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Cows, carbon, and conservation
Author
Boughton, EH
Dawson, K
Holder, V
Stackhouse, E
Chang, K
Guan, K
Ross, S
Delong, A
Azad, S
Swain, HM
Daskin, J
Sparks, J
Silveira, ML
Lollis, L
Dillon, JA
Gomez-Casanovas, N
Delucia, E
Bernacchi, C
Publisher
XII International Rangeland Congress
Publication Year
2025
Body

Managed grazing lands cover ~25% of global land area. Carbon stored in grazing land soils (top 1 m) represent 20% of total global soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks with a potential annual SOC sequestration rate of 0.5 ton C ha-1 yr-1. Conversely, grazing animals produce greenhouse gases (GHG). Although the US beef industry has made significant advances in reducing its environmental footprint, extensive grazing operations (e.g., the cow-calf and stocker phases) are responsible for ~ 70% of the GHG emissions from the beef value chain. Multiple stakeholders are interested in the potential effect carbon market participation may have on the financial status of the beef industry and its cascading effects to conservation and climate mitigation. Producers are interested in carbon markets to diversify income sources and drive increased profitability. Financially viable producers support diverse industries, ranging from fertilizer, feed, equipment, and beyond. Conservationists are also interested in carbon markets as a tool to fund the protection of grazing lands to benefit conservation goals. The question remains how extensive grazing operations can engage in carbon markets. We utilized life cycle analysis and an ecosystem model to understand net carbon sequestration at Archbold Biological Station's Buck Island Ranch, a commercial cow-calf grazing operation in Many ranchers are being approached by carbon credits brokers aiming to trade ranch carbon credits in carbon markets. If effective, these markets ensure globally reduced atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations when buyers pay sellers for reduced emissions or increased sequestration. For Buck Island Ranch to credibly be paid for carbon sequestration, new management reducing emissions or enhancing sequestration is needed, even though the ranch is presently a net carbon sink. Credible carbon markets include the concept of additionality which refers to the need for payments to result in newly avoided emissions or increased sequestration beyond what would have already been occurring without the payment. Emissions could be reduced either from cattle or the environment. Inhibiting cattle methane through feed additives shows promise in the dairy industry (Belanche et al. 2020) and may be useful for pasture-based systems. Increasing soil C stocks is more difficult because many producers are already implementing effective SOC management (Silveira et al. 2024). To have a meaningful impact on climate change, ideally contracts should span at least several decades (Dynarski et al. 2020).. Life cycle analysis estimated annual average emissions as 11,29 4 Mg CO2 eq. The ecosystem model estimated annual soil organic carbon sequestration as 12,39 1 Mg eCO2/year. Sequestration offset emissions with 1,097

Language
English
Resource Type
Text
Document Type
Conference Proceedings
Additional Information
This paper is part of the larger XII International Rangelands Congress Proceedings. Page Numbers: 1519-1523. Theme: Theme 6 / Emissions management in grazing
ISSN
978-0-646-72121-7
Conference Name
International Rangeland Congress
Collection
International Rangelands Congress
Keywords
carbon market
cow-calf
ecosystem modelling
life cycle analysis