Source: Rita Jane Gabbett, MEATINGPLACE, 4/29/16

Smithfield Foods announced it is expanding its program MBGro, a collaboration with the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) to advance on-farm conservation practices and food supply chain sustainability.

The program, developed by Smithfield, works with grain producers to reduce fertilizer runoff and greenhouse gas emissions while improving water quality and soil health.

The USDA Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP) awarded these efforts a $500,000 grant to expand the program to grain suppliers in North Carolina.

This latest project furthers Smithfield's goal for 75 percent of its 500,000 grain-sourcing acres to adopt sustainable farming practices by 2018.

In 2015, Smithfield helped grain farmers implement cover crops, nitrogen sensors and other conservation practices on nearly 100,000 acres in the Southeast.

In February, the company expanded the program to the Midwest with the support of agricultural retailer South Central Coop and the United Suppliers SUSTAIN program.

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