UNL commits $5 million to cattle impact project
The University of Nebraska–Lincoln aims to better gauge the environmental impact of the ranching industry with a new $5 million grant.
“We’re asking beef producers to make changes without the science to know it is beneficial, and not being able to accurately measure whether their change worked,” said Galen Erickson, professor of ruminant nutrition and leader of the Beef Innovation hub at Nebraska.
Erickson’s team recently received a five-year, $5 million Grand Challenges grant from the university to address that issue. The project will establish scientific processes and develop technology to accurately measure greenhouse gas emissions from grazing cattle. Researchers will study cattle in grazing systems at three of the university’s research facilities — the Eastern Nebraska Research, Extension and Education Center near Mead; Barta Brothers Ranch, southeast of Ainsworth; and Gudmundsen Sandhills Laboratory, near Whitman.
