MEAT+POULTRY - January 2025 - 58

BEEF PRODUCTION
might also provide information on superior cattle through the transfer of
genetic data in order to secure the best price for their cattle.
SUSTAINABILITY LOOK AHEAD
Talbott expects demand for sustainability drivers for the next 10 years to
increase for parts of the cattle cycle, and the attention to these topics to
be more prominent.
" Producers who consider what the landscape of sustainability
delivers throughout the next rebuild can better position themselves
for early market opportunities that align with individual production
goals, " the recent RaboResearch report said about the cow herd rebuild.
" Sustainability pressures signal increased demand for transparency
throughout the beef value chain to facilitate environmental accounting
and mitigation practices. "
CRITICAL
EQUIPMENT
Putting together many of these sustainability factors can also help
people down the supply chain understand what goes into making all
these decisions now and down the road.
" A retailer, for example, is selling a product, but doesn't necessarily
have control over how that product was grown or produced, " Talbott
said of sustainability practices. " Those partnerships are key to making
sure the incentive, the value and the demand driver is passing all the way
to actually enact that. "
In recent years, the USDA's Partnership for Climate Smart
Commodities program provided different practices for cow producers,
including fencing, pasture and range treatment solutions, and
genetic testing.
Another program interested parties tapped previously was the USDA
Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP).
Talbott wants to determine how many of these incentives are passed
on throughout the supply chain including to the cow-calf producers
around the United States.
Much of the insight from Talbott addressed the balance between risk
and reward for early adopters of sustainability.
" If there is a sustainability or environmental attribute related premium
at the consumer level, does that actually pass consistently to the cowcalf
producer? " Talbott noted. " I don't think that's quite clear today. "
With prices continuing to be high across categories of goods and
services, Talbott pointed out that the value of these climate-smart incentives
might come from supply chain partnerships or different corporate incentive
programs. Those companies can then work with other companies to set
the goals with their suppliers upstream to enact climate-smart practices.
Even with many of these pushes, it remains uncertain about the
future of how large the scale will be on sustainability measures in the
United States.
With a new administration taking over in January, the federal
government's position on cow-calf producers and their decisions going
forward in the next few years could change the objectives.
" We do have an indication of expectations given President-elect
Trump's first term in office, " Talbott said. " In a broad sense we may
expect lower regulatory costs and stalled sustainability commitments
throughout the value chain, and my eyes will be on potential changes
to USDA-NRCS programs, including Partnerships for Climate-Smart
Commodities and other conservation programs. "
MEAT+POULTRY - January 2025

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