Duration: 07/01/2007 to 09/30/2010

Administrative Advisor(s):

NIFA Reps:

Non-Technical Summary

Statement of Issues and Justification

Statement of Issue and Justification:
"Grass-fed" beef is a rapidly expanding segment of the US retail beef market. Beef marketed under "grass-fed" labeling is understood to be raised entirely or almost entirely on pasture and forages. Because of health claims for "grass-fed" meat and milk and impending economic competition between traditional beef finishing operations, which are primarily grain based, and subsidized ethanol production, a scientific understanding of the issues will help operators and the public select the appropriate course(s) of action.
1) Americans as a group are fat. Obesity is a leading health problem for Americans of all ages that lead to more serious cardiovascular and metabolic disorders. Grain-fed beef has been implicated in both increased human energy consumption, leading to obesity, as well as being high in undesirable cholesterol and saturated fats.
2) Sources, supported by limited research, find that grass-fed milk and meat products are higher in omega-3 fatty acids. These materials are reputed to infer a number of health benefits that over-ride issues which include protection from cardiovascular disease and cancer.
3) Americans, particularly affluent Americans, are increasingly concerned about the how and where their food comes from, and whether it is produced safely and humanely.
4) Grain-feeding of cattle has developed a particular consumer taste for beef. Will a change to "grass-fed" production result in changes in product taste and quality that are unacceptable to US consumers, and if so can management and genetics be used to produce an acceptable grass-fed product?
5) Grain feeding, based on the significant use of fossil fuels to plant, fertilize, harvest, transport, process and feed conventional feed stuffs in confinement is economically, ecologically and socially expensive. These costs are increased by the need to remove manure and manage nutrients from confined animal feeding operations to prevent environmental contamination. In view of the recent rise in the subsidized ethanol production based on grain, severe economic stress can be expected in the livestock feeding industries in the future. Can "grass-fed" cattle significantly contribute to reducing the economic stress between these two agricultural sectors?
6) With less dependence on fossil fuel, fertilizer, expensive machinery, grass-feeding systems for raising and finishing cattle may offer livestock operators significantly improved profitability and sustainability, in exchange for intensification of their management, rather than their financial investment. Not only might operations become more directly profitable, but in some cases they may be able to capitalize on the carbon-sequestration potential of pasture to sell "carbon credit", potentially leading to greater rural economic health.

In order to properly address these significant interrelated issues an extensive multi-interdisciplinary framework needs to be established to examine existing knowledge and develop and propagate new knowledge related to grass-fed beef.


**Administrative Advisor(s): Ron Pardini, Don Snyder, Ralph Cavaleri

Types of Activities

Types of Activities: The issue of grass-fed beef is related to a number of areas of scientific interest including, but not limited to, expertise in pasture management, beef nutrition and biochemistry, animal genetics and genomics, human nutrition, flavor and palatability, and economics. Many of these topics are being individually studied at various institutions across the U.S., but there is presently no means of providing a common outlet for research and discussions across disciplines regarding grass-fed beef. Much of the work that remains to be done must rely on a broadly based multidisciplinary effort involving a variety of scientific fields and multiple universities. While the total scope of work has yet to be defined, cooperative research will be undertaken in the areas of animal nutritional requirements, forage nutrition, consumer acceptance, methods of pasture management (intensive versus traditional, fertilization, rotations, etc.), biochemistry, potential for altering genetic make-up to enhance palatability and productivity of grass-fed beef, impacts of grass-fed beef on human nutrition, discovery of genetic or environmental factors related to flavor and palatability (e.g., water quality), potential impacts of grass-fed beef production processes on the environment, and assessment of costs and other factors influencing the likelihood of producer conversion from traditional to grass-fed beef production, etc. The planned activity includes a large number of universities across the U.S.

Objectives

1. Conduct research and provide information to agricultural community and general population regarding the various economic, health, and environmental issues related to grass-fed beef
   
2. Integrate research involving plants, animals, and humans
   
3. Conduct research and outreach to assist operators interested in implementing grass-fed beef programs in identification and implementation of appropriate scale and technology
   

Expected Outputs, Outcomes and/or Impacts

Expected Outputs, Outcomes and/or Impacts: This project supports research that will increase our understanding of various factors influencing the physical and economic viability of grass-fed beef. Outputs are expected to be in the form of peer-reviewed publications and popular journals or related news sources, extension workshops and programs. Outcomes should be an enhanced understanding of the potential for grass-fed beef systems. Impacts will be expanded use of grass-fed beef in the participating states if the system is economically, ecologically nutritionally, and consumer viable, resulting in greater rural economic viability.

Projected Participation

View Appendix E: Participation

Literature Cited

Attachments

Land Grant Participating States/Institutions

CO, ID, IN, MI, MN, NM, NV, OR, SC, UT, WA, WY

Non Land Grant Participating States/Institutions