McDonald’s to pay cattle producers to feed Enogen corn
McDonald’s is looking to make their Big Macs more sustainable, and cattle producers are in line to profit from this climate-smart endeavor. McDonald’s and its meat supplier, Lopez Foods, are collaborating with Syngenta to provide per-head, per-day payments to cattle raisers who feed their cattle Syngenta’s Enogen corn and are enrolled in the Enogen Feed Forward opportunity.
Corn varieties that contain Syngenta’s Enogen trait yield an end-product with more alpha-amylase enzyme. This makes the breakdown of starch to sugar more efficient than traditional corn silage or grain. Enogen corn is about 5% more feed efficient than corn that does not contain the trait.
Cattle producers participating in the program will receive a direct payment from Syngenta of 4 cents per head per day for each animal. In exchange for the program’s incentives, McDonald’s retains the carbon intensity offset asset. The fast-food empire has set a target of offsetting 64,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent per year.
“McDonald’s is starting with a priority ingredient for our company—beef,” said Kendra Levine, director of U.S. sustainability for McDonald’s. “We believe the innovative collaboration with Syngenta is an opportunity to help us make progress toward our science-based climate targets.”
For every 1,000 head of cattle on feed in this program per year, McDonald’s expects a 178-metric ton reduction in carbon dioxide equivalent, a 69-acre reduction in farm land use, a 22-million-liter savings in water and 231,000 kilowatt-hours in energy savings.
Enogen Feed Forward guidelines
The parameters of the Enogen Feed Forward opportunity state that those enrolled in the program must use Enogen corn as 50% or more of the starch in their total mixed ration. The corn can be fed in any form—silage, high-moisture corn or grain corn. For backgrounders, cattle must be on the feed for 70-120 days. Finishing cattle must consume it for 120-225 days and dairy culls for 180 days.
The Enogen Feed Forward opportunity will start in the United States, and there are plans to expand it to Canada. The program is expected to run through 2030. According to Syngenta, enrollment for the McDonald’s collaboration begins this fall, with plans to harvest silage and grain next year and then feed the feedstuff to cattle in 2026.
Cattle producers can expect payments in 2027. To receive a payout for the program, producers must submit documentation that includes a TMR report, close-out report, Enogen contract and seed invoice. Right now, the program is limited to beef and dairy beef production, but there could be dairy possibilities in the future.
To learn more, visit www.syngenta-us.com/enogen/feedforward.
Lacey Vilhauer can be reached at 620-227-1871 or [email protected].
