Major Agriculture Supply Chain Partners, including Carbon A List and Danone North America, Receive Landmark USDA Climate-Smart Investment

Project practices could reduce 57,000 tons of carbon dioxide across 18 states over 5 years

HOTCHKISS, Colo. — Carbon A List, partnering with Danone North America and project partners, has been awarded a $70 million U.S. Department of Agriculture Partnership for Climate Smart Commodities grant. As one of the 14 high-investment projects, the partners will use the awarded funds to transform the farmer-to-consumer supply chain with implementation of climate-smart projects and infrastructure investments.

The five-year collaborative program allows project partners to create end-to-end supply chain partnerships to optimize the value of climate-smart commodities through improving feed management for dairy cows,
enhancing food grade commodities for human consumption and better managing nutrients and manure on farm operations. It will also help farmers identify best practices for their acres.
To optimize climate-smart farm practices, farmers will receive agronomic and business support for their agricultural systems. This will drive economic growth in rural communities.

“These projects will significantly benefit the farmers we work with and allow us to find new markets to mitigate climate change,” said Chris Adamo, vice president, government and public affairs at Danone North America. “Through this grant, we will be able to expedite and scale impact with our farming partners to ensure new climate-smart commodities get to the hands of our consumers through our brands.”
The initiative will involve more than 350 participating farms across 18 states. This will include over 32,000 farm acres, as well as 48,000 head of cattle across 57 managed dairy projects. Partners expect implemented project practices to remove 57,000 tons of carbon dioxide over the 5-year period.
Along with Danone North America, other major partners include Becks Hybrids, Scoular, Sustainable Environmental Consultants and others.

“This project will meet a significant need for end-to-end supply chain partnerships, both in creating climate- smart commodities and marketing them to consumers,” said Nick Goeser, Carbon A List principal. “It will also optimize the value of climate-smart commodities. This will help farmers capture a lasting value and new market opportunities for their production, while supporting sound agronomic decisions at the farm gate.”

The integrated supply chain approach will:

• Provide several pathways to improve farmer choice
• Enhance farmer return on investment in climate-smart practices
• Provide leadership for additional investment into the markets
• Offer multiple pathways for scaling climate-smart commodities

USDA is investing up to $2.8 billion in 70 selected projects under the first Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities funding pool. It included proposals seeking funds ranging from $5 million to $100 million.