NCBA Promotes Sustainability To Consumers, Producers

When it comes to the topic of sustainability, the focus is a simple one for the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association. The NCBA’s Myriah Johnson said it comes down to three pillar areas: Environmental, Economic and Social. She said when it comes to sharing the message of sustainability, there is a lot of work that needs to be done, both with the producers and the consumers.

“When we think about benchmarking and looking at where we’re at, and again, we want to be able to improve, I think that’s a message we can take out, that sustainability is not just a bunch of fluffy stuff.  We’re trying to help people to put more dollars in their pocket, to leave their land better and for it to be more viable, but we’re also helping to take care of the people, which I think speaks to us as individual beef cow producers.  But certainly that’s a message that needs to be taken to the consumers as well, because only 2% of our population has that agricultural background.”

Johnson said it’s not only important that the livestock industry is proactive with the message of sustainability, but that they control the narrative as well. For example she noted when it comes to addressing wildfires across the west, cattle can be symbiotic on federal lands.

"Our cattle producers, especially in areas that are heavily dominated by federally owned lands need that land to graze on to be able to have a herd size that is economically viable," Johnson noted. "At the same time when those cattle go and graze those lands, they are removing that fuel load and that could be picked up in those wildfires, and so that saves our federal government money, by not having to come in and mechanically control that fuel load and trying to get that reduced.  So, if we can get that reduced and harvest the with cattle, we’re turning it into a tasty product that feeds you and me, but we’re also helping to protect infrastructure and we’re keeping firefighters out of the way of having to fight those fires, so we’re protecting lives as well.”

Johnson added while the cattle industry makes great strides in addressing sustainability, it’s an ongoing journey that will change and evolve over time.

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