Anheuser-Busch rolling out new certification, seal

Anheuser-Busch is rolling out a new U.S. Farmed certification and seal that will appear on Busch Light, Budweiser, Bud Light and Michelob ULTRA beer products.

The seal will first appear on Busch Light beer products in May, according to a recent Anheuser-Busch news release.

The U.S. Farm certification and packaging seal will be applied to products that derive at least 95% of the agricultural ingredients from U.S. farms in an effort to encourage consumers to support local farmers by purchasing domestically sourced products, the release said.

“We source nearly all the ingredients in our iconic American beers from hardworking U.S. farmers — many of whom we have worked with for generations,” Anheuser-Busch Chief Executive Officer Brendan Whitworth said in the release.

“The U.S. Farmed certification takes our commitment to the next level, and we are proud to lead the industry in rallying behind American farmers to ensure the future of U.S. agriculture, which is crucial to our country’s economy. We look forward to other companies joining us in seeking U.S. Farmed certification for their products so that together we can make an even greater impact and show our support for American farmers.”

Anheuser-Busch is the first to adopt the U.S. Farmed certification and seal, according to the brewing company’s news release.

The brewer is the largest end-user of rice in the United States, and Arkansas is the leading rice-producing state.

Anheuser-Busch buys roughly 18.4 million bushels of rice a year directly from farmers, most of them in Arkansas. The Anheuser-Busch agricultural facility in Jonesboro, which includes a working rice mill, prepares 2.5 million

pounds of rice for beer each day, the brewing company said Monday.

In May 2023, Anheuser-Busch said it spends more than $150 million a year on rice.

The St. Louis-based brewing company is working with American Farmland Trust for the new certification program, the nonprofit organization said in its own news release last week.

“[American Farmland Trust] will use funds raised through those certifications to expand programs and provide U.S. farmers across all 50 states with free resources and expert advisory services to help them access, protect, and maintain American farmland.”

The American Farmland Trust asserts that within the next 15 years, ownership of more than 30% of U.S. agricultural land could be in transition as older generations of farmers retire, the news release said.

American Farmland Trust Acting President and CEO Beth Sauerhaft said the decision to utilize the certification is a step toward creating a movement and a market niche to support U.S. farmers.

“Each U.S. Farmed certification has the potential to open new opportunities for farmers to receive assistance with succession planning, farmland protection tools for their operations, and other useful tactics to safeguard their land — our nation’s food systems,” Sauerhaft said in the nonprofit’s news release.