(NAFB) – Sysco and Cargill, two of the world’s largest food companies, just announced a major partnership with the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation.

The partnership will help ranchers in Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Kansas and Colorado tackle climate change and improve grasslands and wildlife habitat. Through a public-private partnership, $5 million in funding from Sysco and Cargill will accelerate the implementation of sustainable grazing practices over the next five years across one million acres of an area responsible for approximately 30 percent of the beef produced in the United States.

The Southern Plains Grassland Program has the potential to sequester up to 360,000 metric tons of carbon per year, or the equivalent of removing 78,000 passenger vehicles from the road in one year. Through NFWF, and in coordination with USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service “Working Lands for Wildlife” framework, conservation experts will work with interested ranchers to plan and implement voluntary grassland management practices with consideration to the unique needs of their land.