A new approach to bread.

Sara Lee’s EarthGrains® bread, made with Eco-Grain™ wheat, features a new and more environmentally friendly approach to bread – an approach that links the consumer to growing technologies that reduce the amount of fertilizer used, resulting in reduced energy and emissions, while at the same time increases yields. 

The process of creating the bread reaches from the wheat fields of Idaho, to the flour mills of Horizon Milling, to the baking ovens of the Sara Lee Corporation. The product harkens back to the days when people knew the farmer who grew the wheat and the workers who processed the wheat into the flour they used for baking. 

A new approach 

Horizon Milling, a Cargill affiliate, developed the approach with a handful of Idaho farmers and Sara Lee. It began with market insight on consumers’ interest in more environmentally friendly food. The result was an initiative that linked the consumer to more environmentally friendly growing practices. 

“We preserve the wheat’s identity so consumers understand how the wheat was grown and the impact they are having” said Dan Dye, Horizon Milling president. 

The bread is made from flour produced from wheat grown with precision agriculture techniques by family farmers in Idaho. This technology uses a combination of satellite imagery and soil samples to identify the best use of fertilizer on a farmer’s field. Using this data, the farmer can apply nutrients to the crop only where needed. Studies show the farmer uses less fertilizer, uses less energy and reduces emissions. 

“Horizon Milling’s role is about linking the supply chain from the farmer to the bakery to the consumer,” Dye explained. “We partner with farmers to help them grow Eco-Grain™ wheat, we mill the wheat they grow into flour and deliver the finished ingredient to the bakeries that bake the EarthGrains bread.” 

Partnership and collaboration 

Collaborating with farmers and our customers is not new, but this is our first time developing this particular approach to help a customer produce a more environmentally friendly product. 

“This program is about linking the consumer to technology that has less of an environmental impact. By leveraging our capabilities in origination, identity preservation, milling and supply chain we are able to create a unique solution in partnership with the customer to help them grow their brand,” said Kyle Marinkovich, Horizon Milling marketing manager. 

Horizon Milling and EarthGrains brand 

Horizon Milling is a joint venture combining Cargill’s expertise as a global food ingredients manufacturer with the supply assurance capabilities of CHS Inc., a national, farmer-owned cooperative. For more information, visit Horizon Milling. 

EarthGrains® bread contains 20 percent Eco-Grain™ wheat. For information on EarthGrains® bread, Eco-Grain™ wheat and its environmental impact, visit Earth Grains bread.