Coca-Cola Expands Corn Contract Farming Model

Oct 16, 2012

Coca-Cola Co., one of the global leaders in the beverage industry announced today that the company plans to expand its contract farming portfolio to include other agriculture commodities such as coffee, tea and dairy products – the company already practices contract farming with corn. Contract farming is when the farmer agrees in a contract to provide an agreed upon quantity of an agriculture product to the supplier.

"In most Coca-Cola products, there's a clear directional shift toward the use of high-fructose corn syrup, which is cheaper than sugar," Michael Ferrari, Director of Global Agricultural Commodity Risk Management at Coca-Cola.

The company plans on replicating their corn contracting farming practices and applying that modal to other agriculture commodities as well. Ferrari said in a company statement that contract farming has been a successful model for the company because it allows the company to monitor product yield and quality.

The company also reported that its net income rose 3% in the third quarter and attributes those sales with selling more sports drinks and tea beverages as well as growth in emerging markets. In this period, Coca-Cola saw their sales volume up by 15% and had a 34% increase for its brand in India. Company shares rose 22 cents now pegged at $38.35 U.S.

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.