Beef Production in the Southwestern United States: Strategies Toward Sustainability
From grazing lands to meat packing, beef production systems in the United States are striving to meet global demands without compromising environmental quality or local profitability. These challenges and opportunities are manifest in four US regions connected ecologically and socially through beef...
Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
---|---|
Format: | Article |
Language: | English |
Published: |
Frontiers Media S.A.
2020-08-01
|
Series: | Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems |
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fsufs.2020.00114/full |
id |
doaj-9202a2a971fb45e1b3fe33d5d97beec1 |
---|---|
record_format |
Article |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Sheri Spiegal Andres F. Cibils Brandon T. Bestelmeyer Jean L. Steiner Richard E. Estell David W. Archer Brent W. Auvermann Stephanie V. Bestelmeyer Laura E. Boucheron Huiping Cao Andrew R. Cox Daniel Devlin Glenn C. Duff Glenn C. Duff Kristy K. Ehlers Emile H. Elias Emile H. Elias Craig A. Gifford Alfredo L. Gonzalez John P. Holland Jenny S. Jennings Ann M. Marshall David I. McCracken Matthew M. McIntosh Rhonda Miller Mark Musumba Robert Paulin Sara E. Place Matthew Redd C. Alan Rotz Cindy Tolle Anthony Waterhouse |
spellingShingle |
Sheri Spiegal Andres F. Cibils Brandon T. Bestelmeyer Jean L. Steiner Richard E. Estell David W. Archer Brent W. Auvermann Stephanie V. Bestelmeyer Laura E. Boucheron Huiping Cao Andrew R. Cox Daniel Devlin Glenn C. Duff Glenn C. Duff Kristy K. Ehlers Emile H. Elias Emile H. Elias Craig A. Gifford Alfredo L. Gonzalez John P. Holland Jenny S. Jennings Ann M. Marshall David I. McCracken Matthew M. McIntosh Rhonda Miller Mark Musumba Robert Paulin Sara E. Place Matthew Redd C. Alan Rotz Cindy Tolle Anthony Waterhouse Beef Production in the Southwestern United States: Strategies Toward Sustainability Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems Southwestern United States rangelands sustainable agricultural systems Coordinated Agricultural Project pericoupling framework |
author_facet |
Sheri Spiegal Andres F. Cibils Brandon T. Bestelmeyer Jean L. Steiner Richard E. Estell David W. Archer Brent W. Auvermann Stephanie V. Bestelmeyer Laura E. Boucheron Huiping Cao Andrew R. Cox Daniel Devlin Glenn C. Duff Glenn C. Duff Kristy K. Ehlers Emile H. Elias Emile H. Elias Craig A. Gifford Alfredo L. Gonzalez John P. Holland Jenny S. Jennings Ann M. Marshall David I. McCracken Matthew M. McIntosh Rhonda Miller Mark Musumba Robert Paulin Sara E. Place Matthew Redd C. Alan Rotz Cindy Tolle Anthony Waterhouse |
author_sort |
Sheri Spiegal |
title |
Beef Production in the Southwestern United States: Strategies Toward Sustainability |
title_short |
Beef Production in the Southwestern United States: Strategies Toward Sustainability |
title_full |
Beef Production in the Southwestern United States: Strategies Toward Sustainability |
title_fullStr |
Beef Production in the Southwestern United States: Strategies Toward Sustainability |
title_full_unstemmed |
Beef Production in the Southwestern United States: Strategies Toward Sustainability |
title_sort |
beef production in the southwestern united states: strategies toward sustainability |
publisher |
Frontiers Media S.A. |
series |
Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems |
issn |
2571-581X |
publishDate |
2020-08-01 |
description |
From grazing lands to meat packing, beef production systems in the United States are striving to meet global demands without compromising environmental quality or local profitability. These challenges and opportunities are manifest in four US regions connected ecologically and socially through beef production: the American Southwest, the Ogallala Aquifer region, the Northern Plains, and the Upper Midwestern Corn Belt. Most calves raised on extensive, arid Southwestern ranches are exported to the Ogallala Aquifer region for finishing on grains that are grown either locally on Ogallala Aquifer water or imported from the Upper Midwest. Changes in climate, vegetation, and human demographics threaten the sustainability of the regionally-interconnected system. Heritage cattle genetics, precision ranching, and alternative supply chain options are three strategies that show promise for addressing these sustainability threats, but major knowledge gaps exist. For instance, while environmentally-friendly landscape use by Raramuri Criollo, a heritage cattle type, has been identified in several arid rangeland settings, little is known about their performance in conventional feed yards. While precision agriculture is already prevalent in croplands, less is known about how such technologies can be cost effective in arid rangelands. Moreover, many perceive grass-finishing on rangeland as environmentally friendly and beneficial for local agricultural communities, but tradeoffs involving greenhouse gas emissions, increased rangeland use, and disruption of cattle feeding systems of the Ogallala Aquifer region must be assessed. Here we introduce a USDA-NIFA Coordinated Agricultural Project designed to fill these knowledge gaps and advance sustainability of beef production linked to the US Southwest. With a boundary-spanning approach of education, participatory research, and extension, the project is identifying tradeoffs of the three strategies with explicit attention to pericoupling (i.e., socioeconomic and environmental interactions) of regions connected by beef production and full consideration of the coupled ecological and social systems within those regions. |
topic |
Southwestern United States rangelands sustainable agricultural systems Coordinated Agricultural Project pericoupling framework |
url |
https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fsufs.2020.00114/full |
work_keys_str_mv |
AT sherispiegal beefproductioninthesouthwesternunitedstatesstrategiestowardsustainability AT andresfcibils beefproductioninthesouthwesternunitedstatesstrategiestowardsustainability AT brandontbestelmeyer beefproductioninthesouthwesternunitedstatesstrategiestowardsustainability AT jeanlsteiner beefproductioninthesouthwesternunitedstatesstrategiestowardsustainability AT richardeestell beefproductioninthesouthwesternunitedstatesstrategiestowardsustainability AT davidwarcher beefproductioninthesouthwesternunitedstatesstrategiestowardsustainability AT brentwauvermann beefproductioninthesouthwesternunitedstatesstrategiestowardsustainability AT stephanievbestelmeyer beefproductioninthesouthwesternunitedstatesstrategiestowardsustainability AT lauraeboucheron beefproductioninthesouthwesternunitedstatesstrategiestowardsustainability AT huipingcao beefproductioninthesouthwesternunitedstatesstrategiestowardsustainability AT andrewrcox beefproductioninthesouthwesternunitedstatesstrategiestowardsustainability AT danieldevlin beefproductioninthesouthwesternunitedstatesstrategiestowardsustainability AT glenncduff beefproductioninthesouthwesternunitedstatesstrategiestowardsustainability AT glenncduff beefproductioninthesouthwesternunitedstatesstrategiestowardsustainability AT kristykehlers beefproductioninthesouthwesternunitedstatesstrategiestowardsustainability AT emilehelias beefproductioninthesouthwesternunitedstatesstrategiestowardsustainability AT emilehelias beefproductioninthesouthwesternunitedstatesstrategiestowardsustainability AT craigagifford beefproductioninthesouthwesternunitedstatesstrategiestowardsustainability AT alfredolgonzalez beefproductioninthesouthwesternunitedstatesstrategiestowardsustainability AT johnpholland beefproductioninthesouthwesternunitedstatesstrategiestowardsustainability AT jennysjennings beefproductioninthesouthwesternunitedstatesstrategiestowardsustainability AT annmmarshall beefproductioninthesouthwesternunitedstatesstrategiestowardsustainability AT davidimccracken beefproductioninthesouthwesternunitedstatesstrategiestowardsustainability AT matthewmmcintosh beefproductioninthesouthwesternunitedstatesstrategiestowardsustainability AT rhondamiller beefproductioninthesouthwesternunitedstatesstrategiestowardsustainability AT markmusumba beefproductioninthesouthwesternunitedstatesstrategiestowardsustainability AT robertpaulin beefproductioninthesouthwesternunitedstatesstrategiestowardsustainability AT saraeplace beefproductioninthesouthwesternunitedstatesstrategiestowardsustainability AT matthewredd beefproductioninthesouthwesternunitedstatesstrategiestowardsustainability AT calanrotz beefproductioninthesouthwesternunitedstatesstrategiestowardsustainability AT cindytolle beefproductioninthesouthwesternunitedstatesstrategiestowardsustainability AT anthonywaterhouse beefproductioninthesouthwesternunitedstatesstrategiestowardsustainability |
_version_ |
1724631040315621376 |
spelling |
doaj-9202a2a971fb45e1b3fe33d5d97beec12020-11-25T03:17:37ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems2571-581X2020-08-01410.3389/fsufs.2020.00114494890Beef Production in the Southwestern United States: Strategies Toward SustainabilitySheri Spiegal0Andres F. Cibils1Brandon T. Bestelmeyer2Jean L. Steiner3Richard E. Estell4David W. Archer5Brent W. Auvermann6Stephanie V. Bestelmeyer7Laura E. Boucheron8Huiping Cao9Andrew R. Cox10Daniel Devlin11Glenn C. Duff12Glenn C. Duff13Kristy K. Ehlers14Emile H. Elias15Emile H. Elias16Craig A. Gifford17Alfredo L. Gonzalez18John P. Holland19Jenny S. Jennings20Ann M. Marshall21David I. McCracken22Matthew M. McIntosh23Rhonda Miller24Mark Musumba25Robert Paulin26Sara E. Place27Matthew Redd28C. Alan Rotz29Cindy Tolle30Anthony Waterhouse31USDA-ARS Jornada Experimental Range, Las Cruces, NM, United StatesDepartment of Animal and Range Sciences, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM, United StatesUSDA-ARS Jornada Experimental Range, Las Cruces, NM, United StatesDepartment of Animal and Range Sciences, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM, United StatesUSDA-ARS Jornada Experimental Range, Las Cruces, NM, United StatesUSDA-ARS Northern Great Plains Research Laboratory, Mandan, ND, United StatesTexas A&M AgriLife Research, Amarillo, TX, United StatesAsombro Institute for Science Education, Las Cruces, NM, United StatesKlipsch School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM, United StatesDepartment of Computer Science, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM, United StatesChihuahuan Desert Rangeland Research Center, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM, United StatesKansas Center for Agricultural Resources and the Environment & Kansas Water Resources Institute, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS, United StatesDepartment of Animal and Range Sciences, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM, United States0Clayton Livestock Research Center, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM, United States1BlueSTEM AgriLearning Center, El Reno, OK, United StatesUSDA-ARS Jornada Experimental Range, Las Cruces, NM, United States2USDA Southwest Climate Hub, Las Cruces, NM, United States3Extension Animal Sciences and Natural Resources, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM, United StatesUSDA-ARS Jornada Experimental Range, Las Cruces, NM, United States4Hill & Mountain Research Centre, Scotland's Rural College, Perthshire, United KingdomTexas A&M AgriLife Research, Amarillo, TX, United States1BlueSTEM AgriLearning Center, El Reno, OK, United States4Hill & Mountain Research Centre, Scotland's Rural College, Perthshire, United KingdomDepartment of Animal and Range Sciences, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM, United States5Department of Animal Science, Texas A&M, College Station, TX, United StatesDepartment of Animal and Range Sciences, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM, United States6Corta Madera Ranch, Pine Valley, CA, United States7ELANCO, Greenfield, IN, United States8The Nature Conservancy, Dugout Ranch and Canyonlands Research Center, Monticello, UT, United States9USDA-ARS Pasture Systems and Watershed Management Research Unit, State College, PA, United States0Evergreen Ranching & Livestock, Custer, SD, United States4Hill & Mountain Research Centre, Scotland's Rural College, Perthshire, United KingdomFrom grazing lands to meat packing, beef production systems in the United States are striving to meet global demands without compromising environmental quality or local profitability. These challenges and opportunities are manifest in four US regions connected ecologically and socially through beef production: the American Southwest, the Ogallala Aquifer region, the Northern Plains, and the Upper Midwestern Corn Belt. Most calves raised on extensive, arid Southwestern ranches are exported to the Ogallala Aquifer region for finishing on grains that are grown either locally on Ogallala Aquifer water or imported from the Upper Midwest. Changes in climate, vegetation, and human demographics threaten the sustainability of the regionally-interconnected system. Heritage cattle genetics, precision ranching, and alternative supply chain options are three strategies that show promise for addressing these sustainability threats, but major knowledge gaps exist. For instance, while environmentally-friendly landscape use by Raramuri Criollo, a heritage cattle type, has been identified in several arid rangeland settings, little is known about their performance in conventional feed yards. While precision agriculture is already prevalent in croplands, less is known about how such technologies can be cost effective in arid rangelands. Moreover, many perceive grass-finishing on rangeland as environmentally friendly and beneficial for local agricultural communities, but tradeoffs involving greenhouse gas emissions, increased rangeland use, and disruption of cattle feeding systems of the Ogallala Aquifer region must be assessed. Here we introduce a USDA-NIFA Coordinated Agricultural Project designed to fill these knowledge gaps and advance sustainability of beef production linked to the US Southwest. With a boundary-spanning approach of education, participatory research, and extension, the project is identifying tradeoffs of the three strategies with explicit attention to pericoupling (i.e., socioeconomic and environmental interactions) of regions connected by beef production and full consideration of the coupled ecological and social systems within those regions.https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fsufs.2020.00114/fullSouthwestern United Statesrangelandssustainable agricultural systemsCoordinated Agricultural Projectpericoupling framework |