Demonstration, Expansion, and Quantification of the Benefits of a Climate-Smart Commodity: Verified Regenerative Bison Products

Notice: _On April 14, 2025, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins announced the cancellation of the Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities (PCSC). The USDA plans to reform the program into the Advancing Markets for Producers (AMP) initiative. Contact your local USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) for more information on how to apply to the AMP initiative. _

The project will develop a demonstration program on tribal lands, implementing and expanding multiple climate-smart markets and practices in production of American bison, and will showcase the benefits of regenerative bison production to rangeland, ranchers, and climate. It will also create a new entity to maintain standards of regenerative bison production, track climate benefits and payment for those benefits through the supply chain, and establish consumer trust.

This project plans to support planting riparian areas, transitioning from crop land to native grass for bison grazing and native grass inter-seeding of existing pasture. A bison markets specialist plans to focus on a full “hoof to horn” utilization to sell multiple products including specialty cuts, ground bison, hides and bone meal.

A bison-specific verification program is planned to provide the basis for market differentiation and added value.