Sustainability has become a common word at business meetings across the country, and it is rapidly becoming an expectation for today’s production systems. However, the definition of sustainable often differs across industry, academic and business circles. This divergence creates a significant challenge for all agriculture commodities including the U.S. beef community.
The beef community has defined sustainability as raising cattle in a way that is environmentally sound, economically viable and socially responsible. However, accurately measuring sustainability using this holistic approach and developing practical on-ranch sustainability tools is challenging, as the beef supply chain is one of the most complex biological, economic and social systems in the world.