A-B Foundation Commits $120,000 to Sustainable Agriculture Research

The Anheuser-Busch Foundation said three land grant universities – North Dakota State University, Montana State University and the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture – will will split for research at their model farms, which were created to support the continued development of innovative farming practices that can drive sustainability and future solutions.

The model farm research seeks to answer key questions around soil health, water conservation, rotations, cover cropping, tillage and other agriculture techniques to enhance grower education and the development of more sustainable methods. As part of Anheuser-Busch’s 2025 Sustainability Goals, the brewer is committed to testing, developing and sharing the use of sustainable farming best-practices to grow high-quality ingredients while also benefiting farmers and their communities.

“The work being done at these research universities is critical as the industry collectively looks for ways to advance sustainability while improving yields and farm profitability,” said John Rogers, U.S. Chief Sustainability and Procurement Officer at Anheuser-Busch.

“We’re excited to support these universities and by extension our growers, who produce the high-quality ingredients that go into the beers that our consumers know and love,” said Colleen LucasVP-Community Impact at Anheuser-Busch. “Through the power of our partnership, this academic consortium is paving the way for a more sustainable future.”

The donations will focus on the following areas:

• North Dakota State University: The Anheuser-Busch Foundation will contribute $55,000 to their network of Soil Health and Agriculture Research and Extension (SHARE) Farms to continue nitrogen rate studies, validate new baseline recommendations for barley and soil health-cover crops, and further disseminate SHARE Farm data to farmers by expanding the university’s “Soil Sense and the Field Check” podcast on a national level.
• Montana State University: The University will receive a $43,200 contribution for research into the effects that soil acidification has on barley yields, support a hyperspectral analysis of preharvest sprouting damage, as well as the remote sensing of drought, stress and pH tolerance in different barley varieties.
• University of Arkansas: The $25,000 commitment from the Anheuser-Busch Foundation, with a $25,000 match from the AB InBev Foundation, will further empower the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture to work with its network of Discovery Farms to evaluate the impact of conservation practices and develop industrywide solutions to combat excess fertilizer use and irrigation runoff, supporting a pathway to decarbonize rice production.

As key ingredients in the brewing process, Anheuser-Busch purchased more than 37.7 million bushels of barley and 18.3 million bushels of rice directly from U.S. farmers in 2021. As top producing states of those ingredients, the long-term success of farms in Arkansas and Montana are vital to the company’s ability to brew its beers with high-quality ingredients. Through the donations to these universities, the Anheuser-Busch Foundation will partner with farmers to further the development of sustainable solutions that will support the continuous improvement, profitability and environmental health of the agriculture industry.