Walmart Foundation Gives Rice Program $1M

The Walmart Foundation has given $1 million to a partnership led by Ducks Unlimited and USA Rice to help rice producers “increase sustainability and profitability,” the waterfowl conservation nonprofit announced Friday.

Chris Cole, DU’s senior director of development, said the money will flow through DU’s “Unlimited Rice” partnership with USA Rice. The money will support work taking place in the Mississippi Alluvial Valley and along the Gulf Coast, he said.

The Walmart Foundation money will support work undertaken by DU and USA Rice under a $10 million grant from the Natural Resources Conservation Service’s Regional Conservation Partnership Program in 2014. Most of the money from that grant provides financial assistance for producers who implement conservation practices on their lands through Farm Bill programs. 

“DU will serve as the boots-on-the-ground delivery mechanism to provide professional advice to interested landowners,” DU Director of Conservation Innovation Scott Manley said in a news release. “However, only 10 percent of the RCPP grant is dedicated to this role, so we needed to seek additional funding to better support rice growers interested in implementing conservation measures on their farms.”

DU said the Walmart Foundation money will be used for technical assistance to and training for farm owners, operators and workers.