Regeneration & Resilience Supply Chain

Kentucky Distilleries, Corn Growers Future-Proofing Bourbon Through Regenerative Ag

The five-year, $2.8M collaboration between four spirits giants, the Kentucky Distillers’ Association and Precision Conservation Management will help Kentucky corn farmers shift toward regenerative growing practices.

Published 43 minutes ago | About a 4 minute read

Image: Basil Hayden

Four leading spirits companies and the Kentucky Distillers’ Association (KDA) are joining forces with Precision Conservation Management (PCM) and the Kentucky Corn Growers Association (KCGA) to launch a five-year, $2.8 million initiative to help Kentucky corn farmers shift toward regenerative growing practices. Together, the Kentucky distillers will provide tools for their corn farmers to successfully implement proven practices that will support the long-term resilience of the state’s historic agricultural community while providing economic and sustainable value in Bourbon distilling.

The four spirits giants — Brown-Forman (owner of bourbon brands Coopers’ Craft, Old Forester and Woodford Reserve), Diageo North America (Bulleit), Heaven Hill Brands (Elijah Craig, Evan Williams, Heaven Hill, Larceny, Old Fitzgerald, Rittenhouse) and Suntory Global Spirits (Baker’s, Basil Hayden, Booker’s, Jim Beam, Knob Creek, Maker’s Mark) — will support farmers by hiring additional conservation specialists to maximize management education beginning in 2025. PCM will work with corn farmers in central Kentucky to implement regenerative growing practices on more than 100,000 acres over five years.

“With much of our distillers’ corn being produced in Kentucky, we see the massive impact that Bourbon has on Kentucky’s ag climate,” said KDA President Eric Gregory. Founded in 1880, the KDA’s diverse and growing membership produces the majority of the world’s bourbon — from historic, global brands to emerging micro distilleries. Kentucky Bourbon is a $9 billion economic engine generating more than 23,500 jobs and attracting over 2 million visits annually through the KDA’s Kentucky Bourbon Trail® experience. “As these four distilleries unite to support regenerative corn-growing practices, I look forward to seeing how new resources and incentives can further propel our local farmers without impacting our bottom line.”

But these measures will impact their bottom line: Many of the world’s largest food and beverage producers have recognized the economic, environmental and even nutritional benefits of nurturing soil and biodiversity health while producing their most popular ingredients, and are working to drive regenerative farming practices to increase resilience in their global agricultural supply chains. Adult beverage producers have also jumped on board — a growing number of beer and wine makers are producing regenerative offerings, and Suntory’s Maker’s Mark and Brown-Forman’s Woodford Reserve brands are already leading the bourbon industry’s shift toward regeneratively farmed grain.

Now, the four spirits giants and the KDA will join PCM and the KCGA in helping farmers make economically viable conservation decisions by providing a comprehensive range of data and personalized, expert consultations with PCM’s conservation specialists.

"Farmers are spread thin and are already making hundreds of management decisions each year. They want to do a good job but face time constraints and decision fatigue when it comes to analyzing data and making changes,” said Greg Goodwin, Director of PCM — an initiative funded by the USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service’s Regional Conservation Partnership Program that provides data-driven conservation recommendations and on-the-ground support for farmers in Illinois, Nebraska and Kentucky. “Our specialists work hand-in-hand with farmers to identify opportunities to improve the health of their farmland and success of their operation. We are grateful for our partnership with the KDA and Kentucky distilleries as we make these great ideas a reality by supporting our farmers in effective, regenerative practices — a win-win for our industries.”

The collaborative effort will also expand PCM’s efforts in Kentucky to benchmark individual farm financials against an anonymized, regional and statewide dataset in an annual Resource Analysis and Assessment Plan — which will help farmers to understand where they can profitably implement conservation practices. This service is free to farmers, and they will receive a sign-on incentive for their time. The participating KDA distillery partners will provide additional acre-based incentives to corn growers adopting regenerative practices including reduced tillage and cover crops, and maximizing their nitrogen use efficiency to reduce the impact of corn production within the bourbon supply chain.

“Having worked closely with PCM since 2015, I have seen how helpful this program has been to my on-farm decision making. I routinely work with my conservation specialist to analyze data and confirm the economic benefits of decisions I have made to adopt new practices and innovate for the environment,” shared Joseph Sisk, owner of Sisk Farms in Hopkinsville, KY. “PCM has also helped me better understand how our practices are closely tied to the supply chain and allows my markets and end users to trust that our crops will support their sustainability objectives."