St. Louis-based Anheuser-Busch and Boston-based Indigo Agriculture have partnered on a sustainable rice production program.
Indigo has committed to delivering 2.2 million bushels of Indigo Rice to A-B that is grown using specific environmentally friendly production practices.
Rice growers contracting with Indigo will reduce water and nitrogen use by 10 percent and achieve at least a 10 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions compared to state benchmarks, according to a news release. For their efforts, growers will receive a premium.
The partnership is one of the first to offer grower incentives for sustainable rice production.
The program also supports three of A-B’s 2025 sustainability goals: advancing smart agriculture, watershed health and carbon emissions reductions. The company buys rice from producers nationwide and mills about 2.6 million pounds per day at its Jonesboro, Arkansas, facility.
The brewer is the largest end user of rice in the United States, and rice is a key ingredient in many of its beers.
Indigo Ag has commercialized a host of beneficial soil microbes it believes increase yield and crop quality.