Walmart Foundation funds U.S. Regenerative Cotton Fund

The Soil Health Institute’s (SHI) U.S. Regenerative Cotton Fund (USRCF) has received a $2,000,000, three-year grant from the Walmart Foundation to scale up project operations and expand the effort to Alabama and South Carolina. By 2026, the USRCF hopes to have eliminated one million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) from the environment by providing farmers and their advisers with the networks, skills, and resources they need to effectively adopt regenerative soil health systems.

Kathleen McLaughlin, Chief Sustainability Officer and Executive Vice President at Walmart Inc. and President of the Walmart Foundation, said that regenerative soil health systems can provide tremendous advantages for farmers, food supply chains, our environment, and wildlife. Soil health methods are still not widely used. The USRCF’s scientific methodology supports the Foundation’s work on regenerative agriculture while empowering farmers. We are thrilled to contribute to this ambitious initiative that will provide farmers with the information and equipment they require to implement more regenerative techniques and to precisely track the effects of such activities on their lands and means of subsistence.

Through the USRCF, which was started in 2021, SHI has started working in Texas, Arkansas, Georgia, and Mississippi, where it has created farmer-to-farmer education networks with more than 100 cotton farmers, provided 12 education programs, collected soil samples in more than 200 locations to develop Soil Health and Soil Carbon Targets, surveyed farmers managing 11,000 acres to gauge their experiences with regenerative systems, and provided growers managing crops with preliminary economic results.

Dr. Cristine Morgan, SHI’s Chief Scientific Officer, said that the USRCF is doing well. This year’s drought circumstances in the cotton-belt only serve to highlight how crucial soil health systems are to farmers’ livelihoods since they may boost productivity and enhance drought resistance. They’re grateful for the assistance of the Walmart Foundation, which will enable them to extend the influence and reach of the USRCF to South Carolina and Alabama.

The Ralph Lauren Corporate Foundation made a founding gift to the U.S. Regenerative Cotton Fund in 2021. Levi Strauss & Co. is a Contributing Supporter of the Fund, and The VF Foundation is a Sustaining Supporter. Cotton Incorporated, National Cotton Council, Field to Market, Arkansas Soil Health Alliance, DELTA F.A.R.M., and others are now participating partners.

The United States and the United Arab Emirates joined forces to launch the Agriculture Innovation Mission for Climate (AIM for Climate) Innovation Sprint in 2021, and the USRCF was chosen as one of the initiative’s Innovation Sprint Partners.