50 Optimizing grass-fed beef: Enhanced grazing strategies and their impact on carcass quality and methane emissions.

Abstract Grass-fed beef production, defined by the USDA as grain-free with continuous pasture access, is a growing segment of animal agriculture, valued for its perceived health benefits and sustainability. However, its environmental impacts—particularly on greenhouse gas emissions and soil health—and effects on meat quality remain debated among animal scientists. The 2025 NRCS Climate-Smart Agriculture and Forestry (CSAF) Mitigation Activities List identifies “enhanced” grazing strategies (e.g., rotational management, pasture planting) as potential climate mitigators, yet their combined influence on cattle performance, carcass quality, and environmental outcomes is unclear. This study assessed the effects of multiple enhanced grazing strategies on Angus-based cattle across six Ohio farms, aiming to inform sustainable beef production practices for animal scientists and producers. Six commercial farms, raising Angus cattle without grain supplementation, were selected as experimental units. Farms were chosen for similar soil types to minimize variability, with management practices—rotations, amendments, and stocking rates—scored using a protocol adapted from the Savory Institute’s Ecological Verification Outcome monitoring, modified for animal productivity focus. Scores (-1 to 2) reflected alignment with NRCS-enhanced practices. Data collected in 2024 included soil carbon and nitrogen, methane emissions (per-gram and per-head/day), forage quality and yield, and carcass quality across spring, summer, and fall seasons. Forage quality strongly correlated with higher management scores, with Farm 1 excelling across protein, fiber, and energy metrics. Forage yield, however, showed no consistent trend, likely due to non-selective sampling including weeds—an area for refining future animal nutrition studies. Soil carbon differed significantly at one farm across depths and two farms at 0-10 cm, suggesting inherent soil properties outweigh management effects. Methane emissions varied seasonally: Farms 1 and 6 peaked in spring (per-gram and per-head), while summer showed Farm 2 lowest per-gram and Farms 1, 3, and 6 highest per-head; fall highlighted Farms 1 and 2 per-gram, with Farm 1 leading per-head. Carcass quality, critical for animal scientists, was superior only at Farm 1, aligning with its top management score and suggesting grazing impacts on marbling and grade and hot carcass weight. These results indicate that enhanced grazing strategies can enhance forage quality and carcass outcomes but their environmental benefits, like soil carbon sequestration or methane reduction, are less consistent. Farm 1’s standout performance highlights the potential of optimized grazing for beef quality. A limitation of this study is the small sample of six farms; expanding to more farms is needed to validate these findings. Nonetheless, this work provides a solid foundation for further research into grazing systems, balancing productivity and sustainability in grass-fed beef production.