November 4, 2014 Comments are off Montana Stockgrowers Association
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Defining Sustainability for Ranching and Beef | 10 Things To Know

Padlock ESAP Sustainable

Sustainability is one of the hottest topics in food and agriculture today. Whether it be used for food products on maintaining a business, many folks disagree on what sustainability looks like. There are as many ways to define sustainability as there are cattle operations in the U.S. Maybe even more.

Essentially, it boils down to managing the three pillars of sustainability – economic, ecological and social – with the long-term in mind. During a panel discussion at this year’s Young Ag Leadership Conference in Bozeman, three individuals from different sectors of agriculture, each defined sustainability in their own terms. While each definition was different, each was based on those three pillars mentioned above. None of them were wrong in their definition. Sustainability truly looks different for each operation.

In an effort to arrive at finding a common definition for sustainability for the beef industry, the Global Roundtable for Sustainable Beef has met this week in Sao Paulo, Brazil to identify priorities of sustainability in a beef system that is socially responsible, environmentally sound and economically viable.

  • Planet (relevant principles: Natural Resources, Efficiency and Innovation, People and the Community);
  • People (relevant principles: People and the Community and Food);
  • Animals (relevant principle: Animal Health and Welfare, Efficiency and Innovation);
  • Progress (relevant principles: Natural Resources, People and the Community, Animal Health and Welfare, Food, Efficiency and Innovation)

Global Roundtable for Sustainable Beef The GRSB hopes their work to define sustainability can provide clarity on a complex issues that affects beef producers, retailers and consumers around the globe. It isn’t the intention of GRSB to create a standard or mandate for sustainable beef practices, but rather to provide a baseline when working with regional roundtables to identify opportunities for improvements and efficiencies on a local level.

What are the indicators of ranch sustainability in an area where cattle are grazing rangelands? The Sustainable Rangelands Roundtable lists 64 indicators of sustainability, We will cover 10 of them here. Do any of these apply to your operation? Maybe you can identify opportunities for improvement in areas of sustainability?

  1. Change in soil area erosion and ground cover
  2. Quality and flow of ground and surface water
  3. Condition of riparian and wetland areas
  4. Presence and availability of wildlife habitat
  5. Number of livestock on land relative to carrying capacity
  6. Return on investment for forage and livestock enterprises
  7. Suitability of animal and forage species for environment
  8. Social status and employment opportunities for workers
  9. Contributions and involvement with surrounding communities
  10. Longevity and effort to manage and maintain systems

Many farms and ranches across the country exhibit qualities of sustainability. The longevity of multi-generation operations that have been around for a century or more should be evidence of that. As long as it involves the three core principles mentioned above, sustainability looks different on each operation, but that difference shouldn’t mean one is good and the other is bad. They’re different, and that diversity should be celebrated.

The Environmental Stewardship Award Program recognizes ranches each year who are doing good work in the areas of sustainability. Be sure to read more about their stories of sustainability. Also, be sure to visit sustainable.rangelands.org to learn more from the cooperative effort by the Society for Range Management, University of Wyoming, and several other organizations. To read more about indicators of successful ranching, check out the proceedings from the Range Beef Cow Symposium XIX.

What questions do you have about sustainability for beef or ranching? Leave a comment below or email [email protected]. This is part of a month-long series of 10 Things to Know about Cattle. To read other posts in the series, click the image below.

Click this image to view all posts in the 30-day blogging series, 10 Things to Know About Cattle

Click this image to view all posts in the 30-day blogging series, 10 Things to Know About Cattle

May 13, 2014 Comments are off Montana Stockgrowers Association
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Global Roundtable for Sustainable Beef Releases Draft Principles and Criteria

Global Roundtable for Sustainable Beef The Global Roundtable for Sustainable Beef (GRSB) released its draft Principles and Criteria document in March. Those principles and criteria provide a basic framework for defining beef sustainability without setting standards or creating a “one-size-fits-all” approach to how beef should be produced. The sustainability principles and criteria contained within the document represent a yearlong, multi-stakeholder process which included participants from around the world, including representatives from NCBA.

“GRSB defines global sustainable beef as a socially responsible, environmentally sound and economically viable product that prioritizes planet, people, animals, and progress,” said Cameron Bruett, President, GRSB and Head, Corporate Affairs, JBS USA. “Our membership has worked in a collaborative fashion to boldly confront the challenges in every segment of the beef value chain. The core principles for global beef sustainability seek to balance a broad range of issues including natural resources, community and individual development, animal well-being, food, and efficiency and innovation.”

Although NCBA had a role in helping to draft the principles and criteria, there are a number of areas where NCBA continues to have concerns with the document. As a member of GRSB, NCBA will continue to engage in the process and seek changes to the principles and criteria.

“The conditions and practices under which beef is produced vary greatly around the world. As a result, there are principles and criteria contained in the document that apply to practices and conditions in the United States, while some do not,” said Forrest Roberts, NCBA Chief Executive Officer. “In most instances the practices, laws and regulations in the U.S. are more stringent.”

Although the draft principles and criteria do not represent NCBA policy and the organization has no current official position on the document, the organization will continue to engage in the effort.

“Because of the global nature of this document and the diverse views of GRSB members, there are some areas of concern,” said Roberts. “We believe that the farmers and ranchers in the U.S. are among the most responsible and progressive in the world and they take pride in the fact that they have been producing beef responsibly for generations.”

He pointed out that each member of the beef value chain plays an important role in the sustainability of our industry and we each have improvements we can make.

“It’s that spirit of continuous improvement that makes our industry great and we are hopeful that this document will provide the framework to benchmark those improvements in the U.S. and around the globe,” said Roberts.

GRSB’s sustainability principles and criteria are available online for public review and comment at www.grsbeef.org and NCBA will be submitting extensive comments on the document. NCBA members and beef industry stakeholders are also encouraged to provide input directly to GRSB, through the comment form on the website, in an effort to provide input on sustainable beef production from the U.S. perspective. The public comment period is open until May 16, 2014. After that time the comments will be reviewed and incorporated into the draft document. The revised final draft will be reviewed and voted upon at GRSB’s annual meeting later this year.

–via Beltway Beef, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, 05/08/2014

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