A Common Goal for all Ranchers: Reduction of GHG Emissions
Source: https://parade.com/1350173/katemarsanico/ncba-sustainability/
Author: Kate Marsanico
Greenhouse gas emissions are a wide-reaching environmental concern and ranchers are working hard to reduce GHG emissions. However, in the U.S., the cattle industry is only responsible for 2% of total emissions, per the EPA. Compare that to 29% for the transportation industry and 25% for electricity production. Also of note, is that cows produce methane, which is temporarily more potent, but does not have the long-lasting consequences as another well-known greenhouse gas, CO2 . Although their impact is small, ranchers are still doing their part to reduce GHG emissions. For example, Haleakala Ranch monitors their above- and below-ground carbon sequestration. Below ground, they sequester carbon through targeted grazing efforts. “We are finding plants put more carbon below ground as a result of the grazing of livestock,” North Dakota grassland ecologist Rebecca Phillips, said in a January 2021 Successful Farming article.