Sysco and Cargill, two of the world’s largest food companies, announced a major new partnership with the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) that will help ranchers in Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Kansas and Colorado tackle the impacts of climate change and improve grasslands and wildlife habitat by creating one of the largest sustainable beef cattle grazing efforts in the nation.(Photo quoted from NFWF’s website)

Through a public-private partnership, $5 million in funding from Sysco and Cargill will accelerate the implementation of sustainable grazing practices over the next five years across 1 million acres in the Southern Great Plains, an area responsible for approximately 30% of the beef produced in the United States. With the commitments from Sysco and Cargill, the Southern Plains Grassland Program has the potential to sequester up to 360,000 metric tons of carbon per year, or the equivalent of removing 78,000 passenger vehicles from the road in one year.

NFWF will manage a competitive grant program that will enable nonprofit conservation groups, ranching collaboratives/associations, and agencies at the state and local level to engage with ranchers at a scale not seen before in the region, a successful model utilized by NFWF in landscapes across the country.

Grants awarded by NFWF through the Southern Plains Grassland Program will strengthen the resilience of ranching communities by scaling up the implementation of rancher-led sustainable grazing practices. Examples include rotational grazing, improvements to infrastructure, control of invasive vegetation, or a combination of interventions appropriate for the landowner, wildlife, soil type and climate. Such operational improvements enhance the ability of soil to sequester additional carbon from the atmosphere.

“This new collaboration between Sysco, Cargill and NFWF will bring vital financial and technical resources to the ranches of the Southern Plains, a region with incredibly productive grasslands, wildlife and a rich heritage of family ranching,” said Jeff Trandahl, executive director and CEO of NFWF. “Public-private partnerships are the key to helping agricultural producers voluntarily improve their operations while also enhancing natural resources. Both Sysco and Cargill recognize the responsibility that comes with their scale, and the importance of leveraging their experience and resources to further drive sustainability in the industry.”

(IRuniverse)

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