Texas A&M Beef Sustainability Summit set for Dec. 8-9 in Dallas

Event will provide critical insights, build alignment across the beef sustainability landscape

Voices from multiple segments of the beef supply chain will be heard at the second annual Texas A&M Beef Sustainability Summit on Dec. 8-9 at the Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center at Dallas, 17360 Coit Road.

The term “beef sustainability” is often misunderstood, said event organizer Jacquelyn Prestegaard-Wilson, Ph.D., Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service livestock sustainability specialist and assistant professor in the Texas A&M Department of Animal Science.

This summit brings together people in the business – producers, feed yards, processors, retailers, tech companies and third-party verifiers – to have practical, honest conversations about what sustainability really looks like in production and supply chains, Prestegaard-Wilson said.

Registration for the event before Nov. 17 is $200; after, $250. A $50 virtual option is also available. There is also a $100 registration fee for students and faculty. Registration is available at https://tx.ag/BeefSustainability.

Cattle producers are eligible to have $445 of their registration and travel costs reimbursed through the Rancher Resilience Grant from the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association.

The event is hosted by AgriLife Extension, Texas Grazing Land Coalition, and Texas A&M Center for Grazinglands and Ranch Management.

Building an understanding, developing solutions

The first Beef Sustainability Summit was held last year and laid the foundation by explaining major sustainability topics, such as efficiency, profitability, greenhouse gases, land and water use, and why consumers and supply chains are paying attention, Prestegaard-Wilson said.

“This year we’re moving from definitions to solutions,” she said. “The focus is on moving from buzzwords to real-world strategies, supply chain alignment and what sustainability means to each sector of the beef industry.”

Producers want a seat at the table in sustainability conversations, and companies want better insight into on-ranch realities, Prestegaard-Wilson said.

“Both sides want clarity, trust and transparency,” she said. “This year we’re directly addressing those gaps with structured discussions that connect market expectations with ranch-level realities.”

On the agenda

Topics and speakers will be:

• Inside the boardroom: How do beef retailers set sustainability goals? – Lora Wright, director of sustainable animal proteins at Where Food Comes From, Centerville, South Dakota; Grant Keenan, cattle procurement, Walmart, Lincoln, Arkansas; and Missy Bonds, Bonds Ranch, Saginaw.
• No sustainability without succession: Centering rancher legacies – The Resilient Ranch Network team, and Texas A&M AgriLife Research and AgriLife Extension speakers.
• Where cost share programs deliver, and where they fall short – Morgan Treadwell, Ph.D., AgriLife Extension range specialist and professor in the Texas A&M Department of Rangeland, Wildlife and Fisheries Management, San Angelo.
• Soil – water – livestock: Tools for modern ranch management – James Clement III, senior vice president for grass and rangeland, EarthOptics, Kingsville.
• What the sale barn sees: Value drivers from the ring to the road – Beth Brian, director of sales and marketing, Superior Livestock Auction LLC, Weatherford; Hank McWhorter, president, Mc6 Cattle Feeders Inc., Hereford; and Megan Atchison, owner and operator, Wichita Livestock Sales Co., Wichita Falls.
• Verification, certification, confusion? What is trust, and what is red tape – Kristina Bierschwale, vice president of sales and business development, Where Food Comes From Inc., Fredericksburg.
• Transparency, traceability and who profits from ranch data – Gregg Barfield, president, BlockTrust Network, Bryan-College Station.

Day two will begin with a tour of Melissa Feeders in Melissa and lunch at Wes Equine Sports Arena.

• Feedlot, stocker and cow-calf sector alignment: Toward a more transparent partnership – Jack Cowen, owner, Cowen Cattle Company, Abilene; Scott Polhman, director of beef supply chain sustainability, Cargill, Hereford; Jason Smith, Ph.D., AgriLife Extension beef cattle specialist and assistant professor in the Department of Animal Science, Amarillo.
• Understanding grazing behavior in beef cattle: Drivers, dynamics and new technological insights – Pablo Guarnido-López, post-doctoral research associate, AgriLife Research, Beeville.
• Built for this: How adapted livestock drives regenerative success and resilient businesses – Caitlin Word, regenerative ranching consultant, Noble Research Institute, Ardmore, Oklahoma.
• Rangeland resilience: Managed grazing for drought, soil and forage – Merilynn Schantz, Ph.D., rangeland research scientist, U.S. Department of Agriculture Agriculture Research Service, Temple
• How is the industry responding to the development of working lands? – Chad Ellis, chief executive officer, Texas Agricultural Land Trust, Boerne.
• From talk to action: What’s next for producers, industry and partners? Guided panel and open discussion, facilitated by Trust in Beef – Emily Johannes, senior vice president, Trust in Food, Cleveland, Ohio; Clay Burtrum, co-owner of Burtrum Cattle LLC, Stillwater, Oklahoma; Rob Manes, co-director, Regenerative Grazing Lands Strategy in The Nature Conservancy, Topeka, Kansas.

PHOTO: Leaders of many segments of the beef supply chain are expected to gather at the second annual Texas A&M Beef Sustainability Summit, set for Dec. 8-9 in Dallas. (Laura McKenzie/Texas A&M AgriLife)