Dec 15, 2009
Half Of Brazil's Greenhouse Gasses Produced By Cattle Ranching
Author: Michael Cordonnier/Soybean & Corn Advisor, Inc.
Brazilian researchers estimate that cattle ranching in Brazil is responsible for approximately half of the greenhouse gases emitted by the country. The source of the gases is three fold. The primary source is the clearing of forested land and the burning of the vegetation in order to plant pastures for cattle grazing. Most of this deforestation is occurring along the eastern and southern edges of the Amazon region. The second source of gases is the annual burning of dry pastures at the end of the dry season in order to stimulate new growth. At the end of the dry season, the pastures in Brazil consist mainly of dried out grass consisting mostly of inedible stems. The ranchers burn off the dry grass in order to facilitate the cow's access to the new green shoots, which will sprout within a week or two after the grass is burned. The third and smaller sources of gases are the cows themselves and their digestive process.
For several years, Embrapa has been promoting the improvement of Brazil's pastures as a major way of cutting down on deforestation and greenhouse gas emissions. If the carrying capacity of each hectare of pasture in Brazil is improved, then cattle production can increase without the clearing of any additional new land. Brazil has millions and millions of hectares of what is called degraded pastures. These are pastures were formed maybe generations ago and little has been done to improve the pastures since. Embrapa has proposed improving the fertility of the pastures, the planting of new more nutritious grass varieties, improving the genetic makeup of the cattle, and the use of supplemental rations that encourage faster weight gains. The goal is to help the cattle reach market weight faster, thus increasing cattle production on existing pastures.
The researchers feel these advances can be made with only modest financial investments, but it would require a rethinking of how cattle are raised in Brazil. Currently, all the focus is on expanding cattle production by increasing the amount of pastureland utilized with little regard to environmental concerns. Scientists from Embrapa feel that the new way of cattle production should emphasize increasing the amount of cattle produced on existing pastures without the necessity of clearing any new land.