Experts estimate that by 2050, nine billion people will live on planet Earth. These extra people will require farmers to produce more of everything, including animal products, yet available agricultural land will continue to shrink as developers gobble it up for far less important uses. Farmers will have to produce more using less, which means increasing efficiency and production with each passing year.
For years, farmers and ranchers have done an outstanding job in bettering their production and efficiency, according to Jude Capper, Washington State University assistant professor of dairy science. In spite of this fact, however, livestock producers continue to come under attack by various groups and environmentalists. “The beef industry has done some really good things in the past 50 years,” Capper comments, “and we need to continue this. Anti-agriculture and other biased groups call themselves fancy names that sound innocuous but then these groups release slanted reports to the public, claiming their reports are ‘science-based’. This is not true. These groups are not impartial and they make livestock look like the carbon footprint culprits.”
She continues, “We cannot save the planet by going meatless. People cannot continue to think that making dietary changes will save the planet. This isn’t just about meat, as we get tallow, leather, and pharmaceuticals from animal byproducts. What would happen if these products were all replaced with PVCs?”
Capper looks at the total beef industry for her research and has proved that U.S. cattlemen continue to increase in efficiency and can supply more beef with less input as compared to their counterparts 30 years ago. “I’ve looked at the whole picture, the total beef industry, and I’ve proved efficiency has increased and as it increases, the carbon footprint decreases, and we also have more meat,” she remarks. “The improved beef yield per animal may be limited, but we can and have improved production all the way through.”
Capper cites facts and figures to prove her assertions. “In 1977, it took five animals to produce the same amount of beef as cattlemen produced in 2007 with four animals,” she says. “That’s one less animal. It took 606 days to get an animal ready for slaughter in ’77, and it took 482 days to get that animal ready for slaughter in ’07. Cattlemen saved 144 days. In 1977, it took 3000 animal days of land, feed, and water to get an animal to market weight. In 2007, it took 1928 days, so cattlemen saved 1100 days of food and water resources.”
The result of course means a decreased carbon footprint. “Feed, land, cattle, fertilizer, fuel all go into growing an animal from birth to slaughter,” Capper comments. “In 2007, we had fewer animals, and used less feed, less water, and 33% less land. Cattle also utilize land that can’t grow anything else, but we’ve cut the land usage by one third just by improving productivity and efficiency.”
Whether cattlemen choose traditional methods, go organic, or raise grass fed animals, Capper says each system has its place and that all systems can continue to improve in efficiency. “Whether cows are grass fed or grain fed, whether a rancher has a few cattle or a lot, all livestock producers can improve growth rates and efficiencies and can cut the total time it takes to reach targets,” she maintains. “We can cut the losses of death and illness in the system, and we can improve reproduction rates. Eighty-nine percent of cows have a live calf each year. Just improving the percentage of live births increases productivity.”
She adds, “We need to continually improve, because these issues of carbon footprints and greenhouse gases will not go away.”
The beef industry needs positive publicity, and cattlemen need to practice proactive marketing. “We all need to prove our dedication to reducing carbon footprints,” Capper concludes. “Productivity is the key factor in reducing those footprints.”
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