March 2024 NEBRASKA CATTLEMAN 31 ing global warming but has a significantly shorter life of only 12 years before it is reabsorbed via the biogenic carbon cycle. The Biogenic Carbon Cycle While most of the blame that has engulfed animal agriculture and climate change has centered around ruminant methane emissions, recent research has shown how agriculture – both animal and plant – can and does contribute to the breakdown or sequestration (storage) of carbon. The biogenic carbon cycle becomes a key factor, not only because it is a relatively quick cycle, but because there are factors that we can manage in this cycle. (Figure 1.) According to Erickson, there are two main issues related to beef cattle and greenhouse gasses. The first is decreasing how much methane is produced during rumen fermentation, and the second is increasing carbon uptake in pasture systems and integrated cropping-finishing systems. “There is a large amount of research focused on reducing the amount of methane cattle naturally produce. At UNL, we have used a pen chamber and headboxes to study how different diet choices (forage amount, byproduct amounts, adding fat or oil to diets with calves, yearlings and cows) affect methane,” Erickson said. “Two other major focus areas for methane are: a) testing feed additives that can decrease methane production; and b) assessing cattle and rumen microbe genetic influence on amount of methane produced. There are two feed additives coming to market that are very effective at reducing methane, with research showing a 30 to 60 percent decrease.” The other major research approach Erickson is taking is to evaluate whether carbon capture can be increased through pasture and cropping management. While there is some debate on the long-term ability to capture more carbon in plants and store it in soil, there are practices that increase or decrease carbon uptake in plant systems in the short term. These practices include varied grazing systems, increasing the use of cover crops, drought risk mitigation and maintaining plant growth in a vegetative state. “We are trying to collect information [on these practices] to improve decisions producers will be faced with in the future on management practices and also to improve predictions for the real impacts and benefits [and challenges] of beef production related to carbon and greenhouse gases,” Erickson said. Understanding the biogenic carbon cycle – and our ability to contribute to it to the benefit of our industry and the greater good – is beneficial to our long-term sustainability. Carbon as a Commodity Renewable Fuels Nebraska works to ensure the growth and expansion of Nebraska’s ethanol and renewable fuels industry through advocacy, market access and public awareness. Carbon CONTINUED ON PAGE 32 Carbon Challenge Figure 1: The biogenic carbon cycle shows how CO2 and CH4 gasses are created, used, transferred and sequestered by plants and animals. Figure 2: Every step of the production and delivery of a fuel or feedstuff is taken into consideration when a carbon intensity score is calculated.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NTMxNTA5