Comparative analysis of Feedlot and Free-range cattle management on Botswana beef quality: a study of sustainability, post-mortem examination, and SWOT analysis

African agriculture faces triple threats of climate change, population growth and inequality, necessitating sustainability research in agriculture that comprehensively examines social, economic, environmental, and socio-political trade-offs. To examine sustainable beef production in Botswana, this study used a mixed-method approach to explore Feedlot and Free-range cattle management systems. First, competing but overlapping factors of environmental, economic, and social sustainability in beef production were identified from literature review, and a conceptual framework for sustainability was used to assess the trade-offs inherent in both management systems. Second, abattoir post-mortem examinations were used to compare 25 feedlot cattle and 22 free-range cattle across standard factors including: carcass dress mass (CDM), carcass grade, fat colour, conformation, dentition, carcass and offal postmortem decisions, and reasons for the decisions. Lastly, sustainability trade-offs for feedlot and free-range cattle management were compared through a Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunity, and Threats (SWOT) analysis. Sustainability assessment showed that feedlots rely on imported grains like corn and soybean, increasing producers' uncertainty as an increasingly turbulent world affects grains availability and pricing. Free-range pasture systems, on the other hand, rely on rainfed agriculture (and often communal lands), which are increasingly challenged by the intersections of climate change, overgrazing and issues of land access. Feedlot animals had a significantly higher CDM (p = 0.0001) at 237.56 kg ± 6.98 (Mean ± SEM) compared to 184.50 kg ± 7.44 for Free-range cattle and higher incidences of red offal condemnation rates (lung, liver, and spleen) (p < 0.05) compared to free-range cattle. Free-range cattle had higher green offal condemnation rates specifically large tripe (p = 0.026) compared to feedlot cattle. SWOT analysis confirmed the trade-offs in several factors including carcass weight, feed costs, and climate change impacts. The conceptual framework for sustainability, postmortem findings and SWOT analysis reveal cattle farming challenges and trade-offs that must be made to address disease burdens, animal nutrition, and productivity in Botswana.