Riceland, Hill's Pet Nutrition Announce Sustainably Grown Rice Collaboration

STUTTGART, Ark. (November 19, 2024):  Riceland Foods, Inc. and Hill’s Pet Nutrition announce a new collaboration to incentivize Riceland farmer-members to grow rice using climate-smart practices as part of the 2024 Riceland Carbon Ready™ program.  

The Riceland-Hill’s Pet Nutrition Sustainable Rice Program will focus on helping Riceland farmer-members overcome barriers to adopting environmentally-friendly practices. Hill’s Pet Nutrition will receive Scope 3 Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emission reductions that result from the updated farming practices by participating Riceland farmer-members.  

Riceland Vice President of Government Affairs & Sustainability Adam Shea said this collaboration will continue the growth and momentum the Riceland’s Carbon Ready™ Program has received since the program launched in 2022.  

“While farmers are constantly adapting their production practices to do more with less, the razor-thin margins they are faced with amplify the risk of changing too much, too soon. That’s where programs like the Riceland-Hill’s Pet Nutrition Sustainable Rice program come into play,” Shea said. “The ability to quantify the environmental impact generated through these practices and use them to help our customers achieve their climate goals creates a win-win for everyone involved.”

Riceland’s partnership with Arva Intelligence makes it possible to quantify Scope 3 GHG emission reductions. As a valued partner of the Riceland Carbon Ready™ program, Arva Intelligence will quantify the carbon reductions associated with the various sustainable farm practices in the Riceland-Hill’s Pet Nutrition Sustainable Rice Program to provide the proof points to help Hill’s achieve its goals to reduce their Scope 3 GHG emissions by 42% by 2030.  

“Hill’s Pet Nutrition continues to enhance operations to produce high-quality pet nutrition with less environmental impact,” Bas Tabak, senior director of direct procurement for Hill’s Pet Nutrition, said. “We are actively collaborating with our suppliers, like Riceland Foods, to identify ways to lower the carbon footprint across various ingredients, including rice, while also finding ways to support farmers as they transition to environmentally-friendly farming practices.”

The Riceland-Arva Intelligence partnership was established in 2022, and it has been key to the Riceland Carbon Ready™ Program success.  

“It is an honor to serve Riceland members and their clients with an impactful sustainability solution that rewards farmers for their environmentally beneficial stewardship and helps companies like Hill’s Pet Nutrition to meet their corporate emission reduction goals,” Arva Co-Founder and CEO Jay McEntire said. “We are proud that Riceland Carbon Ready™ program and partnership has become one of the leading sustainability programs that provides a win-win solution across the supply chain.”

The Riceland Carbon Ready Program™ is the gateway program for the cooperative’s farmer members to become eligible for incentives for sustainable practices on farm.