CHICAGO (WDNews) — McDonald’s USA announced Monday its largest-ever investment in regenerative agriculture, committing more than $200 million over the next seven years to support ranchers in adopting conservation and grazing practices across the country.
The initiative, called the Grassland Resilience and Conservation Initiative, is a partnership with the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF), the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), and several McDonald’s U.S. suppliers. The effort aims to support regenerative grazing, habitat restoration, water conservation, and wildlife protection on cattle ranches covering up to 4 million acres across 38 states.
Participating ranchers will gain access to tools, resources, and incentive payments to help improve soil health, conserve water, and enhance wildlife habitats. McDonald’s said the program will also strengthen its beef supply chain resilience.
“As a brand that serves more than 90% of Americans every year, we recognize the responsibility we have to help safeguard our food systems for long-term vitality,” said Cesar Piña, McDonald’s Senior Vice President and Chief Supply Chain Officer for North America. “Through our support of this initiative, McDonald’s USA is demonstrating the power of partnership between the public and private sectors and that feeding the population and stewarding our natural resources can coexist.”
Several suppliers, including Cargill, Golden State Foods, Lopez Foods, OSI, and The Coca-Cola Company, will provide funds to NFWF alongside McDonald’s. NFWF will independently award competitive grants to organizations working directly with ranchers to improve grazing land management, restore grasslands, protect ecosystems, and upgrade infrastructure like fencing and water systems.
“The benefits of grassland conservation are far-reaching,” said Jeff Trandahl, NFWF Executive Director and CEO. “When cattle are managed to optimize multiple ecological and economic values, the land holds more water, grows better grass and supports more wildlife. Conservation practices voluntarily adopted by ranchers can improve the productivity of grasslands, increase ranching profitability and strengthen the vitality of rural communities across the United States.”
NFWF will oversee conservation funding and identify large-scale projects expected to have the greatest impact. The first round of competitive grant awards is scheduled to be announced in January 2026. Independent monitoring of soil health improvements will be provided by Kateri and Carbon Yield.
For more information on the initiative, visit NFWF.org.
