CALF_News_June_July_2018

24 CALF News • June | July 2018 • www.calfnews.net By JimWhitt Contributing Editor I f you ask 100 people what sustainabil- ity is, you’ll likely get 100 different answers. So, the task of getting 100 people to agree on what sustainability is for an entire industry is a monumen- tal task. But that is exactly what the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef (USRSB) set out to accomplish when it was formed in 2015. Its 100-plus members represent cow-calf produc- ers, auction markets, feedyards, packers, processors, retail- ers, food service organizations, academic organizations and conservation organizations. Those members connect the dots between industry segments and represent 30 percent of the cattle herd, more than 20 billion pounds of processed beef and more than 70 million consumers across the United States. USRSB members and others convened May 1-4 for their 2018 General Assembly Meeting in Oklahoma City. Day one of the conference featured Lopez Foods, Inc., Express Ranches and the Tim Haines Ranch on an optional tour. The meeting officially started the following morning with USRSB Chair Rickette Collins of the McDonald’s Corpo- ration welcoming the group. Jan Johnson of Millennium Research, Inc., then facilitated an interesting and sometimes humorous panel discussion with consumers from the Okla- homa City area. Shawn Darcy, Director of Market Research at The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association followed up with insights from consumer research conducted by the association. Attendees heard from several other panels and speakers throughout the day, including Dr. Tryon Wickersham, Texas A&M University associate professor; Nicole Johnson Hoffman, chief sustainability offi- cer and senior V.P. for OSI Group; Monica Hadarits, programs and certification director at the Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Beef; and Rod Snyder, president of Field to Market. Wednesday’s session ended with the business meeting and a reception at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum. The highlight of the day was the unveiling of the USRSB Sustainability Framework, which began taking shape in 2016. Development of the framework began by focusing on two questions: 1) What areas are most important to the beef value chain? and 2) How can each segment of the chain assess and measure progress within each area? More than 80 USRSB members participated in working groups within each value chain sector (cow-calf producers, auction markets, feedyards, packers, processors, retail and food service organizations) to develop the answers to these questions into indicators and metrics. Allied industry members, academics and conservation organizations also provided input. The high priority indicators are:  Animal Health andWell-Being: The cumulative effects of cattle heath, nutrition, care and comfort.  Efficiency and Yield: Efficiency is the unit of input required to produce a unit of output, and yield is the total product generated per unit of time or space. Both con- cepts address waste as a negative characteristic and strive toward improved profitability. SUSTAINABILITY FRAMEWORK HIGHLIGHTS USRSB CONFERENCE