“Our farmers are looking for ways to both prove and improve how they are producing food sustainably. Through Low Carbon Technologies, we intend to be their partner in increasing the value of environmental stewardship to their operations,” said David Thorbahn, president and CEO, Select Sires Inc.
As part of its launch, Low Carbon Technologies is acquiring Low Carbon Beef, LLC (LCB). This cattle certification company enables beef farmers and ranchers to add value to cattle that are raised with less greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. LCB is a USDA Process Verified Program (PVP) service provider and has the distinction of being the first PVP for calculating the GHG emissions for the beef production life cycle.
Colin Beal, Ph.D., founder of Low Carbon Beef, has been named CEO of Low Carbon Technologies and Chief Sustainability Officer at Select Sires Inc.
“LCB’s certification programs enable farmers and ranchers to earn premiums for reducing carbon emissions of their operation,” said Beal. “We are excited to develop Low Carbon Technologies with Select Sires given Select Sires’ long history of helping beef and dairy producers enhance productivity and profitability.”
Low Carbon Technologies’ science-based certification programs utilize a comprehensive life cycle assessment (LCA) to determine certification scores for candidate cattle based on management practices and cattle performance. The criteria in the current program span the "four F" categories of feed, fuel, fertilizer and cattle function to determine the life cycle greenhouse gas emissions of the cattle being evaluated.
Low Carbon Technologies will certify cattle regardless of the source of genetics. Longer term, the enterprise intends to expand sustainability assessments to other agriculture goods.
“Every day, farmers are taking action to be more sustainable,” said Beal. “Farmers and ranchers who produce cattle efficiently and with reduced greenhouse gas emissions, and the packers or processors who participate, deserve a premium for their efforts to improve the carbon footprint of beef products. Low Carbon Technologies provides third-party certifications that retailers, restaurant operators, and consumers need to make informed choices about their beef.”