The Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (EMBRAPA) has been making significant strides in promoting sustainable agriculture practices, and a notable example of this is the validation of technical guidelines for Low-Carbon Meat Production (CBC).
Complementing the Carbon Neutral Meat (CCN) protocol, which focuses on livestock systems amid trees, CBC is aimed at systems without such presence, maintaining sustainable potential through efficient pasture management. This management is recognized as one of the most important agricultural technologies for mitigating global climate change.
Over two production cycles (2019 to 2021), EMBRAPA led experiments on a commercial farm in Western Bahia to validate the CBC protocol’s technical guidelines. This validation will function as a certification model for the CBC brand on beef cattle farms wishing to implement this system. The CBC Protocol will be available to producers in 2024, accessible through the Agri Trace Animal Traceability platform developed by the National Confederation of Agriculture and Livestock (CNA).
During the CBC protocol’s validation, eight technical parameters were assessed, including soil density, carbon stock and quality, forage availability and soil cover, average daily weight gain of animals, weight gain per area of animals, and enteric emissions. These parameters are integrated into the mandatory requirements proposed in the CBC Protocol and labor and environmental legislation guidelines.
The results show that the CBC protocol’s implementation ensures productivity and meat quality and increases the producers’ profitability without compromising environmental sustainability. This initiative is a significant step in the search for more efficient and environmentally friendly agricultural practices, aligned with the sustainable development goals.