What's in the news right now about environmentally sound, socially responsible and economically viable beef value chain.
NEWS MEMBERS RESOURCES
Executive Director's Message

Welcome to 2016 and the latest GRSB connect, and welcome, too, to our latest member, Datamars.

This year we want to build upon some of the work that got underway in 2015, and an important starting point will be the strategic planning meeting in Denver taking place in February.

We are hoping that all of the board of directors will be able to make it to map out the strategic direction for the next several years as well as the detail for this year. If you are not a board member and have some ideas that you think should be discussed, please get in touch with members in your constituency that are board members and let them know.

The biggest event of the year will be the second Global Conference on Sustainable Beef that will be taking place in Banff, Alberta on October 4–7th., 2016. You will be provided more details as they become available, both through Connect and our website.

You'll notice that we have a new format in our new house style developed by Swanson Russell. We hope that it works well on all devices, so please let us know if there are issues on any device or browser combination you may be using. This gives some idea of how the new website will look and feel when launched this spring.
Ruaraidh Petre
Global Roundtable for Sustainable Beef
Executive Director
Regular Board Call
January 27, 2016
3 p.m. Central Daylight Time

Strategic Planning Meeting for Board Members
February 9-10, 2016
Denver, Colorado USA

Global Conference on Sustainable Beef
October 4-7, 2016
Banff, Alberta

We envision a world in which all aspects of the beef value chain are environmentally sound, socially responsible and economically viable. The reality of that vision would not be possible without the great work of GRSB members every day. We’d like to introduce “GRSB Member Profiles,” – a conversation with members throughout the beef value chain who are making an impact through their work and dedication to the industry.

Ross Macdonald
98 Ranch Inc.

GRSB sat down with Ross Macdonald, president of 98 Ranch Inc., to talk about sustainability and best practices on his operation.

Q: How long have you been in the cattle business?

A: I’ve been in the cattle business about 15 years. I’m the president of 98 Ranch Inc., and my wife is vice president. We are the only two shareholders, so we are owner-operators.

Q: Walk me through your experience.

A: I grew up about 40 minutes away from where we are now...

View the Full Story
Datamars, Inc.
Dateline: January 2016 | Constituency: Commerce & Processing
Datamars, Inc. is a global leader in livestock identification. In North America their portfolio includes the industry leading Temple Tag and Z Tags brands. Their livestock tracking and identification processes assist with traceability and disease control for the farming, ranching, feedlot and harvest industries. Unique ID systems for livestock management, including RFID, simplify full life cycle tracking of food source animals and facilitate daily data collection for accurate, simplified recording..
 
We collect stories that involve or directly concern our member organisations, and we particularly value the stories our members send us about how they are making a difference to the sustainability of the global beef industry, so please do send us your news so that we can share it with your fellow GRSB members.

Producers Challenged to Get Online, Join Discussion
The Prairie Star | December 25, 2015
What do ranchers and online activists have in common? Not nearly enough, Grady Bishop, a representative for Elanco Animal Health, told an audience of beef producers wearing blue jeans, waistcoats and cowboy hats at the 131st Montana Stockgrowers Association Annual Convention and Trade Show. Consumers are more health conscious than ever before and more discerning, too. They want to know what they are eating and how it's produced – and they want to talk about it on social media. Bishop told producers it's time to get online and join the discussion.

Aus' and Brazil the beef exporters 'to watch' in 2016
GlobalMeat News | December 15, 2015
Beef exporters tipped for success in 2016 include Australia, Brazil, India and the US, according to Rabobank's global quarterly review on the beef industry.

Beef Research Backs 'Positive, Proactive Message'
Lisa Young, AgriNews | December 16, 2015
The international beef industry is poised to tell the story of its sustainability. Kim Stackhouse–Lawson, executive director of global sustainability for the National Cattlmen's Beef Association is at the forefront of that conversation, sitting not just on the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef but also the Global Roundtable for Sustainable Beef. Stackhouse–Lawson allayed fears anyone might have had by first saying the roundtable efforts are not about setting any specific numerical goals producers should meet.

Ranch Reform in the Rain Forest

Roger Di Silvestro, National Wildlife Federation | November 30, 2015
For half a century, Brazil's government has tried to slow the loss of Amazon forest through laws that have met with little success. Now the National Wildlife Federation and other organizations, backed with new legal measures by Brazilian officials, are trying a different approach: persuading major companies—from meatpacking giant JBS to Puma, Nike and the supermarket chain Walmart—to buy cattle products only from ranchers who do not destroy forest. .
To the consumer, sustainability may mean various things, but we can be pretty sure that the emphasis for most of them would be purely environmental. While we regularly see mentions of greenhouse gas emissions and other environmental issues, it's important to remember that sustainability is crucially about getting things to work in all three areas of sustainability– economic, social and environmental. Karl Williams emphasises the need for solutions to be practical and cost effective if they are to mean anything.
What's the Biggest Challenge for Sustainable Beef?
The Cattle Site | September 2, 2015
The biggest challenge for sustainable beef is taking practical applications to the grass–roots level, said Karl Williams, Operations Director at FAI Farms UK.

Sustainable Food is Key to Protecting the Environment
Irish Examiner | January 4, 2016
The international climate agreement concluded at COP21 in Paris was an important compass which aims to guide global temperature increases to 'well below' 2C and to focus all parties to the agreement to pursue efforts to limit it to 1.5C.

Livestock Sector Has Multi–Faceted Plan to Tackle Climate Changes
Alex Binkley, Manitoba Cooperator | December 22, 2015
The climate change conference in Paris brought together world leaders and countless economic organizations vowing to improve the environment. Participants agreed to work together to confront charges from some critics that livestock production is a major contributor to the greenhouse gas emissions that are driving climate change.

Sustainability More Than a Buzzword in Colorado 
Jennifer Latzke, High Plains Journal | December 22, 2016
Farmers and livestock producers of the future will not only have to consider production and economic factors in their business decisions, but also "sustainability."

Minister Coveney says Agriculture Can and Will do more on Climate Change
EIN News | December 15, 2015
The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Simon Coveney has warmly welcomed the historic Paris climate change agreement that has been reached by 195 countries from across the planet.
Global News

Sustainability is not just about the value chain in the highly developed markets – the beef industry makes use of land the world over, in fact disproportionately so in arid zones which are in developing countries; and because they are not as connected to global markets they frequently operate less efficiently, are less secure and face greater technical challenges than they do in the North America, Australasia or Europe. Part of the task that GRSB and its members will face is closing those efficiency gaps and supporting those markets to be more sustainable as well.
Queensland Scientists to Help Develop Vaccine for African Beef Industry
Lara Webster, ABC Rural AU | January 3, 2016
Two Queensland scientists have been recruited as part of a global project to help develop a tick vaccine for the African cattle industry. The tick may be an enemy of the Australian beef industry, but the situation is even more dire in Africa.

USDA Acts Fast on COOL 
Burt Rutherford, BEEF Magazine | December 21, 2015
With the bang of a gavel and the scratch of a pen, the beef industry's long and contentious battle over mandatory country–of–origin labeling (COOL) came to an end on Friday, Dec. 18. As part of the omnibus spending bill passed by both chambers of Congress and signed by President Obama, COOL was repealed.

Healthy Soil Can Reduce Greenhouse Gas: Experts
The Western Producer | December 17, 2015
Farmers have an obligation to address climate change, said speakers at a recent ecological farming conference. The way to do that is to build soil health, according to University of Vermont soils expert Heather Darby and long–time Ontario organic farmer Ken Laing.

Consumer Education a Priority for Producers
Jeff DeYoung, Iowa Farmer Today | December 17, 2015
"Beef is big business, and that's one of the reasons it gets picked on," Lusk said. The beef industry has come under attack from what Lusk calls the cultural elite, which includes large media companies. Despite some of the claims, he said the industry has become more efficient.

Shaping the Global Feed Industry
Susan Reidy, World–Grain | December 17, 2015
Through its many partnerships, the International Feed Industry Federation (IFIF) has experienced a busy year addressing feed safety, sustainability and feed–related environmental impacts.

Inside Chipotle's Contamination Crisis
Bloomberg Business | December 22, 2015
Almost 500 people around the country have become sick from Chipotle food since July, according to public-health officials. And those are just the ones who went to a doctor. Food-safety experts say they believe with any outbreak the total number of people affected is at least 10 times the reported number.

Prof Dame Sally Davies Will Discuss the Growing Threat of Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) 
SCI.org | January 5, 2016 
Chief Medical Advisor to the UK Government Professor Dame Sally Davies says: 'If we do not take action, then we may all be back in an almost 19th Century environment where infections kill us as a result of routine operations. We will not be able to undertake a lot of our cancer treatments, caesarean sections or organ transplants because of the risk of infection.'

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