| | | | Three Top Takeaways From The U.S. Roundtable For Sustainable Beef Annual Meeting | | I’m freshly back from a terrific trip to Charleston, S.C., for the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef annual meeting. Trust In Beef ™ counts USRSB as one of our founding members, and over the course of three fabulous days, we had the chance to participate alongside our partners and larger community in the proactive evolution of an industry. “Proactive evolution” might sound like an exaggeration, but I can assure you it isn’t. What’s happening in the beef cattle space right now is, to me, the hands-down most exciting space in sustainable agriculture. Here are my top three takeaways from the USRSB meeting that underscore why I feel that way: 1) Momentum for focused improvements is gathering: A decade in the making, the U.S. Roundtable membership approved industrywide goals last week. The headline – a U.S. beef supply chain that is climate neutral by 2040 – builds on the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association announcement last year of climate neutrality for U.S. cattle production in the same timeframe. With so much focus on the climate impacts of beef and other red meat worldwide, we have seen the U.S. beef industry stake a claim to better climate profiles based on the efficiency gains in the past 50 years. The new USRSB goals mark an important turning point for the whole value chain by illustrating how more can and will be done. 2) Traceability is gaining new tools and benefits: The pathway to a national beef cattle identification system has been fraught with challenges and producer concerns. With value chain-wide goals in place, and a wealth of new technology on the horizon, though, we are starting to see where producers could benefit from voluntary traceability efforts. Where Food Comes From shared more about how their company’s groundbreaking work allows producers to access market-based premium programs. And TIB partner Merck Animal Health shared how its livestock intelligence business supports veterinarians and producers in providing the best possible care for their cattle with early disease detection and individualized treatment. 3) Consumers care: Meat industry marketing powerhouse Midan shared more about what they’ve learned from consumers through their research. Bottom line – how cattle are cared for, how they are raised, and beef’s overall environmental impact are all on the minds of consumers, especially younger generations, as well as the stakeholder community. Beef’s right to have its share of plate space will require continued progress. As I said, it’s an exciting time to be working on beef sustainability! What are you seeing in your work, and what gaps do you see needing addressed to fulfill the promise of the USRSB’s ambitious new goals? I’d love to connect at [email protected]. Yours in regenerative ag, Amy Skoczlas Cole Executive Vice President, Trust In Food™
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| | | | How To Hook Gen Z On U.S. Dairy | | By Nate Birt, vice president, Trust In Food: As Generation Z moves into an age demographic that drives the U.S. economy through consumption, it will be critical for marketers to understand what drives their purchasing decisions. When it comes to food, Gen Z assigns value to wellness and seeks out foods that bring immunity benefits, calm, sustained energy and improved digestive health. The dairy industry is working to capture their attention and build trust by highlighting sustainable foods that are good for the mind and body, says Serena Schaffner, senior vice president of communications at Dairy Management Inc. (DMI). | | | |
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| | | | AGI, Mohawk Medbuy, and the St. Michael's Hospital Foundation Collaborate To Secure Medical Supplies For Ukraine | | Shared by Nate Birt, vice president, Trust In Food: The ag industry is helping to mitigate the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine with various initiatives, including medical relief. Ag Growth International Inc. (AGI) has donated $200,000 and established a fundraising effort and voluntary donation link for U.S. and Canada at #StepUp4Ukraine to purchase priority items including tourniquets, bandages, gauze, oxygen masks and first aid kits. "With our employees on the ground in Ukraine and our valued AGI customer, Kernel Grain Company, we are in a unique position to procure emergency medical supplies, arrange transport from Canada to Poland, and then make them directly available to the people in Ukraine through our on-the-ground employees, resources and customer logistics," says Tim Close, AGI President and CEO. | | | |
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| | | AEM Identifies 13 Trends In 'The Future Of Food Production' | Shared by David Frabotta, manager of climate-smart ag interactive programming, Trust In Food: The Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) released The Future of Food Production whitepaper, an analysis of 13 trends that could shape the way food is produced. No. 1 on the list is the need to produce more food with less environmental impact. Although progress has been made over the past several decades, more will need to be done to maximize the potential of every acre. Precision agriculture will continue to provide important tools for managing in-field variability for fertilizers, chemicals and irrigation. Other trends in the report include water optimization, decarbonization and geographical shifts in production in part due to climate change. | Read More |
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| Finding the Sweet Spot: Combining Precision Agriculture And Conservation To Build A Sustainable And Diverse Farming Landscape | Shared by Nate Birt, vice president, Trust In Food: In this YouTube video from Commodity Classic, United Sorghum Checkoff Program Executive Vice President John Duff moderates a panel discussion that explores how to build successful cropping operations alongside healthy landscapes by utilizing an acre-by-acre approach to identify the most strategic acres for wildlife habitat and other practice improvements while keeping working lands productive. The discussion, which includes Cotton Incorporated and Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever, highlights financial incentives, tools and technical support for producers to maximize poor-performing land. | Read More |
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| Reading List: 'No Farms, No Food: Uniting Farmers and Environmentalists To Transform American Agriculture' | Shared by David Frabotta, manager of climate-smart ag interactive programming, Trust In Food: To celebrate American agriculture and conservation, America's Farmland Trust announces the publication of "No Farms, No Food" by Don Stuart. The book from Island Press is both an inspiring history of agricultural conservation and a practical guide to creating an effective advocacy organization—an essential read for everyone who cares about the future of our food, farms and the environment. | Read More |
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