A Big Picture View of Preserving Family Farms

Ray Williams with Gallagher North America joins the show to discuss the big-picture view of sustainability and what it means for family farms and ranches today. Ray covers what he is gaining from producer conversations at NCBA convention in New Orleans, the 3 segments of sustainability and why cattle producers need to do their part to prevent misinformation in the beef industry.

3 Segments of Sustainability

Sustainability can be broken down into 3 pillars – economic, environmental and social. Each pillar has its own unique impact while also working together with the others to impact the world. Economic sustainability looks at what practices are supporting long-term economic growth without negatively impacting social and environmental sustainability. Environmental sustainability refers to what practices are positively impacting biological ecosystems. Social sustainability refers to practices that promote positive culture, community and quality of life. Cattle producers have a unique role of being able to create businesses and communities that excel in all 3 of these areas. It is important for cattle producers to continuously make sure their business practices are in line with these practices in order to pass on a profitable and appealing cattle operation to the next generation. A profitable business that doesn’t offer a good quality of life is not sustainable, because it doesn’t meet or respect the needs of the people working there. Looking at the big picture of sustainability and breaking it down into these three pillars is an effective way to begin evaluating how sustainable your operation is or is not.

Using Technology to Become More Sustainable

Technology can be used to improve all three pillars of sustainability. Williams discusses using electric fences to improve forage production, soil quality, water quality and wildlife habitat. Scales, EIDs and other digital methods of record keeping can reduce workloads, save time and improve both profitability and quality of life for those working on the ranch. It is really an exciting time to be in the beef industry with a breadth of solutions to help make cattle operations more efficient and profitable.

Debunking Consumer Misinformation

Sustainability is a buzzword and is being pushed by the consumer. Consumers care about the environment and animal welfare just like cattle producers, however, they have access to misinformation about the industry and are disconnected from what livestock production looks like. Whether it is sharing the truth about water and land usage or laying out facts about GHG emissions, cattle producers have a responsibility to share the truth about how cattle production truly improves the environment and rural communities.

Take a few minutes to think about your operation from a 10,000-foot view. What pillar of sustainability can you focus on in 2023?