Coupling tech herding and emissions measurement technologies to develop sustainable grazing strategies on the shortgrass steppe

Commodities

• Agronomic: grass (misc. perennial)
• Additional Plants: native plants
• Animals: bovine
• Animal Products: meat

Practices

• Animal Production: grazing management
• Education and Training: demonstration, on-farm/ranch research
• Production Systems: agroecosystems

Enteric CH₄ emissions are largely unknown from cattle grazing extensive rangelands with little to no understanding of the role vegetation communities play in driving these emissions. Determining forage-animal-emissions relationships would be beneficial for ranchers to understand if grazing plans oriented toward low-emission vegetation communities could mitigate CH₄ emissions. Our question is “Can virtual fencing act as a tool for managing individual animal CH₄ emissions?” Steers differing in natal origin will be provided by 1) local short-grass prairie stocker operations within the Crow Valley Livestock Cooperative, Inc., 2) the USDA ARS Meat Animal Research Center (mixed-grass prairie in south-central Nebraska), and 3) the Rouse Beef Improvement Center (high-elevation mixed-grass prairie area in southeastern Wyoming). Steers will graze low- and high-productivity rangeland in Colorado (2024). Technology employed in this project includes Vence (Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, New Jersey) virtual fencing to mediate animal distribution and GreenFeed (C-Lock, Inc. Rapid City, South Dakota) to measure individual animal emissions. Using a producer-created grazing plan, herd distribution mediated by virtual fencing will aim to match animal demand with forage availability with concomitant enteric emissions measured for individual steers. How grazing management decisions affect emissions will be assessed, and findings will be disseminated to animal agriculture stakeholders. We will engage with key industry stakeholders including producers, feedlot operators, and meat processors through engagement events and extension materials. Outcomes will be 1) CH₄ emissions (grams/head/day) for steers grazing low- and high-productivity rangeland and 2) a determination of the utility of virtual fencing to aid emissions mitigation.

Research Objectives:

• Evaluate forage-animal-emissions relationships of stocker steers from different ranch origins grazing a common summer rangeland in the shortgrass steppe of Colorado using advanced technologies.
• Grow the resiliency of the beef cattle supply chain by improving collaboration between research institutions, government organizations, and producers.

Educational Objectives:

• Producers report changes in knowledge, attitudes, skills, and/or awareness of GHG emissions, technologies, and climate-smart practices as a result of their participation in the educational programming provided by this project.