Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Beef Grazing Systems in Semi-Arid Rangelands of Central Argentina

Abstract

The livestock sector can be a major contributor to the mitigation of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Within the sector, beef production produces the largest proportion of the livestock sector's direct emissions. The objective of this study was to assess the on-farm GHG emissions in semi-arid rangelands in Argentina and to identify the relationship between emissions and current farm management practices. A survey recorded detailed information on farm management and characteristics. Assessments of GHG emissions were based on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Tier 2 protocols. The relationship between farm management and GHG emissions were identified using general linear models. Cluster analysis was used to identify groups of farms that differed from others in emissions and farm characteristics. Emissions per product sold were low on farms that had improved livestock care management, rotational grazing, received technical advice, and had high animal and land productivities. Emissions per hectare of farmland were low on farms that had low stocking rates, a low number of grazing paddocks, little or no land dedicated to improved pastures and forage crops, and low land productivity. Our results suggest that the implementation of realistic, relatively easy-to-adopt farming management practices has considerable potential for mitigating the GHG emissions in the semi-arid rangelands of central Argentina.

Technical and environmental characterization of dual-purpose cattle farms and ways of improving production: A case study in Colombia

“…In the four livestock producer categories, the most widely used reproduction method was free natural mating (Table S1). This is in agreement with characterizations of cattle farms in Latin America as a whole, indicating a low technological level in use of reproduction methods such as artificial insemination or embryo transfer (Solano et al 2000;Cortés-Mora et al 2012;Rangel et al 2017Rangel et al , 2020Nieto et al 2018). However, it is important to note that LP (34%) practised artificial insemination (AI) to a larger extent than the rest of the livestock producer categories.…”

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An innovation path in Argentinean cow–calf operations: Insights from participatory farm system modelling

“…GHG mitigation strategies of extensive beef systems in a different semiarid rangeland of Argentina have been recently reported (Nieto, Barrantes, Privitello, & Reiné, 2018). The authors stated that mitigation per unit of product (LW) should be based on the improvement of livestock care and herd reproductive management, rather than on land intensification through the maximization of stocking rates and land productivity.…”