Aussie beef farmers leave smaller green footprint

The Life Cycle Assessment study, funded by Meat & Livestock Australia (MLA), looks at the environmental impacts of Australian beef production in 1981-2010, finding that farmers have reduced GHG emissions by 14% and are using 65% less water for beef production.

Results show that improved genetic selection of animals, heavier finishing weights, increased survival rates, capping of artesian bores and a decline in irrigation, as well as an increase in lot feeding since the early 1990s, have notably reduced environmental impact and improved productivity.  

MLA on-farm innovation and adoption general manager Dr Matthew McDonagh says this research “have given valuable long term data on the Australian beef system and a benchmark to equip industry with quantitative data and facts to reinforce Australia’s credentials as being a producer of high quality beef, here and with our customers overseas.

“This is also a critical body of research in helping industry respond to any misconceptions over environmental impacts of beef production, given that the Australian beef industry covers almost half of Australia’s land mass and is one of the country’s largest agricultural industries, worth $17 billion to the economy and employing at least 200,000 people.”

Lead author of the paper Steve Wiedemann, FSA Consulting, says the study provided a more accurate picture of the Australian beef industry’s environmental footprint.

“Past work has looked at trends in emissions, water and land use; this is the most comprehensive study to date using a life cycle assessment approach – widely accepted internationally for measuring the environmental performance of products such as beef.

“This shows that changes to farming practices… such as a focus on productivity and herd management have resulted in dual benefits by reducing environmental impacts per kilogram of product, at the same time as improving productivity.”

Lachlan Hughes, a fifth generation Queensland beef producer from Dulacca, and member of representative grass-fed lobby group Cattle Council of Australia, says the study provided tangible data showing big productivity and environmental gains. 

“The Australian beef industry is committed to enabling transparency across the supply chain and this study demonstrates that all the hard work is paying off.

“We have quantified performance in water, GHG emissions, energy and land use and now we want to look at how we quantify other environmental impacts, like soil health and biodiversity.” 

Grain feeding in feedlots showed specific improvement. Australian Lot Feeders’ Association (ALFA) president Don Mackay says this could be attributed to cattle now being finished more quickly, resulting in a reduction in resource use over the life cycle. 

“Feedlot cattle spend 85-90% of their lives on pasture, but feedlots allow us to finish beef more quickly which means a reduction in overall emissions, water use, land use and waste. This is still the case even when additional feedlot management impacts such as transport and feed production are taken into account as they were in this study,” says Mackay.