Ensuring better levels of sustainability in the beef sector

Increasing the level of sustainability in the beef sector has been identified as a key target in the fight against climate change in agriculture across Ireland.

Furthermore, the significant number of cattle reared on Irish farms means that the total amount of methane emissions is the biggest environmental challenge facing the Irish red meat industry.

These were two of the key messages delivered at a recent beef and sheep open day at the Agri-Food and Biology Institute (AFBI).

The event was attended by approximately 500 farmers from across Ireland.

Reduction of age at slaughter

According to Dr. Francis Lively of AFBI, reducing the age of slaughter is a very practical and achievable method of reducing methane production and optimizing profits.

This can be achieved by setting growth goals throughout the animal’s life. Accurate feed analysis is also crucial in developing a feeding plan to achieve good slaughter weight at an earlier age.

Regular monitoring of performance is necessary to ensure that goals are being met and the feed is getting better.

According to Francis Lively, maintaining live weight gain at the level of 0.6 kg/day throughout the life of the animal will significantly reduce the age at slaughter while maintaining the weight and shape of the carcass.

“That number includes heifers and steers of all breeds. The days of cattle being kept in storage are basically gone,” Lively explained.

“To achieve these goals, cattle producers will need to provide their animals with the highest quality grazing and produce similar quality silage that can be fed during the winter months.”

The AFBI scientist admitted that achieving the reduced age at slaughter would be a simpler challenge for native breed cattle.

Nutrient Management

Another key topic covered over the two days was how to make the best use of nutrients that are already available on livestock farms.

“Manure is a valuable source of organic nitrogen and phosphorus,” explained AFBI Director, Prof. Elizabeth Magowan.

“So ensuring these nutrients are available at times when plant uptake is optimal provides two extremely important end results.

“These include reducing nutrient runoff into streams and other watercourses and reducing the amount of chemical fertilizers needed to ensure optimal crop yields.

“So we end up with a win-win scenario for farmers. AFBI research also examines ways to reduce emissions of nitrous oxide and ammonia into the atmosphere, two issues that must be actively addressed by agriculture as a whole,” she added.

She also said that tailored research and development is providing tangible answers to these challenges, an example of which is the use of low emission slurry spreading equipment (LESS).

“However, AFBI research teams recognise that one-size-fits-all solutions will not work across the networks of farms that make up agriculture in Northern Ireland,” she continued.

“And once again, our programs have been designed to reflect this situation.”

Delivering changes at minimal cost

The AFBI Director cited the use of the Bovine Information System (BovIS) management tool as an example of how cattle producers can deliver real change to their businesses at the lowest cost.

This ‘decision support tool’ was funded by the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) and AgriSearch, and the app was developed by AFBI to provide Northern Ireland beef producers with the ability to view, analyze and assess the performance of slaughtered animals.

BovIS stores carcass information from Northern Ireland processors and farmers, historical and current herd information.

Farmers can log in to BovIS via the Government Gateway and view information relating to the animal they have slaughtered.

DAERA recently launched a new Beef Carbon Reduction Scheme (BCRS) which aims to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and improve efficiency in the beef sector.

The new law rewards farmers with a payment of £75 per head from April 2024 for animals slaughtered at the age of 30 months or younger in the first year of the scheme, reduced to 26 months in the fourth year.

According to Elizabeth Magowan, BovIS can play a key role in helping farmers realise the benefits of BCRS by understanding the historical and current performance of their herd.

BovIS support tools include: Herd of Origin Report; Comparative analysis of carcasses; and a growth rate calculator.

“Bovis currently tells us that 33% of cattle slaughtered in Northern Ireland reach a carcass weight of 280kg or more at 24 months of age or less,” said Prof. Magowan.

“To get the most out of BovIS, you need access to a truck scale on the farm. If they are not available, they can be accessed at a reasonable cost.”

The specific, cheapest development option for dairy producers is to adopt a diet with a lower phosphorus content.

This approach has been shown to reduce phosphorus excretion in feces by up to 45%.

Further reducing the phosphorus content of dairy cow concentrates from the agreed target of 5.7 g/kg to 5.2 g/kg (fresh) could reduce the amount of excess phosphorus on local dairy farms by approximately 350 tonnes per year.

Reducing the crude protein content in the diet can reduce nitrogen excretion in manure by about 15% and ammonia emissions from the resulting slurry by up to 30%.

Breeding for the future

Cattle and sheep are very efficient at converting grass and other feed into beef, milk, and lamb. The downside is the production of methane, a major GHG, as a byproduct.

However, under the same husbandry conditions there may be differences in the amount of methane produced by animals from the same group.

These were the key messages shared by Sam Boone, Signet sheep program manager for the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB), as part of a presentation at the AFBI beef and sheep open day.

“Some of the differences in methane production levels achieved by ruminants can be attributed to genetic factors,” Boone said.

“The beauty of genetics is that, unlike health and nutrition, it provides cumulative benefits over generations.

“And it is closed. In terms of health, this year we are doing a treatment that affects the animals. However, to continue this trend, we have to do the same thing again next year.

“But with genetics, we can evolve this process to produce cumulative impacts that will be sustainable in the future across populations.”

According to Boone, the benefits of genetic improvement over the last 40 years are now worth around £14 million a year.

“The equivalent amount for the beef sector is £7 million for the beef industry,” Boone further explained.

There are two ways to reduce methane emissions in the ruminant livestock sector. One is direct selection.

“The second option is through an indirect selection process,” Boone commented.

Direct selection involves the actual measurement of methane emissions produced by livestock. In the case of sheep, this work is being carried out under the auspices of the Breed for Change programme.

“We measure methane production levels in commercial production environments courtesy of sheep living in an actual pasture,” Boone continued.

“This is the gold standard approach. This approach also allows us to CT scan the sheep in the study. This allows us to measure rumen volume. It should be possible to estimate how this relates to actual methane production levels.”

The AHDB representative admitted that it is more difficult to measure methane emissions in cattle.

“The cattle are so much bigger,” he added.

“The way to get around this challenge is to measure the feed efficiency of animals. We know that there is a high degree of correlation between the efficiency with which animals convert feed intake into meat or milk and the associated levels of methane that are produced.”

Indirect selection involves assessing performance indicators.

“For dairy bulls, there is now an environmental index available,” Boone commented.

“We therefore also know that there is a more general relationship between growth rate, feed efficiency and maternal traits that translates into overall performance in a beef and sheep enterprise.

“The higher the level of efficiency that is ensured, the lower the level of methane produced will be.”