What’s (Ag)Next for Beef Industry Sustainability?

by Brandi Buzzard Frobose, Editor

Over the past several decades, some of the most meaningful changes in the beef industry have been products of research and innovation. EPDs, which were first published for cattle in the early 1980s, were borne out of the necessity for faster genetic advancement and more informed breeding management decisions. While initially there were skeptics, most producers today would admit their adoption has had an overall positive impact on the beef industry.

Similarly, embryo transfer significantly elevated the potential for herd improvement through increased access to superior genetics for cattle producers of all herd sizes. These two developments in genetic improvement would not have happened without sound research and innovative thinkers to utilize data in an applied way to the cattle industry.

By the same token, Colorado State University has a rich history in animal science, rooted in research and innovation, which has provided the perfect setting for AgNext, a modern hub for sustainability solutions for animal agriculture.

Founded in 2020 as the Sustainable Livestock Systems Collaborative, Colorado State University brought Kim Stackhouse-Lawson, Ph.D., on board to lead the research body in late 2021. One of her first actions was to change the name from the CSU-SLSC to AgNext, followed by the creation of the Industry Innovation Group, which created the mission, vision and focus areas for the organization and plays an active role in guiding the organization through challenges, research ideas and stakeholder discussions.

Steve Wooten, owner of Beatty Canyon Ranch, past recipient of the Environmental Stewardship Award and commercial Red Angus producer, sits on the Industry Innovation Group and said he has fully supported the idea since it’s inception.

“AgNext is impactful because of the people, the breadth and scope of the trials and the reputation of Colorado State University,” he said. “As a producer, I need quality information about what management I can influence so our operation is more environmentally positive, our cattle are more efficient and we stand a chance of being profitable.”

AgNext serves as the crossroads for producers, industry partners and researchers to come together to identify real-time solutions for sustainability in animal agriculture and was borne out of the need to solve “wicked problems.”

Stackhouse-Lawson defined a “wicked problem” as one that doesn’t have a single right answer, due to trade-offs in management systems.

AgNext was borne out of the need to meet stakeholder and supply chain challenges as sustainability has become a decision-making factor for consumers.

What’s (Ag)Next for Beef Industry Sustainability?

“It’s very unlikely that we see improvements in every aspect when we are working on solutions. We hope to see improvements in some areas while other are maintained or have a lessened impact,” explained Stackhouse-Lawson. “It’s important to remember that sustainability solutions are not just scientific, they also have an emotional element – and should also include social, animal well-being, consumer, environmental and marketing solutions because sustainability is not black and white,” she added.

To solve such problems, AgNext brings together a talented and robust team of feedlot and dairy specialists, economists, nutritionists, veterinarians, communicators, undergraduate and graduate students. A team of this kind is uncommon in an academic setting and Stackhouse-Lawson attested that the diversity of the group plays a large part in its success in finding sustainable solutions in animal agriculture.

“Each member of our team has a 50% engagement component to their appointment, which is different than outreach or education,” said Stackhouse-Lawson. “At AgNext, we want to develop a culture where we ideate, innovate and learn together via two-way learning. Those faculty members with a large engagement component build in time to go to operations and understand the challenges that producers face. This connects the supply chain to all aspects of the university.”

AgNext focuses on the intersection of science and emotion, as sustainability solutions are not just scientific, they also have social, animal well-being, consumer and environmental components.

Stakeholders have challenged AgNext and its members to focus on problems 5 to 10 years down the road, even though, historically, sustainability has looked backwards. For example, instead of evaluating how outcomes have shifted due to changes in strategies in areas such as reproduction, researchers at AgNext look towards future pain points in the supply chain and are willing to transparently seek solutions to those issues. According to Stackhouse-Lawson, researchers and stakeholders must be willing to fail fast and fail transparently to achieve such goals.

What’s (Ag)Next for Beef Industry Sustainability?

“We have to develop a culture where technical people are comfortable failing, which is historically uncomfortable. However, we also must develop trust in the industry which is why we need to fail fast 98% of the time, so we can get to the solution, the 2%, quickly,” said Stackhouse-Lawson.

“Additionally, we need to fail transparently because that’s how engagement works. The public and our trusted partners need to see the ‘work, fail and succeed’ process on display. That is what our stakeholders told us they wanted.”

Seeking answers to complex problems in the beef supply chain is well underway at AgNext. Previously conducted research by USDA-ARS uncovered performance differences between genetically similar groups of cattle that were grazed in the same pastures but were sourced from different origins. AgNext is partnering on research in Nunn, Colorado, to also assess methane production to investigate origin-based differences and relationships to performance between three groups of steers: a locally sourced group, a group from the Meat Animal Research Center in Clay Center, Nebraska, and a third group from the CSU Rouse Ranch in Wyoming.

According to Stackhouse-Lawson, one possible outcome from this research may be that sourcing feeder cattle locally may be an actual climate smart practice, which would most certainly have striking implications for the feeding sector of the beef industry.

Once a solution is identified, it’s a matter of scaling the innovation to promote profitable industries that support vibrant human and animal communities.

“The key for us is finding the balance between what stakeholders are asking for and finding both financial and research partners to execute problem solving,” offered Stack-

What’s (Ag)Next for Beef Industry Sustainability?

house-Lawson. “Many of the grants available for research work don’t align with the challenges that producers are facing, so that’s a hill we have to climb.”

Success, as with sustainability, is not black and white but Stackhouse-Lawson attested that the strong relationships that AgNext has with producers, retailers and industry stakeholders, and the support the organization receives, ultimately contribute to successful discoveries and solutions for challenges presented to supply chain sustainability.

One such successful discovery is the development and publication of the 2023 beef lifecycle assessment, completed by a team of researchers including AgNext faculty member Greg Thoma, Ph.D. The lifecycle assessment comprises all facets of the beef supply chain, from “cradle to grave,” and provides a baseline for evaluating mitigation strategies and measuring future improvements in sustainability for the U.S. beef industry. 1

A previously developed lifecycle, published by the Beef Checkoff in 2016 and based on data from 2011-2015, had been used by stakeholders, industry associations, NGOs, producers and advocates to promote the positive attributes of beef production and the associated improvements in environmental, social and economic sustainability during that time period. This newly released 2023 LCA provides data and insight to allow the continued advocacy for beef industry sustainability to supply chain partners, policymakers and stakeholders.

The future looks bright for beef sustainability, from both research and innovation standpoints according to Stackhouse-Lawson.

“We know for sure what sustainability is, we are working on developing solutions that are scalable and we have a team at AgNext that has a lot of passion and pride in their work. Ultimately, we know we can meet our stakeholder goals through the combination of all these factors.”

Wooten added that producers can support AgNext by putting into action the credible results and recommendations that come from those trials and solutions.

“Don’t let quality results or information from this valuable and relevant research go unutilized and therefore negate continuous improvement within the beef value chain. As with other management changes, feedback will be critical for the teams to utilize in building long-term assessments.”

1 Putman, et al. 2023. A comprehensive environmental assessment of beef production and consumption in the United States. Journal of Cleaner Production. 402: 136766. //