CCA's Fawn Jackson (centre) participated as a session panelist at COP26. November 3, 2021.
On November 3, 2021, the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association shared a news release to encourage increased investment in agriculture research to further the Canadian beef industry’s methane reduction goals.
The Canadian beef industry continues to be a global leader in sustainable beef production. Beef farmers and ranchers manage lands that store an impressive 1.5 billion tonnes of carbon, and the Canadian beef industry has half the greenhouse gas (GHG) footprint per kilogram of production when compared to the global average. Key to achieving these goals is investment in research and extension for the application of the research on farm.
“We are hopeful that the Government will continue to support Canadian farmers, ranchers and industry partners as we drive towards the implementation of climate change solutions,” said Bob Lowe, President of the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association. “We need to increase our investments in research and the adoption of research to achieve our shared goals.”
The industry plans to reduce methane emissions through improvements in genetics, forage and feed production and management, and animal health, amongst others. Researchers are particularly interested in feed additives, which have shown great potential for methane reductions from cattle in the range of 20 per cent to 70 per cent reductions. As the Government moves forward with its goals, environmental partners, such as the Canadian beef industry, should be included in the policy and investment development.
The news release came while CCA’s Fawn Jackson was at COP26 - 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Glasgow to present on behalf of Canadian agriculture, representing the Canadian beef story.
You can watch her presentation here: Agriculture’s Ambition – delivering food security, resilience and mitigation in a changing climate