CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, U.S. — Archer Daniels Midland Co.’s (ADM) Together We Grow — a consortium ADM began in 2016 to focus on educating, recruiting and retaining a more diverse workforce in the agriculture sector — has been recognized with Profiles in Diversity Journal’s 2018 Innovations in Diversity Award.

Profiles in Diversity Journal is a quarterly publication working to promote and advancing diversity and inclusion in the corporate, government, nonprofit, STEM and higher education sectors. The award honored 27 corporations, organizations and institutions that have developed innovative solutions in the area of workforce diversity, inclusion and human equity. Together We Grow was one of 10 initiatives recognized with a finalist award this year.

“The world population is expected to grow by 35% by 2050, and we will need to double our food supply in that same time frame,” said Mike D’Ambrose, senior vice-president and chief human resources officer at ADM. “The only way to address this monumental challenge is through an industry-wide coalition of people and organizations dedicated to the cause, and that’s what led to the conception of Together We Grow in 2016. We are proud to work together with such an impressive group of companies, academic institutions and influential industry groups to help build and sustain a more diverse workforce in the ag industry that better reflect the communities where we live and work.”

The Together We Grow consortium is made up of more than 50 industry groups employing nearly 850,000 people who share a commitment to building a modern workforce in the agriculture sector.

ADM is an agricultural processor and food ingredient provider with approximately 31,000 employees serving customers in more than 170 countries. With a global value chain that includes approximately 500 crop procurement locations, 270 food and feed ingredient manufacturing facilities, 44 innovation centers and crop transportation network, ADM connects the harvest to the home, making products for food, animal feed, industrial and energy uses.