Beef webinar series 2021: Solutions to deliver sustainable beef production

Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI), College of Agriculture, Food and Rural Enterprise (CAFRE), Livestock and Meat Commission (LMC), Northern Ireland Meat Export Association (NIMEA), National Beef Association (NBA) and Ulster Farmers’ Union (UFU) have joined forces to deliver a series of beef webinars with a focus on sustainable beef farming for the future. The four webinars are specifically tailored for farmers and will focus on solutions that can be employed to further increase the sustainability of the beef industry in Northern Ireland. Speakers will include farmers, industry representatives, researchers and advisers, and the webinars will provide important messages for all involved in the local beef industry. 

The cross-cutting themes that the webinars will address include production efficiency, environmental sustainability, resilience and supply chain. The first webinar, on 20 May, will highlight how the results of recent scientific studies can be implemented at a farm level to deliver sustainable levels of beef production from grass. AFBI’s soil, agronomy and sustainable livestock production scientists will indicate how nutrients can be best utilised within the farm gate to produce beef in a cost effective and environmentally friendly manner.      

The second webinar on 17 June, will address the issue of resilience within beef production systems. The key focus of this webinar will discuss how beef farms can become resilient from a financial perspective. Two local farmers will also outline how they have future proofed their businesses by (1) introducing an alternative enterprise to their farm or (2) gaining off-farm employment. Both farmers will share their decision-making process and challenges they encountered whilst adopting their decision.    

The third webinar, in September, will address the challenge for beef farmers to ensure beef is produced in an environmentally sustainable way. Discussion will focus on what sustainability is from a beef farmer’s perspective, highlight the research carried out to support industry expectations and provide solutions which can help farmers be both more profitable and deliver improved environmental sustainability.     

The fourth and final webinar, in October, will demonstrate sustainable beef supply chain initiatives in practice. The webinar will be designed to show how the supply chain is responding to demands from the consumer for sustainable food. 

The series of webinars will take place on Thursday evenings at 8pm online via Zoom.  Pre-registration for the event is essential. To attend please register via the UFU website www.ufuni.org/events.