Posts Tagged: livestock

Efficient U.S. livestock production leaves smaller carbon hoofprint

Dear Colleagues,

The University of California and VOX Media have been producing a video series this past year that explores issues related to global climate change and UC's work to mitigate its effects. Previous episodes have examined food waste, nuclear power, goods movement and more. Episode 8, “The diet that helps fight climate change,” compares the greenhouse gas emissions of livestock and transportation globally, using some statistics that have been questioned by our UCCE scientists.

Data – and the way in which it is presented – matters a great deal. Although the video stresses moderation and doesn't explicitly urge consumers to go vegan, it states that if the world was to reduce its meat consumption, that decision alone could offset the emissions from a billion cars on the road by 2050. For the U.S., however, this contention is misleading, as the impact would be considerably smaller. 

It's true that livestock emit methane and nearly all aspects of agriculture have a carbon footprint; however, U.S. animal agriculture is much more efficient than in other parts of the world. In the U.S., livestock are responsible for 3.8 percent of GHG emissions while transportation accounts for 26.4 percent, according to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency data. In California, 5.4 percent of GHG emissions are attributed to livestock and 37 percent to transportation, according to the California Air Resources Board.

While it is vital that scientists in UC ANR, and elsewhere, assist ranchers to continue diminishing the carbon hoofprint, it is also important to recognize that meat can serve as a high-quality protein source as part of a nutritious diet. The VOX video does note that not all livestock is raised equally, and that rangeland can be used to sequester carbon, but it neglects to mention that grazing cows also provide numerous ecosystem services, such as eating plants that could fuel wildfires and crowd out native wildflowers.

It should also be noted how livestock fit into the larger food system picture. Almost 60 percent of the world's agricultural land is grazing land and is unsuitable for producing crops. Ruminants serve a valuable role in the food system by converting the forages humans cannot consume into a nutrient-dense food.

UC ANR advisors and specialists continuously strive to improve livestock production practices; however, that is only one of many approaches we need to pursue to solve the challenges of climate change. Time, research and money should be invested where they will produce the most benefit for society. Encouraging people to focus on livestock, rather than on much larger sources of GHG emissions, can lead to policies that slow our efforts to develop more effective climate change solutions.

Glenda Humiston
Vice President

 

View or leave comments for ANR Leadership at http://ucanr.edu/sites/ANRUpdate/Comments.

This announcement is also posted and archived on the ANR Update pages.

  

 

California's dry winter is leaving west side cattle hungry

The long rainless winter resulted in grass growth on the west side of the San Joaquin Valley about 80 percent less than usual, reported John Holland in the Modesto Bee. Spring rain pushed somewhat more growth on the valley's east side, which was charted at 55 to 70 percent less than normal.

Theresa Becchetti, UC Cooperative Extension advisor in Stanislaus and San Joaquin counties, a livestock expert, and Diana Waller, district conservationist for the U.S. Natural Resources Conservation Service, reported the conditions in a letter last month to county and federal agriculture officials.

Fall 2011 rain helped germinate seeds, but "unfortunately, that is where it ended," they wrote.

A cattle producer quoted in the story said the poor feed conditions are offset somewhat by beef prices that have remained strong.

The USDA reported that nonirrigated range condition was poor to fair, with some higher-elevation range in good to fair condition.

Not a lot of greenhouse gas is from animal ag

There's been some confusion in recent years about the impact of animal agriculture on global warming. UC Davis Cooperative Extension air quality specialist Frank Mitloehner will share his findings on the subject this month during a free webinar on the eXtension website, according to an article in Pork magazine.

The 2006 United Nations report "Livestock's Long Shadow" said the livestock sector is responsible for 18 percent of greenhouse gas emissions, a higher share than transportation. Mitloehner said livestock's contribution is more like 3 percent, yet wide distribution of the misinformation has put Americans and others on the wrong path toward solutions.

The webinar, which will include information from Mithoehner's report "Clearing the Air: Livestock's Contribution to Climate Change," is at 11:30 a.m. Pacific Time June 11. Forum participants will have the opportunity to ask questions, post comments, upload photos and share their experiences. All the details, including links to background information and to the webinar, are in this eXtension flyer.

Black and white swine.

Animal feed generates lots of valley ozone

Scientists have been puzzled by the fact that the San Joaquin Valley often suffers high ozone levels even though the mostly rural, agricultural domain has fewer cars and trucks than big cities. Research by UC Davis scientists is now showing that some of the ozone in the valley is being generated by fermented animal feed, according to a story posted yesterday on the website Science News.

While ozone provides a protective barrier for the earth in the stratosphere, it is an unwelcome molecule to have around where people are breathing. Ozone (O₃) is a powerful oxidizing agent, far stronger than O₂. It can harm lung function and irritate the respiratory system.

The UC Davis team, led by environmental engineer Cody Howard, tested seven types of animal feed in a one-meter-square tented chamber, according to writer Janet Raloff, author of the Science News story. They added a mix of gases that matched the valley’s air and simulated sunlight with lamps. The result was lots of ozone.

Corn silage generated about 125 parts per billion ozone, alfalfa silage a little less, and mixed oat-wheat silage 210 ppb, Raloff reported. These emissions pale in comparison to cars. However, because the San Joaquin Valley has so much silage to feed its animal agriculture industry, the feed appears to be the single biggest contributor to the region’s ozone problem, the story said.

Cars and light-duty trucks in the valley can generate 13 metric tons of ozone per day, while feed for the valley’s 10 million head of dairy cattle can produce 24.5 million tons of ozone per day.

Corn silage livestock feed.

When will Mother Nature get it right?

Farmers reeling from three years of drought and an unseasonably warm January are now worried about rainfall at the wrong time of year, according to a story in today's Redding Record Searchlight.

Almond trees that bloomed early because of warm January weather suffered some frost damage. Now, rain during spring bloom is inhibiting pollination. (Who can blame bees for curling up with a good book on rainy days?) Wet weather also raises concerns about fungal diseases. But despite these abnormal weather patterns, UC Cooperative Extension farm advisor Bill Krueger assured writer Debra Moore that almond farmers will still have nuts to harvest next fall.

"If there is good weather between storms, it will give the bees a chance to pollinate," Krueger was quoted. "The diseases won't be as bad as they would have been had these been warm storms."

The article also covered problems experienced by cattle ranchers when precipitation doesn't arrive on schedule.

UCCE livestock program representative Josh Davy told the reporter that February rain storms are filling up stock water ponds, but won't help farmers concerned about this season's rangeland vegetation, on which they rely for animal rations.

"The annual grasses are germinated with fall rains," Davy was quoted. "And this rain has come too late."

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