AFT’s Beef Grazing Network

Advancing Markets for Beef Producers through the Beef Producer Economic Resilience Initiative: A Producer-Led Mentorship & Marketing Network

Partnering with U.S. beef producers to create lasting sustainable beef cattle markets.

American Farmland Trust’s Beef Producer Economic Resilience Initiative, now part of USDA’s Advancing Markets for Producers (AMP) program, has been formally approved as of June 2026 to restart and is entering a refreshed design and launch phase. The $42-million project, with $30 million provided by NRCS, uses a producer-led network approach to transition 700 beef cattle producers across the MidAtlantic, Southeast, and Texas to more economically and environmentally resilient operations by increasing the use of sustainable grazing management systems, while also building better market opportunities through producer led mentorship and marketing groups. The initiative will invest $19.5M directly in producers to adopt better grazing management practices, improve soil health, help reduce risk, and increase returns, and will equip them with tools and training to verify and ensure the ongoing success of their practices. The Beef Grazing Network will build beef producer capacity to collaborate on accessing premiums from buyers seeking sustainably grazed beef by aggregating the supply of more consistent beef cattle. It will enable implementing producer led standards, and coordinating logistics, and aims to unlock both conventional beef industry premiums and sustainability linked price premiums that strengthen rural economies and supply chain resilience, while improving soil health and all its co-benefits across the landscape. 

This project builds upon and scales up multiple AFT’s existing and highly successful pilot efforts that have built technical assistance into peer-to-peer farmer networks through mentorship programs. The expansion of network programming will help produce sustainably grazed beef for all levels of markets, from direct sales through local farmers’ markets to regional distribution channels and national and global consumer-facing food companies. 

Projected Impact

Adoption of more sustainable grazing management systems and producer-led marketing group leadership will advance the economic and environmental resilience of participating farmers and ranchers well into the future by: 

• Increasing cattle productivity and economic efficiency  

• Reducing key operating costs and risks associated with forage and feed production 

• Creating additional value in existing markets through cooperative marketing strategies within the Beef Grazing Network 

• Reducing operating costs through the increased purchasing power of the network 

• Identifying and accessing new markets with consumers seeking sustainably grazed beef. 

• Building and maintaining healthy, highly functioning soils; reducing erosion, nutrient loss, and water quality impacts. 

• Improving water infiltration, storage, and excess water drainage, for improved water availability during drought. 

• Improving pasture/range productivity by improved forage growth and quality 

• Approach that promotes grazing management systems with national adoption potential.  

Financial benefits to producers estimated:  

• GRANTS: Producers will receive basic and advanced implementation grants through the Brighter Future Fund for practices, marketing, mentoring and network engagement – a total of $19.5M will be made available to 700 producers.  

• SYSTEM FUNCTION & SOIL HEALTH: Better grazing management can significantly improve beef cattle productivity through improvements in forage production, utilization and quality, and reduction in key operating expenses, achieving improved productivity through better average daily gain and carry capacity. Estimated economic benefits from improved soil health potentially on the order of $60/acre (variable by production system, soils, weather patterns, management).  

• MARKET ACCESS: Estimated economic benefits from marketing group collaboration include the value of standard industry premiums (aggregation and aligning to specs for $30-60/head), and the value of sustainability-linked premiums (practice and/or outcome verification, messaging, and marketing for $20-$100/head). 

Our Methods

Our project leverages the nationally applicable NRCS Soil Health Management Systems (SHMS), which address 4 soil health principles, as adapted to grazing systems, including minimizing soil disturbance and maximizing soil cover, presence of living roots, and biodiversity (plants and appropriate livestock grazing integration) within the context of each producer. In addition, we will facilitate producers in building a self-sustaining producer-led mentorship and marketing network that improves practice adoption, data capture, and market readiness beyond the project period. 

• Highly trained early-adopter producer mentors will implement advanced practices, lead marketing group endeavors, and will provide technical mentoring and support to new adopters of sustainable grazing practices.  

• Mentorship ensures successful transition to sustainable grazing management systems which drive economically thriving operations.  

• Producer marketing groups will collaborate to overcome barriers to market entry: aggregate beef volumes, collaborate on logistics and verification, meet industry standards plus network-designed sustainable grazing standards at scale. 

• The Beef Grazing Network will provide participating beef cattle producers with financial assistance through competitively awarded basic and advanced grants that will be announced through the Brighter Future Fund to support investment in the infrastructure and operating capabilities required to adopt better grazing management practices and access premiums.