Cargill
Cargill supports the Southern Plains Grassland Program, aiming to expand adoption of rancher-led conservation practices and accelerate the improvement of grazing lands across the region. By supporting ranching communities, NFWF and Cargill will invest in practices that enhance wildlife habitat, and help tackle climate change, aligned with Cargill’s BeefUp Sustainability initiative.
Cargill and NFWF began working with ranchers to improve grazing lands management in April 2021 through the newly established Southern Plains Grassland Program. Together, NFWF and Cargill aim to implement conservation practices on one million acres of grasslands with the potential to sequester up to 360,000 metric tons of carbon per year.
Stretching across sections of Kansas, Oklahoma, Colorado, New Mexico and Texas, the Southern Plains is a vast landscape of open grasslands that makes up one of the most important beef production areas in the United States. NFWF will engage a network of on-the-ground partners, such as livestock associations, rancher-led collaboratives, universities, state wildlife agencies, and conservation non-profits to implement proven strategies for improving rangeland management including prescribed grazing and invasive species control.
This conservation partnership supports NFWF’s efforts to implement voluntary practices designed to improve the sustainability of working rangelands and restore grasslands and wildlife habitat.
Southern Plains Grassland Program
The Southern Great Plains host a unique set of wildlife species that are specifically adapted to this grassland ecosystem. Many of these species, such as the Monarch butterfly and songbirds, migrate to and from the region in order to complete their life cycle. Others, including the pronghorn, swift fox, prairie chicken and bobwhite quail are year-round residents that live alongside human residents who are engaged in the ranching of livestock, primarily beef cattle.
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