July 21, 2020

US cattle foundation partners with Cargill to provide funding for North American producers

The National Cattlemen's Foundation (NCF) announced on July 16 its partnership with Cargill to avail funding to North American cattle producers and thus, enable them to obtain practical tools required to help manage market shifts, reduce costs, manage finite natural resource availability and withstand extreme weather events.

The four-year strategic partnership, which was funded by a US$3 million contribution from Cargill's protein business, establishes a professional development scholarship programme, and provides educational resources through the US Roundtable for Sustainable Beef (USRSB) and experiential learning in partnership with the National Cattlemen's Beef Association (NCBA).

"Cargill is invested in the future of ranchers and farmers," said Jon Nash, North America business leader of Cargill Protein. "This contribution is just one of the ways we are investing what we've earned back in agricultural communities. We know we can't deliver protein to tables without the people on the frontlines of our food system."

The Rancher Resilience Grant programme, which serves as the professional development scholarship arm of the programme, offsets expenses for farmers and ranchers to attend state, regional, national, and global educational events. This includes industry conferences, seminars, and certifications that address animal health and wellbeing, profitability, natural resources, sustainability, genetics and reproduction education.

"This partnership furthers NCF's vision by advancing the future of the beef industry," said NCBA CEO Colin Woodall. "There is no better way to achieve this than by meeting producers on the ground and supporting access to continuing education through free tools and resources."

Cargill and the NCF will also work with the USRSB to support free virtual education platforms for the entire beef value chain. Additional resources will support the NCBA in promoting producer professional development opportunities.

"The USRSB educational modules provide real-world solutions that can be applied to any operation, no matter size or location," said Wayne Morgan, USRSB chair. "We are excited to partner with Cargill and the NCF to develop tools designed to help stakeholders across the industry continuously improve how we raise, process and distribute beef."

"Our industry continually explores technologies and production practices to support more efficient operations that focus on profitability and consistent high-quality beef," said NCBA's executive director of producer education, Josh White. "It's exciting to see industry partners come together through a shared commitment to promote the long-term economic wellbeing of farmers and ranchers across the beef value chain while also improving our product and our care for livestock and natural resources."

The Rancher Resilience Grant programme will launch this fall. Development of educational resources and promotion will begin immediately.

- National Cattlemen's Beef Association