Developed by academic and industry experts from across the beef value chain, a new strategic guide identifies the most urgent research needs, unites the industry around shared goals and provides a clear path forward to support continuous improvement.
The U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef (USRSB) has released “Innovation in the U.S. Beef Value Chain: A Sustainable Beef Research Roadmap.” The road map provides a strategic, science-based framework to guide industrywide research and collaborative efforts that support continuous improvement in beef sustainability.
“This is more than just a research agenda. It’s a road map built by and for the beef value chain,” summarizes Samantha Werth, Ph.D., URSB executive director. “It brings together producers, industry professionals and supply chain partners around a shared vision for sustainability that’s driven by innovation, grounded in science and focused on real-world impact.”
The road map includes the most urgent research needs within the live animal stages of beef production and across three key environmental indicators:
- Air and greenhouse gas emissions
- Land resources
- Water resources
Across the three environmental goal areas, six critical research areas were identified with 22 key research topics.
Producer Focused
“Producers were a major contributor to the road map effort, as they are with all our roundtable work,” Werth says.
She explains the road map is especially important for producers for two key reasons:
- We have made it clear that the research needs we have called for in the road map must be addressed with the producer at the forefront. Traditionally, most research in the sustainability space is done in a controlled research environment, which is necessary for the scientific process; however, for us to make meaningful advances in sustainability, we have to move outside of controlled research settings and perform research with an applied lens, under different production settings and across a range of environments. When we take this approach, we can inform place-based solutions, that not only help to advance industry sustainability efforts but also ensure success for producers based on their unique operations.
- We have highlighted the immediate opportunity for supply chain support of sustainable advances through engaging in development of enhanced producer incentive programs, increasing opportunities for on-the-ground technical support, and assistance in development of stronger peer-to-peer producer learning networks. Broader development across these three areas presents an opportunity to ensure producers receive meaningful support and the ability to engage in new opportunities today that will help build resilience in their operations and thus support increased sustainability in our supply chain.
To develop the road map, USRSB partnered with the Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research (FFAR) to convene academic and industry experts through a robust, stakeholder-driven process. This included three public virtual focus groups and an in-person workshop that brought together 80 experts from 50 organizations. Insights from these sessions helped USRSB evaluate the current state of science and identify critical data gaps and research opportunities within cow-calf, stocker, backgrounder and feedyard operations, ultimately shaping the road map as a tool to align efforts and accelerate progress across the beef supply chain.
“The release of this road map is only the beginning. It was designed as a resource for the entire beef supply chain to utilize and come together around shared priorities,” Werth says. “Its value lies in helping all of us — whether producers, researchers or partners — promote the tools, knowledge and technologies that will help continue to advance sustainable beef.”
The full report, executive summary and infographic are now available.
Werth and the URSB team invite producers to complete this form and take the steps toward a socially responsible, environmentally sound and economically viable U.S. beef industry.
