Meatpacker Cargill has given a US$1 million grant to Colorado State University for research into sustainable agriculture. By ILM.

The funding will go the university’s AgNext research program and focus on sustainable animal agriculture practices and reducing the environmental impact of the beef industry.

A major focus of the program is reducing enteric methane emissions from feedlot cattle, with experiments over the next two years aiming to bridge the gap between USDA guidelines on methane emissions and a lack of empirical data.

Dr Kim Stackhouse-Lawson, Director of AgNext and Co-Pl, said: “Working closely with industry partners like Cargill, researchers and producers, AgNext is helping develop innovative, scalable solutions that move the livestock industry toward a more sustainable future. An important part of that is developing robust baseline greenhouse gas emissions from cattle.”