In the project: “Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions from the Canadian Beef Industry through the Development and Adoption of Genomic Tools” (Awarded to Dr. John Basarab project PI through a NSERC-SSHRC Alliance grant in sustainable agriculture), one of our goals is to better understand the barriers to adoption of genomic tools for beef producers. To accomplish this, we are engaging producers directly. Project co-applicant Dr. Xiaoli Fan and PDF Dr. Huan Chen have developed an online questionnaire to gather insights on awareness, attitudes, barriers, and potential support needs related to the adoption of genomic technologies by Canadian cow-calf producers. These findings will inform future research and policy initiatives that support the use of genomic tools to improve the profitability and sustainability of the Canadian beef industry. The survey takes about 20 minutes to complete and results are anonymous. We invite Canadian beef producers reading this to participate, use this link or the QR code below to access the questionnaire.
This project is exploring several approaches to address the use of genomic tools for the reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the Canadian beef industry. As a large multi-institution project, we can approach the challenge of reducing GHG in beef production from multiple angles utilizing the expertise of our various excellent team members. Here we will overview the project to show how this questionnaire fits into our project framework.
First, we are developing novel genomic tools such as genomic enhanced Expected Progeny Difference (gEPDs) for enteric methane emissions to factor into a sustainability multi-trait selection index. These genomic tools can help quantify GHG emission reductions through selection decisions by selecting for lower emitting and more efficient animals. You can read about the animal trials being used to develop the phenotypic dataset for this goal here. To enhance the capability of enteric emission phenotype collections from beef cattle, we are also developing a proxy measure for enteric emissions by using fecal near infrared spectroscopy. The feasibility of this approach was originally assessed by our project collaborator Dr. Amélie Vanlierde with Walloon Agriculture Research Centre (CRA-W, Gembloux, Belgium). This has shown promise as a suitable proxy measure for enteric emissions. This will allow for low cost phenotype collection for enteric emissions to supplement the present project dataset and future efforts to quantify enteric emissions (read our previous article on the topic here). Next, we are developing a carbon offset framework for cow calf producers to incentivize adoption. In the regulated or voluntary carbon markets, industrial emitters can purchase “offset credits” associated with reductions from quantified projects to lower their net emissions. More simply put, this is a framework that can result in producers getting paid for practices that reduces GHG emissions. Beneficial management practices (BMPs) are being developed to help producers understand how to apply genomic tools in their operations for better sustainability and profitability outcomes. These BMPs will tie into the carbon offset protocol development. Finally, these practices are being piloted by cow calf producers to support adoption. By working with the producer partners and analyzing the data they supply, we can quantify the economics and GHG reduction achieved and projected through the pilot project work. To read more about the pilot project and to get involved read more here.
We are grateful for the opportunity to lead this large scale project. We can only be successful in our goals with the participation of Canadian beef producers. This survey and the activities of the producer pilot are great ways to stay informed on the developing approaches and have your voice heard in the process. Please feel free to reach out with any questions! lsgentec@ualberta.ca