Smithfield Foods Adds New Tool to Fertilizer Efficiency, GHG Reduction Efforts

SMITHFIELD, Va., July 11, 2017 -- Today, Smithfield Foods, Inc. announced the incorporation of Agronomic Technology Corporation’s (ATC) Adapt-N and N-Insight services into its SmithfieldGro program, which provides agronomy resources and tools to help farmers optimize their fertilizer application and improve soil health.

Smithfield will provide this technology to farmers to help them improve their economic and environmental performance on 100,000 acres of fields that produce corn for swine feed. This new tool is part of Smithfield’s efforts to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions 25 percent throughout its entire supply chain by 2025. Last year, Smithfield became the first major protein company to announce a far-reaching GHG reduction goal, of which helping farmers reduce nitrous oxide emissions is a key component.

“Improper fertilizer application can be detrimental to crop yields and profits as well as to the environment,” said Kraig Westerbeek, vice president of engineering and environmental support services for Smithfield Foods. “With this new tool, we’re helping farmers minimize costs and maximize profits while reducing potential fertilizer runoff.”

Adapt-N shows farmers their nitrogen loss, uptake and future use needs based on the land, weather and field management practices. It has been shown to increase grower profit by $30 per acre through higher yield and application efficiency, while also significantly lowering greenhouse gas emissions and nitrogen leaching loss. It will also detect and alert farmers to potential changes in fertilizer rates.

“We’re excited to enter this partnership with Smithfield, a company recognized for its continued investment in sustainable agriculture practices,” said Steve Sibulkin, co-founder and CEO of ATC. “Their work with farmers shows how collaboration can positively impact both the bottom line and the environment.”

Adapt-N is a leading nitrogen recommendation solution proven to help farmers optimize their fertilizer usage by modeling weather, soil, water, planting and field management dynamics. N-Insight is an instant nitrogen diagnostic tool that shows growers their nitrogen balance for each of the past five years by field or subfield to improve planning decisions.

Currently used in 38 states, ATC is in the process of expanding its technology internationally. Adapt-N is viewed as a market leader by agriculture industry experts, commercial retailers, and sustainability groups. Adapt-N is the first nitrogen modeling tool to be certified by NutrientStar, and independent Fertilizer Management Tool Assessment program, and is also a top-rated tool in Walmart’s Fertilizer Optimization program.

Corn farmers interested in participating in the program should contact Robbie Montgomery at [email protected] or (910) 289-2111.

About Smithfield Foods

Smithfield Foods is a $15 billion global food company and the world's largest pork processor and hog producer. In the United States, the company is also the leader in numerous packaged meats categories with popular brands including Smithfield^Ⓡ, Eckrich^Ⓡ, Nathan's Famous^Ⓡ, Farmland^Ⓡ, Armour^Ⓡ, John Morrell^Ⓡ, Cook's^Ⓡ, Kretschmar^Ⓡ, Gwaltney^Ⓡ, Curly's^Ⓡ, Margherita^Ⓡ, Carando^Ⓡ, Healthy Ones^Ⓡ, Krakus^Ⓡ, Morliny^Ⓡ and Berlinki^Ⓡ. Smithfield Foods is committed to providing good food in a responsible way and maintains robust animal care, community involvement, employee safety, environmental and food safety and quality programs. For more information, visit www.smithfieldfoods.com.

About Agronomic Technology Corporation

Agronomic Technology Corp provides a recommendation platform to help tackle key challenges in agriculture. The company leverages the power of cloud technology, proven science and data to deliver large-scale, field-specific solutions that break the tradeoff between financial and environmental performance. The company models soil, water, fertilizer and field management activities and operates Adapt-N, the leading independent nitrogen management solution.
To learn more about Adapt-N, contact [email protected] or call 866-208-3276.

Contact:
Keira Lombardo
Smithfield Foods, Inc.
(757) 365-3050
[email protected]

Greg Levow
Agronomic Technology Corp.
866-208-3276 ext. 6
[email protected]