Page 16 - The Welfare of Cattle

IntroduCtIon to the WhIte PaPers xv

in North America industries associated with energy production and the transportation sector are the
largest anthropogenic contributors of greenhouse gasses.
Within the 4.2% contribution from the livestock sector, beef cattle were responsible for 2.2%,
dairy cattle 1.37%, swine 0.47%, poultry 0.08%, sheep 0.03%, goats 0.01%, and other (including
horses) 0.04%.
Today, with higher production per animal for both milk and meat operations, dairy cattle num-
bers have decreased 59% from 1,950 levels and the amount of milk produced has gone up 79%. Beef
cattle numbers have decreased by 36% and meat production has remained the same. The carbon
footprint for both industries has declined, and today dairy cattle’s footprint is now one third of the
1,950 level.
The United States has the lowest carbon footprint per unit of product (meat, milk, eggs) of all
countries because fewer animals are needed to produce the same amount of product. The average
cow in the US produces ~22,248 pounds of milk/year while the average cow in Mexico produces
~10,500 pounds of milk/year. India’s average cow produces ~2,500 pounds of milk/year. India
produces about nine times the methane and manure production for the same amount of milk as the
average US cow.
More production per cow decreases the environmental impacts of livestock. To feed a growing
world population in 2050 requires intensification of livestock production that will also reduce defor-
estation and environmental pollution.

Environmental Impacts—Dairy and Beef Sustainability: Nutrient Loss and Use Efficiency

Joe Harrison, PhD
Washington State University
Alan Rotz, PhD
USDA—ARS

Professor Harrison is the nutrient management specialist in the Department of Animal Sciences
at Washington State University’s Puyallup Research and Extension Center. Dr. Harrison is a nutri-
tionist by training and has focused his research and extension activity on whole-farm nutrient
management. He has been an active researcher and proponent of managing nitrogen and phos-
phorus waste to protect the environment. Dr. Rotz is an agricultural engineer working for USDA’s
Agriculture Research Service in areas associated with managing farms for environmental steward-
ship, including evaluating alternative technologies and management strategies on integrated farm-
ing systems for dairy and beef production.
Sustainability as used in this discussion reflects environmental, economic, and social systems that
meet present societal needs without compromising the needs of future generations. Environmental
issues include impacts on biodiversity, air quality, energy consumption, water emissions, water con-
sumption, land management, and waste and by-product impacts on the environment. The poten-
tial pollution of water from livestock production includes concerns about nitrogen and phosphorus
nutrient losses, pathogens, toxic compounds, hormones, and others products.
Cattle feed includes nitrogenous proteins, and up to 80% of nitrogen intake may be excreted in
their urine and feces. Ammonia volatilization to the atmosphere can represent up to half the nitro-
gen in these cattle wastes. Runoff in water also contributes to loss from the farm.
Much of the conversation today is about the sustainability of beef and dairy operations in exten-
sive systems, characterized by pasture, low tech, and animals foraging for much or most of their
own feed, versus intensive systems characterized by housing with higher density of animals and
animals are provided with most of what they eat. Young stock of both beef and dairy cattle are
raised in more extensive systems until they reach a point where they are close to starting their