Business : Beef Sustainability is Focus at Dubuque Conference

Dr. Jude Capper

What does sustainability mean for the beef industry? That really depends on who you are asking. For example, the Global Roundtable for Sustainable Beef recently announced its definition of sustainable beef as a socially responsible, environmentally sound and economically viable product that prioritizes planet, people, animals, and progress. Fine tuning that definition in the minds of producers and consumers gets more complicated. Some ideas of sustainable relates to raising meat locally, reducing the carbon footprint needed to produce beef, forage only fed, or everything from pre-conception through post consumption. Regardless of the specific definitions, the generic definition is producing more with less.

One view on sustainability in the beef industry will be presented at the Driftless Region Beef Conference in Dubuque that’s set for Jan. 22-23, 2015. Keynote speaker Jude Capper will share her research on beef’s environmental footprint. She’s a self-employed sustainability consultant and an adjunct professor of animal sciences at Washington State University, but is better known for her research on the environmental impact of beef production in the United States from 1977 to 2007.

Capper’s study modeled the metabolism and nutrient requirements of the beef industry to establish the amount of resource inputs and waste outputs needed to produce a set amount of beef at each point in time. Capper’s model showed that the same amount of beef was produced in 2007 with 30% fewer animals, 19% less feed, 12% less water, on 33% less land, with 18% less manure, 18% less methane, and 12% less nitrate compared to 1977. This resulted in a carbon footprint that is 16.3% smaller than in 1977. While the carbon footprint is only one aspect of sustainability, her study shows that modern beef production is raising more beef with fewer inputs and less waste.

Capper also will speak on some of the various views of what sustainability means to the beef industry in the future.

Beef producers are encouraged to attend the Driftless Beef Conference that runs from 1 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 22 through 11:45 a.m. on Friday, Jan. 23. The Thursday afternoon program focuses on improving efficiency and profitability of beef production in the upper Midwest, with an evening discussion focused opportunities to capitalize on the diversity in the beef industry. The Friday morning agenda includes four breakout sessions each for feedlot operations and cow-calf producers.

The early registration fee for the conference is $85 per person and must be received prior to midnight, Jan. 14. The price increases to $115 after that date. More information about the conference, including topics, speakers, and lodging is available at www.aep.iastate.edu/beef. Registration begins Dec. 1, with links for online and mail forms available on the conference website.

The Driftless Region Beef Conference is sponsored by the University of Illinois Extension, Iowa State University Extension and Outreach, the University of Minnesota Extension, and University of Wisconsin Extension. The planning team strives to deliver the latest in research-based information regarding the beef cattle industry. For more information or to receive a brochure, contact Denise Schwab, ISU Extension Beef Specialist, at 319-721-9624.

Dr. Jude Capper will be the keynote speakers at the Driftless Region Beef Conference on January 22 & 23, in Dubuque, IA.