Value-Added Programs Ensure Consumers Get Safe And High Quality Beef

The Oklahoma Quality Beef Network (OQBN) is a joint effort of the Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service and the Oklahoma Cattlemen's Association (OCA). OQBN is a network of beef producers, educators, veterinarians, and industry professionals committed to increasing producers' access to value added marketing opportunities and improving the quality of cattle produced in Oklahoma by increasing communication between all segments of the beef industry.

 

 

Gant Mourer, Oklahoma State University Extension Beef Value Enhancement Specialist, runs the OQBN program. He said value-added programs like this one are very important to the end-user, as consumers get assurances on how beef is being produced. OSU Food and Agricultural Economist Dr. Jayson Lusk has studied consumer behavior and he has found consumers are looking for a high-quality safe and healthy product.

 

“If we do a good job on the ranch we can maintain that safety,” Mourer said. “We can maintain the health of those animals, then really sort ‘em to any of these other programs once we do that. That’s what the consumer wants is a safe product. Then we can ship those animals into really any value-added program that we want to.”

 

OQBN provides producers, and others in the beef industry, with education and tools to enhance access to value-added programs. With less ten percent of the state’s beef producers enrolled in OQBN there is a need to grow the program. Mourer said that’s makes for a challenge in getting data to identify pre-conditioned calves. There are a lot of pre-conditioned calves selling each week at sale barns across the state. Mourer said reputation is also key in getting buyers to purchase cattle from the same ranch year after year.

Video: Swine Industry Advances: Biodigesters Lower Emissions and Increase Profits

Analysis of greenhouse gas (GHG emissions) in the Canadian swine sector found that CH4 emissions from manure were the largest contributor to the overall emissions, followed by emissions from energy use and crop production.

This innovative project, "Improving Swine Manure-Digestate Management Practices Towards Carbon Neutrality With Net Zero Emission Concepts," from Dr. Rajinikanth Rajagopal, under Swine Cluster 4, seeks to develop strategies to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions.

While the management of manure can be very demanding and expensive for swine operations, it can also be viewed as an opportunity for GHG mitigation, as manure storage is an emission source built and managed by swine producers. Moreover, the majority of CH4 emissions from manure occur during a short period of time in the summer, which can potentially be mitigated with targeted intervention.

In tandem with understanding baseline emissions, Dr. Rajagopal's work focuses on evaluating emission mitigation options. Manure additives have the potential of reducing manure methane emissions. Additives can be deployed relatively quickly, enabling near-term emission reductions while biodigesters are being built. Furthermore, additives can be a long-term solution at farms where biogas is not feasible (e.g., when it’s too far from a central digester). Similarly, after biodigestion, additives can also be used to further reduce emissions from storage to minimize the carbon intensity of the bioenergy.