Walmart, McDonald’s invest $18M in fund to protect grasslands
Walmart and McDonald’s are helping establish a fund to support sustainable ranching on the Great Plains.
The discount retailer and the fast-food hamburger chain are each contributing $9 million grants to launch the Great Plains Grassland Fund, a public–private grant fund managed by the non-profit National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) that will help protect and sustainably manage intact grasslands across the U.S. Great Plains.
Walmart is providing funding through its Walmart Foundation non-profit initiative, while McDonald’s USA is making its aligned investment along with several key suppliers through existing contributions to the non-profit Grassland Resilience and Conservation Initiative.
The Great Plains Grassland Fund will pair voluntary land protection strategies with technical and financial assistance for ranchers. Using tools such as conservation easements, the fund aims to permanently protect 150,000 to 200,000 acres of high-conservation-value grasslands at potential risk of conversion, while helping ranchers enhance regenerative agriculture management practices on an additional 150,000 to 200,000 acres through voluntary public and private conservation programs – with landowners who participate keeping ranching as the primary use of their land.
Projects will build on locally led efforts. To help measure conservation outcomes, NFWF will work with implementation partners to track progress related to grassland protection, biodiversity, water resources and ranching livelihoods.
Grasslands provide essential habitat for birds, fish and wildlife, help sustain ranching economies and America’s beef supply, connect migration corridors, and help filter and conserve water. Once intact grassland is plowed, the soil health, wildlife habitat, water-filtering capacity and grazing resource it provided cannot be readily restored.
“For Walmart and the Walmart Foundation, regeneration is a long-term commitment to the natural resources and people our business and communities depend on,” said Julie Gehrki, senior VP, Walmart and president, Walmart Foundation. “Two decades of work with NFWF through Acres for America have shown the value of sustained investment in critical habitats. We’re building on that experience to support healthy grasslands, ranchers, and a more resilient beef supply chain. This Walmart Foundation investment puts that work into practice in the Great Plains.”
In September 2020, Walmart announced a new commitment to becoming a regenerative company - an organization that works to restore, renew and replenish in addition to preserving the planet. The retailer’s regenerative goals include reaching zero emissions in global operations and committing to help protect, manage or restore at least 50 million acres of land and 1 million square miles of ocean by 2030.
Other regenerative efforts Walmart has launched include a $120 million joint investment with PepsiCo to support regenerative farming, helping introduce a new regenerative rice farming program called “Source by Indigo” across Arkansas, joining the U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol voluntary, science-based sustainability program and traceability platform for U.S. cotton, and partnering with General Mills to adopt regenerative agriculture practices on 600,000 acres of land by 2030.
[READ MORE: Walmart expands regenerative agriculture partnership with General Mills]
“The Walmart Foundation has been an important strategic funder for some of our farm-level resilience efforts, and we’re thrilled to deepen the impact of the Grassland Resilience and Conservation Initiative with them,” said Cesar Piña, senior VP and chief supply chain, North America at McDonald’s USA. “Since the initiative launched last year, it has supported two rounds of grantees advancing voluntary conservation practices across U.S. grasslands. Our support for the Walmart Foundation’s Great Plains Grasslands Fund reflects the kind of partnership that’s crucial in strengthening ecosystems, supporting ranching communities, and building a more resilient U.S. beef supply chain.”
NFWF will issue a competitive initial Request for Proposals through the Great Plains Grassland Fund. Up to $10 million is expected to be available for projects through this funding opportunity, and awards are expected to be announced in 2027.
