Beef farming that keeps cattle on lifelong grass diets may have higher carbon footprint

Beef operations that keep cattle on lifelong grass-based diets may have an overall higher carbon footprint than those that switch cattle to grain-based diets partway through their lives. Daniel Blaustein-Rejto of the Breakthrough Institute, USA, and colleagues present these findings in the open-access journal PLOS ONE on December 13.

Cattle on lifelong grass diets are known as "pasture finished," while those that switch from grass to grain before slaughter are "grain finished." Prior research has suggested that pasture-finished beef operations have a higher carbon footprint than grain-finished operations.

However, most studies have limited their focus to the amount of greenhouse gases emitted directly by beef production without considering other factors that may affect the overall carbon footprint.

To help deepen understanding, Blaustein-Rejto and colleagues calculated and compared the carbon footprint of 100 beef operations located in 16 countries.

In addition to direct greenhouse gas emissions, their calculations incorporated soil carbon sequestration -- the capture and long-term storage in pasture soils of atmospheric carbon, often in the form of dead plants and cattle waste.

They also accounted for the carbon opportunity cost -- the carbon that would have been sequestered if the land had native ecosystems instead of being used for beef production.

Extensive statistical analysis showed that the pasture-finished operations produce 20 percent more greenhouse gases than grain-finished operations -- in line with prior studies.

However, after incorporating soil carbon sequestration and carbon opportunity cost, the total carbon footprint of pasture-finished operations was 42 percent higher, likely due to its more intense usage of land.

Further analysis suggested that an increase in land use intensity is indeed strongly associated with a bigger overall carbon footprint for beef operations.

The calculations also suggest that, averaging across all operations in the study, carbon opportunity costs may contribute even more to an operation's overall carbon footprint than its direct greenhouse gas emissions.

The researchers say their findings emphasize the need for climate mitigation efforts to account for carbon opportunity costs of beef production.

With pasture-finished beef often being seen as more premium, carbon footprint data may also provide important additional information to aid consumer choice.

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Longhorned tick discovered in northern Missouri

The Longhorned tick causes the loss of millions of dollars in agricultural revenue to cattle producers worldwide, and it is now in northern Missouri.

Originally found in eastern Russia and the Australasian region, this tick was first found in the United States in 2017 in New Jersey. It has since reached the Mid-Atlantic, New England and Midwestern regions of the U.S., and now has been discovered in northern Missouri for the first time by researchers at the University of Missouri.

Last year, the Longhorned tick was found in the southern part of the state. This latest discovery indicates an additional economic burden to cattle producers due to ticks; as the Longhorned tick infestation could lead to significant loss in weight gain for cattle, similar to an already widely prevalent disease called anaplasmosis; but so far, the threat from this species of tick to cattle -- and people and their pets -- in Missouri remains low. However, researchers emphasize that the discovery of the Longhorned tick in the state increases the need for more vigilance towards ticks in general.

While most ticks reproduce traditionally, female Longhorned ticks can lay thousands of eggs without the help of a male, which makes it easier for them to quickly establish in new areas. Infestation of the Longhorned tick can lead to possible transmission of bovine theileriosis, a disease that kills red blood cells in cattle.

While there have currently not been any confirmed cases of bovine theileriosis in Missouri cattle, this discovery further heightens the need for Missouri cattle ranchers to make informed decisions regarding quarantining protocols when introducing new cattle into their herds in an effort to protect the health of their livestock, which has significant economic implications.

"Studying the prevalence of invasive ticks in different geographical regions can help veterinarians and farmers take proactive, preventative steps that may ultimately protect the health of livestock, which has huge economic implications," said Rosalie Ierardi, an anatomic pathologist at the MU College of Veterinary Medicine who recently discovered two Longhorned ticks in Linn County, Missouri, while conducting anaplasmosis surveillance research.

Ierardi collaborated on the project with Ram Raghavan, a professor in the MU College of Veterinary Medicine and MU School of Health Professions. Raghavan, who has been tracking the spread of various species of ticks in the U.S. for 15 years, predicted the potential geographic distribution of the Longhorned tick back in 2019. So far, the tick appears to be establishing in the areas that he had predicted in that study. He said there not only appears to be an increase in the abundance of all ticks in the Midwest in the past decade, but also an increase in the pathogens and diseases they transmit to cattle, humans and pets.

"Warmer temperatures in the Midwest seem to be creating perfect conditions for ticks and the pathogens they carry to thrive, and this problem may get worse going forward as the planet continues to warm, which is concerning," Raghavan said. "We must be vigilant and devote resources toward trying to prevent these ticks from spreading diseases that harm the health of cattle, humans and their pets. The discovery of Longhorned ticks in northern Missouri greatly increases the need for more vigilance towards ticks in general and the need for routine monitoring of the pathogens they transmit."

Ierardi encourages cattle ranchers who notice weakness, jaundice and pregnancy loss in their cattle to contact their local veterinarian and the MU Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory for assistance with tracking down the causes for such signs.

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Heat stress for cattle may cost billions by century's end, study finds

Climate change poses a potentially devastating economic threat to low-income cattle farmers in poor countries due to increasing heat stress on the animals. Globally, by the end of this century those producers may face financial loss between $15 and $40 billion annually.

Farmers in tropical regions -- including large parts of South America, Asia and Africa -- are likely to suffer significantly, particularly when compared with producers in the world's wealthier temperate zones, according to a study by an international team of scientists and economists published in the Lancet Planetary Health.

The researchers, including Mario Herrero, professor of sustainable food systems at Cornell University, and lead author Philip Thornton, of the International Livestock Research Institute and CGIAR; published "Impacts of Heat Stress on Global Cattle Production During the 21st Century."

Escalating demand for livestock products in low- and middle-income countries, along with steadily increasing global average temperatures, is an uncomfortable mix, the researchers said. If livestock are to adapt to new thermal environments and increase their productivity, infrastructural investments or adjustments -- such as switching to more heat-tolerant cattle breeds, and improving shade, ventilation and cooling systems -- will be required.

In the paper's high greenhouse-gas emission scenario, cattle production losses from heat stress are estimated to be $39.94 billion annually, or 9.8% of the value of production of meat and milk from cattle in 2005 -- the scientists' baseline year. The low-emission scenario projects production losses at $14.9 billion annually, or 3.7% of the 2005 value.

By the end of the century, dairy and beef production in the United States is projected to decline by 6.8%, while India -- a major dairy production country -- is projected to lose more than 45% of its dairy farming due to heat stress increases.

"Resource-poor farmers in low-income countries depend heavily on their livestock for their livelihoods," Thornton said. "The adaptation needs are even higher in these countries, and those farmers are the ones where the hit is even more severe."

With climate change, farming and sustainability, Herrero suggested there is a need to create equitable adaptation practices "by design and to think intentionally on reaching the vulnerable sectors of global society," he said. "We cannot just hope that the poor will not be affected."

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