McCain’s regenerative agriculture approach

At a recent Soil Wealth ICP Masterclass, McCain’s Tika Schellevis shared how the company is working on turning its global regenerative agriculture ambitions into practical approaches for potato growers, including trials, soil health measurement, smarter input use and new ways of supporting growers through change.

For McCain, regenerative agriculture is an important part of how the company is thinking about the future of potato production. McCain defines regenerative agriculture as an ecosystem-based approach that aims to improve farm resilience, crop yield and quality by improving soil health and water quality, optimising water use, enhancing biodiversity and reducing the impact of synthetic inputs.

From McCain’s perspective, regenerative agriculture in potato production starts with soil health, because healthy soils are the foundation for healthy crops, strong yields and reliable quality. At its core, this means going back to sound agronomic basics: protecting soil structure, supporting soil biology, improving nutrient cycling, managing water efficiently and reducing unnecessary pressure on the system.