Livestock Mobility Through Integrated Beef Production-Scapes Supports Rangeland Livestock Production and Conservation

Abstract

Much of the world's rangelands contribute to food production through extensive grazing systems. In these systems, livestock producers, pastoralists, and ranchers move grazing animals to access variable feed and water resources to create value while supporting numerous other ecosystem services. Loss of mobility due to political, social, ecological, and economic factors is documented throughout the world and poses a substantial risk to rangeland livestock production and conservation of rangeland resources. The integration of production-scapes can facilitate livestock mobility through transportation and trade. This paper describes the beef cattle production system in California, where transporting and marketing animals integrate an extensive grazing system with intensive production systems, including feeding operations. Analysis of livestock inspection data quantifies the magnitude of livestock movements in the state and the scope of production-system integration. Over 500,000 head−47 percent of the state's calf crop—leave California rangelands and are moved to new pastures or feedyards seasonally over a 12 week period each year. Most ranchers in California, from small-scale producers (1 to 50 head) to larger producers (more than 5,000), participate in the integrated beef production system. Less than 1% of steers and heifers go from rangeland to meat processing. Like pastoralists, ranchers strategically move cattle around (and off) rangeland to optimize production within a variable climate. Ranchers indicate that their movements result from changes in forage quality and quantity and support their desire to manage for conservation objectives, including reducing fire fuels, controlling weeds, and managing for wildlife habitat. Inspection data, as well as direct observation, interviews, and surveys within the San Francisco Bay area, reveal the extent to which the region's ranchers rely on saleyards to facilitate the movement of cattle and integration of production systems. Saleyards and cattle buyers drive beef production efficiency by sorting, pricing, and moving cattle and matching them to feed resources in more intensive production systems. However, transactions lack traceability to inform policy and consumer choice. New data technologies like blockchain can provide traceability through integrated production-scapes and facilitate market development to support grazing landscapes and consumer choice.

Field demonstration analyzing the implementation of individual animal electronic identification and genetic testing in western range sheep flocks

“…There are also potential downstream applications of EID to support tracing food from farm to fork [ 36 ]. Block chain management offers further opportunities for sheep producers by providing consumers with information on where and how their food was produced while they are at the meat counter.…”

Realizing the value of grassland ecosystem services: global practice and its inspiration for the karst desertification control area

“…As a traditional pathway, industrial development aims to enhance human well-being and protect grassland resources through comprehensive consideration of ecological carrying capacity and efficient resource utilization. For example, the more globally prevalent model of livestock mobility (Mousavi et al, 2020;Barry, 2021), intensification of rangelands (Cortner et al, 2019). This path, although it is easy to increase the income of stakeholders in the short term, is prone to cause ecological damage (Yang et al, 2023).…”

“…On the other hand, high population pressure and traditional industries (e.g., hillside plowing) are prevalent (Yuan, 1997;Yan and Cai, 2015;Xiao and Xiong, 2022), coupled with limited livelihoods and fluctuating climate change (Grime et al, 2000;Chen C. et al, 2021), this is prone to form a vicious cycle of degraded ecosystem function-loss of ecological assets-reduction of livestock support services capacitylower food and income for farmers-poverty traps (Chen Q. et al, 2021;Zuo et al, 2022). Currently, the "United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration (2021-2030UNEA, 2019)" delivers a rallying call to cope with the protection and revival of ecosystems for the benefit of nature and human. Grassland in the KDC area is the main position in response to the call of the United Nations, there is an urgent need to re-establish a bond between people and nature in order to address the ecological and economic trade-offs.…”

Cattle Grazing Moderates Greenhouse Gas and Particulate Matter Emissions from California Grassland Wildfires

“…Grazing occurs on both private and public lands; roughly 5.7 million ha (14 million ac) of non-federal land and 7.7 million ha (19 million ac) of federal land are grazed in California [16][17][18][19]. Beef cattle are by far the most prevalent grazing animal on California rangeland [20,21]. Grazing can be used as a fire management tool, and fuel reduction through livestock grazing is a goal frequently included in management plans by state, regional, county, and local agencies [22].…”