Nourishing the Planet

Agriculture

Growing a healthier and more hopeful future starts with how we grow our food. Our dedicated growers’ sustainable agricultural practices — from soil sampling to low pressure and drip irrigation — help us produce our fruits and vegetables with less waste and impact.

Growers Crop Traceability Seed Breeding Regenerative Agriculture Pest Management

Growers

Del Monte Foods does not own farms in the United States, so our relationships with growers and packers are central to our success.

We typically contract with roughly 700 growers across North America, many of whom are second- and third-generation growers — some have been growing with us for over 60 years! We enjoy less than two percent grower turnover, year-over-year, which we attribute in part to the investment we make in supporting growers with the latest farming technologies. New tools and techniques to track product, reduce water and fertilizer use and select more robust seeds not only ensure that our growers stay abreast of sustainable farming trends but also result in a superior product for our customers.

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Crop Traceability

Central to our engagement with our vegetable growers is our partnership with our third-party vendor, CropTrak™. Its tool allows us to track various data including traceability, sustainability, and customer audit information; we house this data in one central repository, facilitating more dynamic feedback loops with operations and partners.

Using CropTrak, we can track a diverse range of environmental and social indicators — from applied nitrogen and irrigation rates to engagement with local communities via activities such as farmers markets, local food festivals, and food banks. CropTrak will also help us improve our harvest and pack projections, grower and carrier payments, and grading systems, as well as easily collect and disseminate contractual and educational information within our value chain.

Seed Breeding

Each year, Del Monte Foods tests over 200 genetically distinct, new and upcoming varieties with the goal of identifying better plants that we can grow for years to come. If the variety performs consistently better, we scale up seed production to meet field department demand. We keep the priorities of our customers and growers in mind. Their insights into taste and hardiness provide direction for the next generation of varieties and products.

Ultimately, we test for taste, harvest cleanliness, yield, disease resistance, nutrient management, and factory performance. Our green beans are one of the greatest successes of our plant breeding program. Thanks to the ongoing selection of traits, we grow the same volume of finished green beans today on half as many acres as in 1966, thus requiring less water, energy, and fertilizer, further reducing the environmental impact.

Regenerative Agriculture

Maintaining proper soil health and nutrient balance are vital to producing healthy, high-quality fruits and vegetables as well as addressing the world’s environmental challenges, including carbon sequestration.

We define regenerative agriculture as a system of farming that aims to build soil health and protect the natural environment while improving farm resilience. We outline below specific principles and practices that are included in regenerative agriculture and we promote with our network of growers.

  • Integrated Pest Management
  • Natural habitat retention or restoration
  • Pollinator habitat development
  • Crop rotation
  • Intercropping
  • Hedgerow plantings
  • Application of livestock manure
  • Incorporate grazing animals
  • 4R nutrient management
  • Conservation tillage
  • Crop residue management
  • Grassland restoration
  • Retire marginal acres
  • Use organic fertilizers
  • Cover crops
  • Maintain roots left below soil
  • Constructed wetlands or wetland restoration
  • Drainage water management
  • Irrigation efficiency
  • Non-cultivated waterways, buffer zones, riparian zones

Pest Management

Understanding the agronomics of a new variety is important for adaptation to the environment. We encourage our farmers to work with plant and soil scientists to develop innovative farm practices and technologies designed to boost crop yields, control pests and weeds, and protect the environment.

Cutting down pesticide use at the source means that we prevent pesticides from entering our fields and foods. Each year, we actively complete lab tests for over 2,000 products, checking for pesticide residues. If pesticide residues are detected, we remove them from our products and from the fields. This feedback loop means we are closely examining the impacts new pesticides may have on our products, allowing us to maintain high standards.