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National Pork Board to leverage USDA Climate Smart funds

The National Pork Board is tapping into USDA Climate Smart funds.

NPB interim vice president of sustainability Ashley McDonald says the U.S. pork industry has been engaged in environmental practices for decades, and the USDA Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities grants will further those efforts.

“Put dollars in producers’ hands to implement practices that will make those continuous improvement efforts and showcase that improvement through our industry goals and metrics.”

She tells Brownfield the dollars will also help pork producers market their products.

“And we know that we can administer these dollars effectively through NPB for the U.S. pork producers. We’re able to pass as many of those dollars on to our producers as possible to maximize the impact that they can have on the ground.”

NPB is the lead on one and a collaborator on two Climate Smart grants totaling $155 million.  McDonald says the first grant will advance U.S. pork sustainability and market value, while the other grants involve soil health and data management strategies.