Smithfield Foods, Inc. has partnered with Granular, a leading farm management software platform, to help growers in its grain supply chain boost farm sustainability and efficiency while improving crop yields. The offer will be available to grain farmers in North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina and Virginia who sell their grain to Smithfield.

With more than 13 billion pounds of feed consumed by Smithfield's animals each year, maximizing grain production efficiencies is a key way the company is working to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 25% by 2025 throughout its entire supply chain. This offering complements Smithfield's existing efforts to help farmers incorporate more efficient farming practices while increasing their bottom line.

"Over the last several years, we've focused on working alongside grain farmers in our supply chain to provide information and advice about strategies to improve fertilizer usage and crop production," says Stewart Leeth, vice president of Regulatory Affairs and Chief Sustainability Officer at Smithfield Foods. "With Granular Insights, we'll be able to partner those recommendations with a technology-driven solution to help drive farm profitability with fewer environmental impacts."

Granular Insights with Directed Scouting uses high-frequency, high-resolution satellite imagery to monitor fields, allowing farmers to mitigate in-field pests and resolve other yield-diminishing problems before they spread and require additional resources.

"Smithfield growers now have access to Granular Insights, and will be able to not only easily and accurately manage their inputs, but also have an edge over pests and weather - the keys to protecting yield and increasing sustainability," says Emma Fuller, PhD., director of Sustainability Science at Granular. "With the data sets that drive profitability and optimize sustainability efforts at their fingertips, Smithfield growers will be able to take a holistic look at data from across their operation and combine it with satellite imagery and profit map overlays. And when farmers know more, they are able to do more with less time, energy and resources."

To learn more about Smithfield's sustainability initiatives and its support for local farmers, read the company’s 2019 Sustainability Impact Report.

Source: Smithfield Foods, Inc., which is solely responsible for the information provided, and wholly owns the information. Informa Business Media and all its subsidiaries are not responsible for any of the content contained in this information asset.