017. This commitment is bolstered by employee engagement, with nearly 28,500 hours of volunteering completed in the past year alone.

By intertwining agricultural innovation, ambitious climate action, and robust community support, McCain is positioning its sustainability strategy not just as a corporate responsibility, but as a core element of its long-term business resilience and its role in the global food system.