Anheuser-Busch has teamed up with Indigo Agriculture to sign a deal for sustainable rice supply.

In a bid to drive down emissions related to the beer ingredient, the brewer, which is the largest end user of rice in the US, will receive 2.2 million bushels of rice grown with specific environmental attributes.

The rice produced by Indigo Agriculture’s growers will have 10% lower water and nitrogen usage and achieve at least 10% savings in greenhouse gas emissions compared to state benchmarks.

The firm says this is made possible by using microbial technology and data analysis to improve rice yield while reducing the use of chemicals, irrigation and fertilisers.

Anheuser-Busch mills approximately 2.6 million pounds of rice a day and says the ingredient has been a vital part of its Budweiser recipe since 1876.

Ingrid De Ryck, Vice President of Procurement and Sustainability at Anheuser-Busch, said: “Partnering with Indigo to source rice with unique environmental attributes rewards our farming community for adopting sustainable agricultural practices and incentivises further innovation.

“Most importantly, this trailblazing collaboration supports three of Anheuser-Busch’s 2025 Sustainability Goals by advancing smart agriculture, watershed health and carbon emissions reductions.”