Montana ranchers learned more about Tyson’s new “climate smart beef program” at a March 31, 2023, meeting at Western Livestock Auction near Great Falls, Mont.

Brett DeBruycker, who hosted his annual bull sale the following day, said he “helped facilitate” the meeting “as a way to get information into producers’ hands.”

DeBruycker, a Charolais breeder from Dutton, Mont., said he wasn’t advising producers to participate but wanted to help make local ranchers aware of potential opportunities.

“Our bull sale was the next day. I felt this was a good opportunity for producers to attend and learn more about what appears to be changes coming in our industry,” he said.

DeBruycker said he has sold finished cattle, usually fed in Wyoming or Nebraska, to Tyson, as well as all of the other major meatpackers, over the years.

A Tyson spokesman talked to interested ranchers about “Brazen Beef,” a self-proclaimed “climate smart beef program,” which they say is the first beef product to receive USDA approval for a “climate friendly” claim by demonstrating a 10 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from pasture to production, as compared to the standard emissions for conventionally raised beef.

According to a Tyson news release, it is collaborating with The Nature Conservancy, the Environmental Defense Fund, Adams Land & Cattle and Deloitte (Tyson’s technical expert).

INCENTIVE FOR FARMERS AND RANCHERS

The news release said the program “includes an incentive for farmers and ranchers to adopt climate smart agricultural practices that help reduce GHG emissions and may help to minimize erosion, improve water quality and conserve habitats.

“This program rewards producers for existing land stewardship practices at their farm or ranch, such as rotational grazing, silvopasture and tree management, and waterway and riparian management. We hope these efforts will also help rebuild and enrich the soil, absorb more carbon and retain more water, promote healthy grasslands and improve biodiversity,” said Tyson vice president of cattle procurement, Chad Martin.

Martin said that producers who wish to participate need to be enrolled in the CARE program and feedlots must be Progressive Beef certified. The CARE program, under Integrated Management Information (IMI) Global, encompasses animal care, environmental stewardship, people and community.

Adams Land and Cattle is the first feedyard to partner in the program, said Martin.

DeBruycker believes Charolais and Charolais-cross cattle would be a good fit for the Tyson system. “I’m confident that Charolais sired cattle are going to perform very well in this program because of Charolais’ natural feed efficiency and performance,” said Debruycker.

Martin said producers would be paid a per-head premium for qualified cattle at the time of sale and would also receive individual feed, animal health and carcass data, “allowing for better business decisions without the need to retain ownership of the animal.”

REDUCING GHGS

When asked if Tyson believes cattle GHGs need to be reduced, Martin said, “Consider this: the research is telling us that consumers feel beef is contributing to GHG emissions but enjoy the taste of beef. We know producers are already great stewards of the land and resources, and Tyson has many brands and programs available for conventionally raised cattle. This program is just one additional way for us and producers to evolve together to meet new consumer demands as those shoppers seek to lower their environmental footprint without trading beef off their plate.”

According to the Beef Checkoff, cattle are responsible for just 2 percent of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States.

According to Martin, in the Brazen Beef program, the GHG emissions are analyzed at nine stages, including: (1) feed cultivation and processing, (2) cow/calf operations, (3) stocker/backgrounder, (4) finishing (feedlots), (5) processing facilities, (6) packaging, (7) retail and foodservice, (8) consumer use, and (9) product disposal. 

“To estimate emissions using the model, we input data collected and verified through third-party auditors such as Where Food Comes From, farm management data from feed producers, and operational information provided by our suppliers. With this information, we can estimate baseline GHG reductions resulting from practice changes with a reasonable degree of certainty at each of the above nodes of the beef value chain,” said Martin.

SIDEBAR

Brazen Beef is a boxed beef program offering grinds and whole muscle cuts. Brazen Beef products are grass-fed, grain-finished and grade USDA Choice or better, said Martin. In order to participate, producers would need to:

• Enroll in a verified program that will document the programs and processes producers have in place.
• Agree not to sell the carbon rights to your grazing land to another program, organization or entity and confirm land is not subject to other conservation grants.
• Share relevant operational data (e.g., volume of practices implemented across number of acres and head of cattle, management plan, pasture rotation, overseeding, feed inputs, etc.) to Tyson Foods annually and as part of the onboarding process.
• Participate in on-farm audits conducted by Where Food Comes From, an initiative of IMI Global, as part of the CARE program.