Livestock ConCiencia: a contribution to more efficient production

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INTA’s scientific work on pastoral systems, measurements of carbon sequestration in soils and technological advances add to the adoption of practices and technologies that have already demonstrated their effectiveness. Studies that provide information and knowledge to an Argentine livestock farm that produces healthy and traceable food.

Scientific evidence -stated INTA- is consistent with the efficiency of production systems. Two farms with the same number of animals can have very different impacts depending on their weaning percentage, forage quality and availability, reproductive management, genetics used, and the level of adoption of precision technologies.

For Mauricio Álvarez, coordinator of INTA’s National Program of Animal Meat and Fibers and member of Ganadería ConCiencia, productive efficiency is achieved through the assimilation of knowledge and data provided by scientific studies.

In livestock, according to the livestock coordinator, it is about understanding pastoral systems as multifunctional ecosystems, which regulate ecological processes and sustain a series of services that are key to the environment and to rural communities. In this sense, he explained that a relevant piece of data to evaluate the impact of livestock farming is not only how much an animal emits, but how much meat or milk it produces throughout its useful life and how much surface area it requires to do so.

Studies carried out by INTA teams together with international organizations show improvements in productivity per head and per hectare, which simultaneously benefit the environment, the producer and the country’s economy.

INTA has developed and disseminated process technologies that allow more to be produced with less impact. In this order, Álvarez referred to proposals such as the efficient management of pastures through rotational grazing schemes, strategic supplementation and the improvement of reproductive efficiency. To which must be added the comprehensive animal welfare and health protocols.

He also indicated the importance of recent research where large databases and direct field measurements are analyzed, which indicate that a large part of the temperate, subtropical and Patagonian grasslands of Argentina function as sinks when they are properly managed. In this regard, he stressed that long-term studies on soils show significant catches with adequate pasture management.

Natural grasslands offer quality forage, sustain the forage base of extensive livestock production, and convert biomass that is not edible by humans into food of high nutritional value with a minimum requirement of external inputs.

In this sense, Álvarez indicated that they provide regulation services, contributing to nutrient cycling, erosion control, water infiltration and storage, soil structure stability and the maintenance of local microclimates that reduce the thermal stress of livestock. In addition, natural vegetation and pastures help prevent desertification processes and promote resilience to droughts.

As support services, the coordinator stressed that grasslands maintain the plant and faunal biodiversity of open ecosystems, sustain pollinators, favor the provision of habitats and regulate biogeochemical processes that are fundamental for soil health.

This combination of functions explains why pastoral systems should be considered strategic allies for livestock today. Because they include benefits that coexist with livestock activity and that, when properly managed, allow positive environmental balances to be achieved at the farm and regional scale, in combination with productive and social economic results, Álvarez said.

In addition, he recognized that Argentine pastoral livestock operates on ecosystems that can become platforms for the provision of ecosystem services, integrating production, environmental regulation and soil conservation. Hence, the importance of understanding and valuing these services is key to building policies that promote real and sustainable improvements over time.

Tools that produce results
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Science and field experience show that the most effective actions consist of the adoption of practices and technologies that have already proven their effectiveness. Among these, according to Álvarez, the rotational management of pastures is enlisted, which improves the supply and quality of forage and increases production per hectare.

Added to this list is strategic supplementation, adjusted to specific production objectives, which shortens cycles, improves weight gains and reduces the intensity of emissions per kilo produced. These technologies are supported by efficient reproductive management, including preventive health management. In this sense, practices such as early entore and fixed-time artificial insemination (IATF) improve efficiency and increase both the weaning percentage and the kilos produced.

Silvopastoral systems are also added, which combine trees and pastures, provide shade and shelter, and improve animal comfort, promoting development in different regions. As well as genetic improvement aimed at feed efficiency and lower emissions, which is supported by INTA’s residual consumption (RFI) and methane phenotyping platforms.

Finally, other tools such as precision livestock farming incorporate sensors for remote monitoring of weather, drinking water, herd status and pasture condition, thus facilitating decisions based on objective data.

These practices are accessible and relatively low-cost, but they have a high impact. Not only do they reduce emission intensity, but they also increase production, reduce losses and improve profitability, generating a virtuous circle that strengthens livestock companies instead of weakening them.

A path of opportunities
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*International markets demand environmental traceability, certifications, clear information on origin and production conditions. In this context, Argentine livestock has a strategic opportunity. In Álvarez words, **“the combination of pastoral systems, technical knowledge and the ability to measure the ecosystem services of livestock allows us to think about a differentiated meat supply”.

To take advantage of this opportunity, the most effective stimuli are those that recognize and reward good practices, promote measurement and transparency, accompany the technological transition and generate conditions to differentiate healthy products. For Álvarez, it is about opening doors to those who show verifiable improvements in productivity and environmental performance.

Finally, the challenge – for Álvarez – is not to change the essence of what is done, but to do it better and better. It is about having more information, more technology, more efficiency and a strategy that values what national production can contribute to a world that demands, with increasing strength, what Argentine livestock produces: traceable and higher quality food.