4 Grasslands are more effective at protecting carbon than forests because grasslands store up to 97% of carbon belowground, unlike forests that store most of their carbon above ground. When people attempt to compare carbon footprints that analyse different portions of the beef production life cycle – or entirely different industries – these comparisons can be inaccurate or even misleading.Ĭanada’s perennial forages and grasslands are critically important for carbon sequestration and storage. Scientists estimate that between 50 and 200 tonnes of carbon per hectare is stored belowground in Canada’s grasslands, with an additional 3 to 12 tonnes of carbon per hectare stored in above-ground plant growth and plant litter. Measuring emissions and sequestration in beef production depends on the type of life cycle analysis performed. The carbon footprint for beef production varies around the world, by region, and even by farm, depending on different management practices. Climate change can also lead to opportunities, such as a longer frost-free growing season and potential to grow new forages plants (such as more warm-season species) with greater yield possibilities. 1 Over decades, increased temperatures present challenges to beef producers, such as an increased risk of extreme weather events like drought or flooding. The average global temperature is expected to increase by 0.2☌ per decade due to increased global human activity and industrialization. Carbon dioxide lasts in the atmosphere for hundreds of years, whereas methane, while initially having a 25-fold greater impact when it’s first emitted, has a lifespan of around 12 years. Not all greenhouse gases have the same global warming potential (GWP). Over time and due to industrialization, greenhouse gases are building up in our atmosphere and increasing the global temperature, which is referred to as global warming. Examples of carbon sinks include grasslands, perennial forages, forests and wetlands.Īll living things emit greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide (CO 2), methane (CH 4), and nitrous oxide (N 2O). Another example of a carbon source is enteric methane (CH 4), a natural by-product of microbial fermentation in the rumen that occurs as cattle convert forage into protein.Ī carbon sink is a part of the carbon cycle that stores more new carbon than it emits over time, thereby reducing atmospheric carbon. In the beef value chain, an example of a carbon source includes carbon dioxide (CO 2), a greenhouse gas that is emitted when fossil fuels are used to grow, harvest, transport, or feed forage to cattle. There are inputs and outputs, or “sources” and “sinks” in every carbon cycle, including beef production.Ī carbon source is a component of the cycle that emits more carbon than it sequesters. Managing Nutrients For Tame Pastures QuizĪll living things contain carbon and are part of a carbon cycle.Fencing & Water Infrastructure On Pasture Quiz.Grazing-Related Animal Health Concerns Quiz.Fencing & Water Infrastructure on Pasture.Canadian Beef Technology Transfer Network.Award for Outstanding Research & Innovation.Canadian Beef Research & Technology Transfer Strategy.Cost-Benefit of Feeding BRD Vaccinated Calves.Tool for Evaluating the Economic Value of Feeds Based on Nutrient Content.Preconditioning and Backgrounding Calculator.Value of Crops for Livestock Feeds Calculator.Economics of Pregnancy Testing Beef Cattle.Value of Calving Distribution Calculator.Impact of Body Condition on Cow Productivity and Profitability.Cow-Calf Production Indicators Calculator.On-farm Practices to Improve Food Safety.Feed Quality, Testing & Analysis for Beef Cattle.Forage & Grasslands Record-Keeping – Level 2.Forage & Grasslands Record-Keeping – Level 1.Forage & Grasslands Record-Keeping – Level 3.Animal Health & Performance Record-Keeping – Level 1.Animal Health & Performance Record-Keeping – Level 3.Animal Health & Performance Record-Keeping – Level 2.An Introduction to Record-Keeping Systems.An Introduction to Farm Records & Benchmarking.Production Practices on Cow-Calf Operations.Environmental Footprint of Beef Production.Preventing Reproductive Failure in Cow-Calf Herds.Hormones & Other Growth Promotants in Beef Production.Animal Health, Welfare & Antimicrobial Resistance.
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