3 strategies to reduce cow herds’ environmental hoofprints
Cattlemen’s College: Practical ways to lower the emissions and boost the efficiency of your herd.
Reducing your cow herd’s environmental “hoofprints” in the pasture can often lead to money savings and increased efficiencies for the producer.
This was the key takeaway from beef sustainability research headed up by National Cattlemen’s Beef Association and presented during a session at the 2021 Cattlemen’s College Aug. 9-10, in Nashville, Tenn. Overall, U.S. cattle producers are doing a better job at managing their cattle herds not only for economic sustainability, but also environmental sustainability.
Pasture to plate
A most recent environmental life cycle assessment (LCA) of the beef lifecycle — from pasture to the plate — showed that emissions attributed to cattle production, including the feed grown, and the fuel and electricity used, account for 3.7% of the total greenhouse gas emissions in the United States. The LCA shows that the U.S. beef production system produces 18% of the world’s beef, with only 6% of the world’s cattle and the lowest carbon footprint of any country
Cattle are nature’s upcyclers, turning feed into protein for human consumption. The LCA showed the net protein contribution of cattle at each stage of the life cycle, showing that cattle provide three times as much protein for human consumption as other protein sources for humans.
Each point in the chain has room for environmental improvement, but the cow-calf sector accounts for 70% of the beef life cycle’s footprint according to Jessica Gilreath, postdoctoral research associate at Texas A&M University. She gave three strategies that came from the LCA for the cow-calf sector to not only save their money, but also save the environment.
Improved feed efficiencies
To measure beef cattle’s environmental impact, Gilreath says to take the cattle’s carbon emissions, divided by the carcass weight that is produced.