Beef and soil carbon: what changes when we measure the whole system?
Livestock footprints include animals, feed, manure and energy. Changes in soil carbon can also influence the balance of grazing systems.
The Stanley study of 2018
Paige Stanley and colleagues compared US adaptive multi-paddock beef finishing with feedlot finishing. Their analysis included enteric methane, feed production, manure, energy and transport, together with soil-carbon change.
Adding soil changed the balance
Without soil carbon, grazing emitted 9.62 versus 6.09 kg CO₂-equivalent per kg carcass weight. Including estimated soil-carbon gain over four years changed grazing’s result to −6.65, compared with 6.12 for the feedlot. Within this analysis, estimated storage exceeded emissions.
Storage and methane
Methane remained in the inventory. The net balance changed because soil storage was included. Findings concern the finishing phase, management and measurement period. Grazing also required about twice the land. The study highlights the importance of soil measurement in assessing grazing footprints.
Our field work
We aim to explore planned grazing with olive grove and other covers, monitoring organic matter and microbiology to document changes associated with our applications.