NCC, USCTP Welcome USDA’s Climate-Smart Pilot Projects

The U.S. cotton industry applauds USDA for promoting sustainable farming practices through its Partnership for Climate-Smart Commodities — including the new Climate Smart Cotton Program led by the U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol.

“The U.S. cotton industry is committed to sustainability and to protecting the environment, and the industry is honored to partner with USDA on this very important environmental enterprise,” says National Cotton Council (NCC) Chairman Ted Schneider, a Louisiana cotton producer, “The $90 million of funding allocated to the U.S. Climate Smart Cotton Program is a historic investment that will further enhance our industry’s voluntary environmental stewardship efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, soil loss, and water and energy use, while increasing land efficiency and soil carbon.”

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The project will build markets for climate-smart cotton and provide technical and financial assistance to over 1,000 U.S. cotton farmers to advance adoption of climate smart practices on more than one million acres. This will allow production of more than four million bales of Climate Smart Cotton over five years.

The project will be led by the U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol — a voluntary program where its American cotton producer participants commit to providing sustainably-grown cotton to meet the needs of brands and retailers in the fashion and textile industries and also protect and preserve our planet.

“The Trust Protocol was launched in 2020 to set a new standard in sustainable cotton production where full transparency is a reality and continuous improvement is the central goal,” said Dr. Gary Adams, President of the U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol. “The U.S. Climate Smart Cotton Program is an important step in providing the necessary resources needed for growers to learn, grow, and explore new opportunities that will improve their environmental footprint. We look forward to working with Secretary Vilsack to implement the program’s comprehensive approach.”

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The Climate Smart Cotton Program is a collaborative effort with Cotton Incorporated and the NCC’s export promotion arm, Cotton Council International; the Soil Health Institute; the Soil and Water Outcomes Fund; Alabama A&M University; North Carolina A&T University; Texas A&M University’s AgriLife Research; and Agricenter International in Memphis. The NCC also is grateful for Target’s support of the project through cost-share funding.

Based on information from the National Cotton Council and the U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol

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