RALEIGH, N.C. — The Environmental Defense Fund recently announced a collaboration with Smithfield Foods and its livestock production subsidiary, Murphy-Brown LLC, that will help farmers optimize fertilizer application to grain grown for animal feed.
By working with farmers and engaging all points along the food supply chain, the organizations hope to significantly reduce fertilizer runoff, safeguard the environment and ensure farm productivity.
Fertilizer application. Smithfield and Murphy-Brown believe that this project will demonstrate how innovative fertilizer application practices will benefit farmers while providing additional environmental protection.
The company, which raises hogs in North Carolina, says the goal is to have 75 percent of its Southeast grain-sourcing acres participate by 2018.
The program will roll out in North Carolina, Virginia and South Carolina this year.
It will expand to grain Smithfield buys from Midwest farmers in 2015.
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What is interesting to me is that Smithfield/Murphy-Brown is actually seeking the advice and cooperation of the major environmental group in making their farming practices more eco-friendly. Hopefully this will serve as an example to other large corporate farming interests that being profitable and protecting the environment aren’t necessarily at odds with one another.