Abstract
Any reduction in the carbon footprint of beef production will contribute to future sustainability. This study investigates the environmental impact (carbon footprint) of the changes that occurred in cow productivity in the cowherds of four South African landrace breeds over a period of 25–30 years. Cow productivity, defined as kilogram calf weaned per large stock unit mated, increased by 18.3, 10.0, 14.2, and 10.4% in the Afrikaner, Bonsmara, Drakensberger, and Nguni, respectively. This resulted in a decrease in the carbon footprint, as defined by the enteric methane emissions factor, of between 6.6 and 12.0%. Changes in the cow productivity component traits, viz. weaning weight, cow weight, and fertility (as measured by inter-calving period) was also investigated. In all breeds, except the Nguni, the change in the environmental trends were less than that of the direct genetic or phenotypic trends. The genetic trends for direct weaning weight in the Afrikaner, Bonsmara, and Drakensberger were +6.7, +11.7, and +6.2 kg, respectively. In the case of the Bonsmara and Drakensberger breeds, the genetic trends were larger than the phenotypic trends, which may indicate that the environment cannot support the higher “genetic” weaning weights. The genetic trends for mature cow weight in Bonsmara and Drakensberger were +15.9 and +15.1 kg, respectively, whereas in the Afrikaner and Nguni it was not significantly different from zero (R2 ≤ 0.24). The trends in the phenotypic mature cow weights were −8.3, +17.5, +8.5, and −17.2 kg for in the Afrikaner, Bonsmara, Drakensberger, and Nguni, respectively. Although the observed inter-calving period of all breeds declined, there was no genetic change in inter-calving period for any of the breeds. It is proposed that selection indices are developed for cow productivity, which can be extended to a carbon footprint selection index. It is recommended that similar studies be done on all the major beef breeds in South Africa, especially those that rely on regular importation of genetic material.
Highlights
One of the responsibilities of the livestock industries is to reduce the carbon and water footprints, which will contribute to future sustainability
An increase in cow productivity will lead to the generation of less GHG emissions per unit of product (Scholtz et al, 2013a), and in this case kilogram of calf weaned
It is important to quantify the current cow productivity of the landrace beef breeds of South Africa, especially in the era of climate change, where GHG emissions from beef production is under the spotlight
Summary
One of the responsibilities of the livestock industries is to reduce the carbon (release of greenhouse gases) and water footprints (i.e., the water use), which will contribute to future sustainability. Environmental Impact of Cow Productivity cow productivity will probably lead to improved (higher) gross efficiency (Wall et al, 2010; Scholtz et al, 2011). A study by Capper (2011) compared the environmental impact of modern (2007) beef production in the USA with production practices of the beef production system in 1977. The study indicated that improving productivity would be important if the environmental impact of beef production is to be reduced. Capper (2011) recommended further investigations into improving productivity, which can be used by the livestock industries to continue to provide sufficient animal protein to satisfy the market while the use of resources is reduced. It is important to quantify the current cow productivity of the landrace beef breeds of South Africa, especially in the era of climate change, where GHG emissions from beef production is under the spotlight
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