The animal nutrition industry is developping new products, programs and practices to significantly reduce the CO₂eq emissions of beef cattle. Significant progress has been made, but additonal efforts will be required to reach the goals that consumers and governments are proposing. It will not be possible for the beef industry to reach the CO₂eq reduction targets with one single product or program. A group effort, with several products, programs and practices, contributing to a successful outcome, will be required to achieve a significant reduction of CO₂eq emissions from beef cattle operations. Reports indicate that about 10% of the total greenhouse gass emmissions of a beef farm are related to on-farm supply sources, including emissions from the production of feed supplied to the farm (see Figure 1). GHG emmissions included in te total are CO₂, N₂O, and CH₄. This means that about 25% of the carbonfootprint of a beef operation comes from farm supplies, with a huge contribution from feed. Therefore, premixers and feed compounders will be facing a growing demand from beef farmers to provide them with a total CO₂eq number for the feed they are supplying to their beef operations.

To assist producers of feed for beef cattle operations with calculating the CO₂eq emissions resulting from producing the ingredients they use within their feed, NGO and industry groups have agreed on a set of mandatory guidelines to be used for the calculation of the CO₂eq number of an ingredient used to produce feed for beef cattle. Within this evaluation, a tool referred to as a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is crucial. The LCA template must be completed for each ingredient. Once the LCA has been completed, it should be reviewed by an independant party, to ensure that all approved guidelines (ISO 14040 and 14044 statues) were followed when the Life Cycle Assesment was executed. If the information is assessed to be correct, the LCA’s outcome will be verified, providing manufacturers of feed for beef cattle with an independent verification on the CO₂eq number of the particular ingredient.

Having this number available allows nutritionists and manufacturers of compound feed and farm minerals for beef cattle to effectively evaluate the individual CO₂eq impact of various ingredients being added to their products, with the objective of lower the total impact of the product. To assist with this growing need from feed manufacturers for validated information, an LCA which identifies the carbon footprint for each of Selko IntelliBond’s individual product was completed recently (See Figure 2). These values are specific to the Selko IntelliBond manufacturing process and will be of value to feed compounders and premixer that are working to reduce the carbon footprint of their products.

Figure 2, CO₂ equivalents per metric ton of Selko IntelliBond produced and per kg of metal for Selko IntelliBond C, Selko IntelliBond Z and Selko IntelliBond M.

The Global Feed LCA Institute (GFLI) has a database that holds a comprehensive collection of all animal feed ingredients for which the carbon footprint of producing the particular animal feed ingredient was calculated. It only contains datasets for animal feed ingredients that were created using LCA methodology. Its primary purpose is to provide manufacturers of animal feed a credible and transparent environmental assessment of the animal feed ingredients they use in their feeds.

All the information about the carbon footprint of animal feed ingredients that is included in the GFLI database has been validated by a team of independent experts by using a FAO-LEAP and EU-PEF compliant methodology. This methodology is built on 4 reference documents to adhere to globally standardized guidelines of the FAO and the EU. These 4 guidelines are the FAO LEAP feed guidelines (2016), the FAO LEAP feed additives guidelines (2020), the EU Feed PEF database methodology (2017), and the Feed PEFCR (2018).

The detailed information in the database can assist the industry in improving their environmental footprint. Selko IntelliBond is the first feed additive for animals that was incorporated into this database, which is a significant achievement. GFLI certification of an animal feed additive provides recognition and validation from an independent, prestigious institute. Furthermore, inclusion in the GFLI database allows the data to be accessible to a global audience that is working hard to make dairy and beef farming more sustainable.

Reaching the targets for beef producers, set by governmental and consumer groups will not be easy. A holistic approach will be required. Beef producers should use feed that has been produced with a minimal carbon footprint. The LCA for the 3 Selko IntelliBond products will provide manufacturers of feed for beef cattle operations with an independent verification on the CO₂eq number of their trace mineral source.