June 6, 2025 • 24 mins
A collaboration between the Angus Foundation and the Bezos Earth Fund and Global Methane Fund has sparked passionate debate throughout the cattle industry. At its heart lies a $4.85 million research grant focused on exploring genetic differences in methane production among cattle—but as we discover, this project represents far more than environmental concerns.
Matt Perrier of Dalebanks Angus, whose family has ranched the same Kansas land since 1867, offers a producer's perspective on why this research matters. "Our interest is trying to find cows that do more with less," Perrier explains, highlighting that the primary motivation isn't climate change mitigation but identifying cattle that convert range forage more efficiently into meat and milk. The research builds upon promising work at land-grant universities suggesting that cattle emitting less methane may be retaining more energy for productive purposes.
What makes this initiative particularly significant is how it bridges different worlds. For ranchers, it promises economic benefits through more efficient animals. For environmental groups, it offers potential methane reductions. The research structure ensures the beef industry maintains control of the data while accessing funding that would otherwise be unavailable—a pragmatic approach to advancing genetic selection tools that benefit producers first and foremost.
Beyond the technical aspects, Perrier points to another valuable outcome: changing the conversation about cattle production. Rather than merely defending against environmental criticism, this research positions ranchers as proactive stewards willing to innovate. "We're as concerned about the environment as anybody," Perrier notes, "and that's why we're doing this." This forward-thinking approach may represent the next frontier in sustainable beef production, combining generations of ranching wisdom with cutting-edge science.
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Sarah Muirhead (00:07):
The Angus Foundation, through its genetics
subsidiary, angus Genetics Inc.
Recently received a $4.85million grant from the Bezo
Earth Fund and Global MethaneHub.
It's a move that has raisedstrong emotions among some in
the cattle industry.
Welcome to Feedstuffs In Focus,our podcast taking a look at
(00:28):
the big issues affecting thelivestock, poultry grain and
animal feed industries.
I'm your host, sarah Muirhead.
In today's episode, BeefMagazine's Clint Peck is joined
by Matt Perrier of Daleb anksAngus to talk about the recent
agreement and its focus onexploring the genetic
differences in energy efficiencybetween ruminant animals and
(00:49):
the level of methane they emitduring their lives.
Clint Peck (00:53):
Thanks a lot, Matt, for being with us.
Before we dive into adiscussion on the Bezos grant,
can you give us a little bit ofyour backstory and where you're
at in the beef industry today?
Matt Perrier (01:03):
Sure, sure, I appreciate you having me on,
Clint.
Yeah, Matt Perrier, from Eureka, Kansas, co-owner and manager
of Dale Banks Angus, which isour family's ranch.
I've been in the Angus businesssince about 1904 when my
ancestors started here, andranching in this same area since
1867.
(01:23):
So when we get to talking aboutsustainability issues, I think
that every rancher would agreethat the number one industry
maybe in the nation that isfocused on sustainability true
sustainability financial, social, family and of course, the
resources would be farmers andranchers.
And so, yeah, sustainability isa big thing and that's one
(01:47):
component of this discussionwe're having today.
I've been here since, well, Iwas born and raised on the ranch
, went to K-State for a littlewhile Kansas State University,
worked in a variety of fieldswithin the beef industry, but
outside of my production rootshere at Dale Banks within the
beef industry, but outside of myproduction roots here at Dale
Banks and then moved back herein May of 2004 with my wife, Amy
(02:09):
, and our one-year-old daughter,Ava.
And Ava just graduated fromKansas State a couple of weeks
ago and it's been a good ride,been a very educational one, but
that's what we do on the dailytoday educational one, but
that's what we do on the dailytoday.
Also have a actually have apodcast that I smaller podcast
(02:29):
that we produce here for farmersand ranchers called Practically
Ranching, but the main gigobviously is running a
registered cow herd andmarketing bulls to folks
throughout this state and region.
Clint Peck (02:42):
Great Well, we really appreciate you coming in
and talking about us with this,about this Bezos project.
Can you kind of outline alittle bit about what the
project is all about, and thenwe'll kind of go from there,
sure.
Matt Perrier (02:57):
And I need to make sure and make it clear I am a
member of the American AngusAssociation.
We submit, you know,registrations and transfers and
data, and actually used to workfor them for a brief time
decades ago.
But my vested interest in thisproject and this discussion is
(03:18):
that solely of a breeder ofAngus cattle and somebody who's
pretty focused on trying to makeevery generation a little
better than the one before, andso that's where I guess I got
involved in this issue andwanted to learn some more.
Just a little backstory on thisparticular deal.
I'm embarrassed to admit that Ididn't know anything about this
(03:40):
research project with thefunding coming from this
foundation, until about a weekago.
My son said oh my dad, I justgot a text from some friends
that said that the AngusAssociation's taken 4.7 million
dollars from the Bezos Fund andI said, oh my, what's it about?
And he said methane research.
(04:01):
And I said well, the AngusAssociation has been doing
methane research for a couple ofyears.
In fact we were part of aproject through Kansas State
University that then AmericanAngus helped fund and look at
some of that initial methanecollection data that K-State was
doing for the last year and ahalf and they're going to
(04:22):
present some of that stuffactually at Beef Improvement
Federation next year.
And we also had sold somegenetics to Oklahoma State
University, who is focused on asimilar project, a little bit
different approach to it.
But all this was about was, inmy opinion, in my perspective
and I think the Angus leadershipwould echo, this was about
(04:43):
trying to find cattle that wereforage efficient.
And so when they're out theregrazing on pastures or grazing
on a high roughage hay typeration like I would guess 90
some percent of us in ranchingdo in the cow-calf segment, how
do we find the ones that aremost efficient at converting
that forage or grass into meator milk or the next calf?
(05:04):
And so that's where my interestwas, that's where Angus
Association, angus GeneticsIncorporated's interest was for
the last two years, and I think,as we saw that initial data, we
said there may be somethinghere, not just on the methane
emission component, but that itis linked to their efficiency of
(05:25):
production.
And those cows that emit lessmethane and still produce the
pounds of calf weaning and thenext calf in subsequent years,
are probably wasting less asmethane and retaining more as
milk and production and fat andmeat and everything else that a
cow is supposed to be doing onforage.
(05:47):
And so that's where theinterest was.
The Angus Association then said,okay, what more do we need?
Because these projects endedwith K-State and what Oklahoma
State is doing.
They're great projects butthey're very limited in their
scope.
Why?
Because land grant institutionshave a hard time getting
funding today.
(06:07):
And so, as the Angus GeneticsIncorporated looked at that arm
of Angus Association, looked attrying to get enough phenotypes
that we could actually make somegood real data.
It was going to take a lot ofmoney, and so they they built a
research project proposal and II don't know some of this stuff
(06:30):
not being on the board, I'm justrelying on what I've read on
those press releases and websiteand things.
But they were trying to findsomebody that would fund this
proposal and got connectedsomehow with an outfit called
the Global methane hub I thinkis what it's called and the kind
of a clearinghouse that triesto put folks who have a good
(06:55):
hypothesis and a good researchrequest with those who have the
funding that wants to go intothat kind of area.
And that's where I think theGlobal Hub matched our project
that the Angus Association andAGI had come up with with the
funder, which is this basisearth fund.
(07:16):
And again, I I'm embarrassed tosay that I didn't even see the
press release back in, like Ididn't even I.
We were breeding cows, we weretrying to get corn planted there
, you know we didn't fall calves.
There was a lot going on.
I missed it and I'm embarrassedto say that, but I didn't know
anything about it until Lylesaid that his friend group had
(07:36):
dialed it up and keyed it up andhe saw it.
Well then, I got on FacebookSunday night and plenty of
people had seen it and I knowthere were some discussions, as
did I.
Right, yeah, I just didn't hearhim.
And so that's when I guess Istarted drilling down and asking
(07:56):
some questions and I texted aguy that I knew on the American
Anglican Association board andasked for some clarification and
some input and and and went andfound those that information
the Anglican Association had putout there before and then of
course they tried to put someinformation out there to target
exactly the questions that hadbeen raised on social media and
(08:17):
things like that.
And so that's when I finallykind of learned about today's
part of it, which is the fundingsource.
I knew what we had been doingwith K-State here personally and
some of that research throughthe beef industry.
But yeah, that brings us up, Iguess, to today.
(08:38):
But yeah, I think, while you andso many others have called this
this Bezos project, it'sactually this beef industry
project that the AngusAssociation put together and
worked with some folks in NewZealand and Australia months, if
not maybe even a year or so ago.
(09:00):
I know it was being talkedabout a year plus ago because
what they saw initially fromK-State and Oklahoma State and
some of that research that wasavailable, said we think there's
something here, oklahoma Stateand some of that research that
was available said we thinkthere's something here.
Now how do we make this bigenough that we can actually get
good, good data that might leadto some genetic selection tools?
(09:21):
Then they shopped it around andthen the Earth Fund or Bezos
Earth Fund came into the pictureand said, yeah, we're
interested in funding this.
And because of that and I'm notin the grant funding or the
research funding arena, buteveryone that I have either been
involved with and as I've askedquestions, because that was one
of the first questions I had,as I've asked questions about
(09:41):
this specific one when an entity, a research entity like AGI,
structures a program, a researchproposal, agi structures a
program, a research proposal,they get to put in there.
Who gets to see that data?
And now they're working withthis group of folks from New
(10:02):
Zealand and Australia and Ithink maybe UK and Ireland, and
each of them it's specified,each of them gets some
information back in response forthem putting phenotypes and
information into this big20-some million dollar project.
Our part of it, I think, is 4.85that AGI is sharing with those
(10:24):
other entities and AGI just getsa portion of that 4.85.
But we get to write the rulesand we get to use this data.
This isn't something that we'rea for hire entity, that we're
doing the work for the BezosFoundation and then just saying
here you go, take this data anduse it however you wish.
(10:46):
The way it's been explained tome and everything that I read on
that press release from 45 daysago or now, I guess, almost 60
days ago would back up the factthat these cooperative groups in
the beef industry beef, dairylamb, I think there's some other
ruminant types of entities thatare part of that but it's our
(11:08):
data to use and to do somethingwith.
The funder is just saying wesupport the thought process
because, yeah, you cow guys areinto it because you want to make
more efficient range cows.
We're into it because we beingthe Bezos Foundation, because we
want to see if we can limit themethane emissions, and so it's
(11:33):
a win-win for all of us.
But yeah, my interest and Iwould say that the Angus
Association's leadershipinterest, is not about reducing
our carbon footprint.
I hate to say that, but I don'tthink that's it.
Our interest is trying to findcows that do more with less.
Clint Peck (11:58):
Our interest is trying to find cows that do more
with less, and there has beensome pushback in the industry so
far, especially on social media, which we all know is a tough
road to hoe right there, or theAngus Association's acquiescing
into the thought process thatmethane, that cows cause methane
problems, greenhouse gaswarming, climate change, all
(12:18):
that and really what you'resaying is that this has been an
initiative by the industry totry to make cows more efficient,
especially those out on grass,those range cows, like you said,
and make them more efficientand maybe in turn, do the
(12:39):
win-win thing of producing lessmethane as they graze and as
they ruminate.
Matt Perrier (12:45):
Yeah, yeah, and I'm all about win-wins and
unintended positive consequences, and I recognize there's a risk
of unintended negativeconsequences, but the way this
research is structured and thefolks who are at the table, both
A putting the research programand seeing if are there, is
there enough heritability inthis information that we can
(13:16):
make a good tool, a goodselection tool, and if not,
we're not going to do it.
But if we are, can we move theneedle?
Those folks all are driven bythe goal of ranchers' ability to
stay on the land and producecattle into perpetuity and this
is just one more way that Ibelieve and I think the Angus
(13:39):
leadership and all the folksthat are involved with this
project believe it's just onemore way that we can find
someone to help us get the tools.
Because I'll be honest, I meanI don't.
I don't know what 4.8, somemillion dollars looks like, but
I don't think that very manybreed associations even the
(13:59):
Angus association is significantof a player as they are in the
beef industry and as manyregistrations and data and
everything else that comesthrough here.
I don't know very many Angusmembers who would say else that
comes through here.
I don't know very many Angusmembers who would say, yeah,
this cow efficiency deal isreally important to me and let's
just fund that.
Let's increase dues orregistration numbers or
(14:21):
registration fees or whateverthe case may be, and let's fund
this from within.
This, to me, is an opportunityto get what it is we want funded
and find out if there is enough, if there is enough
heritability, if there'ssomething here from a data
standpoint, that we can findcattle that are more efficient
(14:43):
on range grass and hay andthings like that, like that, and
let someone else pay for it who, by the way, isn't going to get
to even see the data until wehave used it and developed what
we need to do out of it.
And so, yeah, we all talk aboutchicken and egg kinds of deals.
This isn't even one of those.
(15:03):
Whichever you want to say, camefirst, the chicken or the egg?
Right, the beef industry, theruminant industry, angus
Genetics Incorporated was thatfirst one.
This BEF fund came much, muchlater to the table and said,
yeah, we'll help you get theresearch, get the phenotypes
(15:24):
collected, get everythinganalyzed.
Clint Peck (15:27):
And, as you mentioned, there's a lot of
forward-thinking research beingdone out there in the land-grant
institutions.
I know Nebraska, Kansas andthere's lots of other states
that are doing this and theAngus Association and Angus
Genetics have a great trackrecord of working with those
(15:47):
land grant institutions and inall kinds of research and I
think it's probably encouragingthat this research that Angus is
doing now using this money iskind of kicking off a whole
other round of research andmaybe another angle or another
(16:08):
look at the possibilities thatthere may be methane production
through beef cattle that couldbe impacting climate change and
we can maybe do something, ourshare at least in the cattle
industry, do something about itand just increase that body of
(16:29):
knowledge out there.
Matt Perrier (16:30):
In total, Right, yeah, and you know I love
industry and land grant researchand that's the model that we in
the beef industry and breedassociations.
That's one that we've workedwithin for years and it's an
excellent one.
I think today some of thoseresearch institutions, because
(16:50):
of budget cuts and you knowchanges in all different areas
of their business, they probablydon't quite have the funding
and the staff and gradassistants, everybody else, to
do what we could do 30 and 40years ago.
But what's cool about it isit's kind of an almost an
incubator concept.
(17:11):
Okay, so Kansas state wasworking with the Angus
association collecting a littlebit of this phenotype, a little
bit of these phenotypes throughthese green feed machines, and
you know there's not enough datathere to make an EPD or
something like that yet, butthere probably is enough to go.
Hey, there are differences andwe think there are differences
(17:31):
within related animals.
A certain sire group is emittinga little less methane is a
little bit higher body conditionscore.
They're likely eating aboutgrazing about the same.
Let's go forth and let's figuresomething out, and so that then
is leveraged with some dollarsfrom another source into a
bigger project that, yeah, theland grant and breed
(17:53):
associations and beef industryproducers got to kick it off and
start it.
Now we just figure out how tohow to carry it on.
And you know again youmentioned their climate change
and methane production by thebeef industry.
I put a post out on Facebookit's been four or five days ago
and I started the thing off andit was about this exact topic
(18:18):
because there was a lot ofnegative energy and still is
about this decision.
But I started off with Ibelieve in climate change, but I
don't believe that we're atfault.
My personal opinion and you maydisagree with me.
There may be people listeningto this that may disagree I
don't think man's impact,especially in the recent years,
(18:40):
is driving climate change.
Do we have a portion of it thatwe're guilty for?
Maybe, but there were wildswings in the weather, naturally
, for millennia.
I don't think it's our faultand I certainly don't think that
it's ruminant's fault, andthat's why I think that we need
to look at this for what it is,and that is a forage efficiency
(19:02):
project.
And if we're able to quantifyand dispel some of the myths
about cattle's impact on ourcarbon footprint or on the
environment or on methane orwhatever you want to talk about,
that's great.
That's great.
But the focus here for me and Ithink the focus for our Angus
Association is can we figure outa way to find cows that produce
(19:27):
what it is we want?
Can we figure out a way to findcows that produce what it is we
want?
Big wean and wait calvesbreeding back every year, long
lasting stay in the herd untilthey're 14 years old, all this
stuff and do it with less forage.
It's a goldmine.
I'm all for it.
It's going to take a while.
It's going to take a long while, I would guess, and a lot of
money, and that's why we're heretalking about millions of
(19:49):
dollars, not just hundreds ofthousands that we could have
probably done on a smallerproject.
Clint Peck (19:55):
But you know it goes back to sort of your
introduction.
It goes back to sustainabilityin the beef industry, being able
to prove that we don't havethat impact on the environment
that some are claiming that wedo in the beef industry.
But then, like you say, thewin-win of making cattle more
(20:17):
efficient, if it's out there todo so and to identify those
animals and, yeah, whatever genemarkers they are, whatever EPDs
that may be down the roadsometime, can only benefit us
all.
And again, telling our story ina positive way so that we can
keep cattle ranchers on the land, and I guess, speaking for
(20:41):
myself and for Beef Magazine,Matt, we applaud you and the
Angus Association, AngusGenetics Inc.
for your efforts in leading thischarge, along with a lot of
others that are out there, andit has to do with sustainability
and keeping ranch producingbeef for us and people around
(21:03):
the world.
Matt Perrier (21:19):
You bet, you bet.
Yeah, it starts with genetics,and I think we, as genetics
providers, have to take thoseleadership steps, and sometimes
they're not easy.
Sometimes the fear of theunknown gets the better of us,
but I think these discussionsare healthy.
I think it helps us understandwhy it is that we do this every
day and get up and take care ofthese cows and get them bred and
(21:39):
fed and managed and marketedand everything else, but I do
think that, in today's day andage whether I believe that man
has a direct influence on theenvironment or climate change,
or anything that I know to betrue If I sit here on River Road
(22:12):
in the Flint Hills of Kansasand say that nobody that matters
is going to change the waythey're coming at us with
anti-media agendas.
If, though, I and a bunch ofother ranchers step forth and
say we see a reason to do thisfrom a true production
(22:33):
standpoint.
We think we can do more withless inputs.
We think we can make cows thatwill do more with less acres all
these things.
That believes that cows are theproblem with climate change
sees.
Okay, here are a bunch ofcowboys that are wanting to do
(22:53):
methane research.
Are you serious?
Maybe they're not so bad afterall.
So I think that's one moreagain unintended positive
byproduct that we have apotential, as we're gaining
these phenotypes, to find thecows that do more with less have
a potential advantage to.
Instead of just sitting backand throwing rocks at these
(23:17):
quote unquote environmentalists,we step up and say we're very
interested in the environment.
So was our dad and ourgrandmother and our great
grandmother and the fivegenerations that have kept this
place together.
We're as concerned about it asanybody, and that's why we're
doing this.
Sarah Muirhead (23:34):
I'm Sarah Muirhead and you've been
listening to Feedstuffs In Focus.
If you would like to hear moreconversations about some of the
big issues affecting thelivestock, poultry, grain and
animal feed industries,subscribe to this podcast on
your favorite podcast channel.
Until next time, have a greatday and thank you for listening.
The Angus Foundation, through its genetics
subsidiary, angus Genetics Inc.
Recently received a $4.85million grant from the Bezo
Earth Fund and Global MethaneHub.
It's a move that has raisedstrong emotions among some in
the cattle industry.
Welcome to Feedstuffs In Focus,our podcast taking a look at
(00:28):
the big issues affecting thelivestock, poultry grain and
animal feed industries.
I'm your host, sarah Muirhead.
In today's episode, BeefMagazine's Clint Peck is joined
by Matt Perrier of Daleb anksAngus to talk about the recent
agreement and its focus onexploring the genetic
differences in energy efficiencybetween ruminant animals and
(00:49):
the level of methane they emitduring their lives.
Clint Peck (00:53):
Thanks a lot, Matt, for being with us.
Before we dive into adiscussion on the Bezos grant,
can you give us a little bit ofyour backstory and where you're
at in the beef industry today?
Matt Perrier (01:03):
Sure, sure, I appreciate you having me on,
Clint.
Yeah, Matt Perrier, from Eureka, Kansas, co-owner and manager
of Dale Banks Angus, which isour family's ranch.
I've been in the Angus businesssince about 1904 when my
ancestors started here, andranching in this same area since
1867.
(01:23):
So when we get to talking aboutsustainability issues, I think
that every rancher would agreethat the number one industry
maybe in the nation that isfocused on sustainability true
sustainability financial, social, family and of course, the
resources would be farmers andranchers.
And so, yeah, sustainability isa big thing and that's one
(01:47):
component of this discussionwe're having today.
I've been here since, well, Iwas born and raised on the ranch
, went to K-State for a littlewhile Kansas State University,
worked in a variety of fieldswithin the beef industry, but
outside of my production rootshere at Dale Banks within the
beef industry, but outside of myproduction roots here at Dale
Banks and then moved back herein May of 2004 with my wife, Amy
(02:09):
, and our one-year-old daughter,Ava.
And Ava just graduated fromKansas State a couple of weeks
ago and it's been a good ride,been a very educational one, but
that's what we do on the dailytoday educational one, but
that's what we do on the dailytoday.
Also have a actually have apodcast that I smaller podcast
(02:29):
that we produce here for farmersand ranchers called Practically
Ranching, but the main gigobviously is running a
registered cow herd andmarketing bulls to folks
throughout this state and region.
Clint Peck (02:42):
Great Well, we really appreciate you coming in
and talking about us with this,about this Bezos project.
Can you kind of outline alittle bit about what the
project is all about, and thenwe'll kind of go from there,
sure.
Matt Perrier (02:57):
And I need to make sure and make it clear I am a
member of the American AngusAssociation.
We submit, you know,registrations and transfers and
data, and actually used to workfor them for a brief time
decades ago.
But my vested interest in thisproject and this discussion is
(03:18):
that solely of a breeder ofAngus cattle and somebody who's
pretty focused on trying to makeevery generation a little
better than the one before, andso that's where I guess I got
involved in this issue andwanted to learn some more.
Just a little backstory on thisparticular deal.
I'm embarrassed to admit that Ididn't know anything about this
(03:40):
research project with thefunding coming from this
foundation, until about a weekago.
My son said oh my dad, I justgot a text from some friends
that said that the AngusAssociation's taken 4.7 million
dollars from the Bezos Fund andI said, oh my, what's it about?
And he said methane research.
(04:01):
And I said well, the AngusAssociation has been doing
methane research for a couple ofyears.
In fact we were part of aproject through Kansas State
University that then AmericanAngus helped fund and look at
some of that initial methanecollection data that K-State was
doing for the last year and ahalf and they're going to
(04:22):
present some of that stuffactually at Beef Improvement
Federation next year.
And we also had sold somegenetics to Oklahoma State
University, who is focused on asimilar project, a little bit
different approach to it.
But all this was about was, inmy opinion, in my perspective
and I think the Angus leadershipwould echo, this was about
(04:43):
trying to find cattle that wereforage efficient.
And so when they're out theregrazing on pastures or grazing
on a high roughage hay typeration like I would guess 90
some percent of us in ranchingdo in the cow-calf segment, how
do we find the ones that aremost efficient at converting
that forage or grass into meator milk or the next calf?
(05:04):
And so that's where my interestwas, that's where Angus
Association, angus GeneticsIncorporated's interest was for
the last two years, and I think,as we saw that initial data, we
said there may be somethinghere, not just on the methane
emission component, but that itis linked to their efficiency of
(05:25):
production.
And those cows that emit lessmethane and still produce the
pounds of calf weaning and thenext calf in subsequent years,
are probably wasting less asmethane and retaining more as
milk and production and fat andmeat and everything else that a
cow is supposed to be doing onforage.
(05:47):
And so that's where theinterest was.
The Angus Association then said,okay, what more do we need?
Because these projects endedwith K-State and what Oklahoma
State is doing.
They're great projects butthey're very limited in their
scope.
Why?
Because land grant institutionshave a hard time getting
funding today.
(06:07):
And so, as the Angus GeneticsIncorporated looked at that arm
of Angus Association, looked attrying to get enough phenotypes
that we could actually make somegood real data.
It was going to take a lot ofmoney, and so they they built a
research project proposal and II don't know some of this stuff
(06:30):
not being on the board, I'm justrelying on what I've read on
those press releases and websiteand things.
But they were trying to findsomebody that would fund this
proposal and got connectedsomehow with an outfit called
the Global methane hub I thinkis what it's called and the kind
of a clearinghouse that triesto put folks who have a good
(06:55):
hypothesis and a good researchrequest with those who have the
funding that wants to go intothat kind of area.
And that's where I think theGlobal Hub matched our project
that the Angus Association andAGI had come up with with the
funder, which is this basisearth fund.
(07:16):
And again, I I'm embarrassed tosay that I didn't even see the
press release back in, like Ididn't even I.
We were breeding cows, we weretrying to get corn planted there
, you know we didn't fall calves.
There was a lot going on.
I missed it and I'm embarrassedto say that, but I didn't know
anything about it until Lylesaid that his friend group had
(07:36):
dialed it up and keyed it up andhe saw it.
Well then, I got on FacebookSunday night and plenty of
people had seen it and I knowthere were some discussions, as
did I.
Right, yeah, I just didn't hearhim.
And so that's when I guess Istarted drilling down and asking
(07:56):
some questions and I texted aguy that I knew on the American
Anglican Association board andasked for some clarification and
some input and and and went andfound those that information
the Anglican Association had putout there before and then of
course they tried to put someinformation out there to target
exactly the questions that hadbeen raised on social media and
(08:17):
things like that.
And so that's when I finallykind of learned about today's
part of it, which is the fundingsource.
I knew what we had been doingwith K-State here personally and
some of that research throughthe beef industry.
But yeah, that brings us up, Iguess, to today.
(08:38):
But yeah, I think, while you andso many others have called this
this Bezos project, it'sactually this beef industry
project that the AngusAssociation put together and
worked with some folks in NewZealand and Australia months, if
not maybe even a year or so ago.
(09:00):
I know it was being talkedabout a year plus ago because
what they saw initially fromK-State and Oklahoma State and
some of that research that wasavailable, said we think there's
something here, oklahoma Stateand some of that research that
was available said we thinkthere's something here.
Now how do we make this bigenough that we can actually get
good, good data that might leadto some genetic selection tools?
(09:21):
Then they shopped it around andthen the Earth Fund or Bezos
Earth Fund came into the pictureand said, yeah, we're
interested in funding this.
And because of that and I'm notin the grant funding or the
research funding arena, buteveryone that I have either been
involved with and as I've askedquestions, because that was one
of the first questions I had,as I've asked questions about
(09:41):
this specific one when an entity, a research entity like AGI,
structures a program, a researchproposal, agi structures a
program, a research proposal,they get to put in there.
Who gets to see that data?
And now they're working withthis group of folks from New
(10:02):
Zealand and Australia and Ithink maybe UK and Ireland, and
each of them it's specified,each of them gets some
information back in response forthem putting phenotypes and
information into this big20-some million dollar project.
Our part of it, I think, is 4.85that AGI is sharing with those
(10:24):
other entities and AGI just getsa portion of that 4.85.
But we get to write the rulesand we get to use this data.
This isn't something that we'rea for hire entity, that we're
doing the work for the BezosFoundation and then just saying
here you go, take this data anduse it however you wish.
(10:46):
The way it's been explained tome and everything that I read on
that press release from 45 daysago or now, I guess, almost 60
days ago would back up the factthat these cooperative groups in
the beef industry beef, dairylamb, I think there's some other
ruminant types of entities thatare part of that but it's our
(11:08):
data to use and to do somethingwith.
The funder is just saying wesupport the thought process
because, yeah, you cow guys areinto it because you want to make
more efficient range cows.
We're into it because we beingthe Bezos Foundation, because we
want to see if we can limit themethane emissions, and so it's
(11:33):
a win-win for all of us.
But yeah, my interest and Iwould say that the Angus
Association's leadershipinterest, is not about reducing
our carbon footprint.
I hate to say that, but I don'tthink that's it.
Our interest is trying to findcows that do more with less.
Clint Peck (11:58):
Our interest is trying to find cows that do more
with less, and there has beensome pushback in the industry so
far, especially on social media, which we all know is a tough
road to hoe right there, or theAngus Association's acquiescing
into the thought process thatmethane, that cows cause methane
problems, greenhouse gaswarming, climate change, all
(12:18):
that and really what you'resaying is that this has been an
initiative by the industry totry to make cows more efficient,
especially those out on grass,those range cows, like you said,
and make them more efficientand maybe in turn, do the
(12:39):
win-win thing of producing lessmethane as they graze and as
they ruminate.
Matt Perrier (12:45):
Yeah, yeah, and I'm all about win-wins and
unintended positive consequences, and I recognize there's a risk
of unintended negativeconsequences, but the way this
research is structured and thefolks who are at the table, both
A putting the research programand seeing if are there, is
there enough heritability inthis information that we can
(13:16):
make a good tool, a goodselection tool, and if not,
we're not going to do it.
But if we are, can we move theneedle?
Those folks all are driven bythe goal of ranchers' ability to
stay on the land and producecattle into perpetuity and this
is just one more way that Ibelieve and I think the Angus
(13:39):
leadership and all the folksthat are involved with this
project believe it's just onemore way that we can find
someone to help us get the tools.
Because I'll be honest, I meanI don't.
I don't know what 4.8, somemillion dollars looks like, but
I don't think that very manybreed associations even the
(13:59):
Angus association is significantof a player as they are in the
beef industry and as manyregistrations and data and
everything else that comesthrough here.
I don't know very many Angusmembers who would say else that
comes through here.
I don't know very many Angusmembers who would say, yeah,
this cow efficiency deal isreally important to me and let's
just fund that.
Let's increase dues orregistration numbers or
(14:21):
registration fees or whateverthe case may be, and let's fund
this from within.
This, to me, is an opportunityto get what it is we want funded
and find out if there is enough, if there is enough
heritability, if there'ssomething here from a data
standpoint, that we can findcattle that are more efficient
(14:43):
on range grass and hay andthings like that, like that, and
let someone else pay for it who, by the way, isn't going to get
to even see the data until wehave used it and developed what
we need to do out of it.
And so, yeah, we all talk aboutchicken and egg kinds of deals.
This isn't even one of those.
(15:03):
Whichever you want to say, camefirst, the chicken or the egg?
Right, the beef industry, theruminant industry, angus
Genetics Incorporated was thatfirst one.
This BEF fund came much, muchlater to the table and said,
yeah, we'll help you get theresearch, get the phenotypes
(15:24):
collected, get everythinganalyzed.
Clint Peck (15:27):
And, as you mentioned, there's a lot of
forward-thinking research beingdone out there in the land-grant
institutions.
I know Nebraska, Kansas andthere's lots of other states
that are doing this and theAngus Association and Angus
Genetics have a great trackrecord of working with those
(15:47):
land grant institutions and inall kinds of research and I
think it's probably encouragingthat this research that Angus is
doing now using this money iskind of kicking off a whole
other round of research andmaybe another angle or another
(16:08):
look at the possibilities thatthere may be methane production
through beef cattle that couldbe impacting climate change and
we can maybe do something, ourshare at least in the cattle
industry, do something about itand just increase that body of
(16:29):
knowledge out there.
Matt Perrier (16:30):
In total, Right, yeah, and you know I love
industry and land grant researchand that's the model that we in
the beef industry and breedassociations.
That's one that we've workedwithin for years and it's an
excellent one.
I think today some of thoseresearch institutions, because
(16:50):
of budget cuts and you knowchanges in all different areas
of their business, they probablydon't quite have the funding
and the staff and gradassistants, everybody else, to
do what we could do 30 and 40years ago.
But what's cool about it isit's kind of an almost an
incubator concept.
(17:11):
Okay, so Kansas state wasworking with the Angus
association collecting a littlebit of this phenotype, a little
bit of these phenotypes throughthese green feed machines, and
you know there's not enough datathere to make an EPD or
something like that yet, butthere probably is enough to go.
Hey, there are differences andwe think there are differences
(17:31):
within related animals.
A certain sire group is emittinga little less methane is a
little bit higher body conditionscore.
They're likely eating aboutgrazing about the same.
Let's go forth and let's figuresomething out, and so that then
is leveraged with some dollarsfrom another source into a
bigger project that, yeah, theland grant and breed
(17:53):
associations and beef industryproducers got to kick it off and
start it.
Now we just figure out how tohow to carry it on.
And you know again youmentioned their climate change
and methane production by thebeef industry.
I put a post out on Facebookit's been four or five days ago
and I started the thing off andit was about this exact topic
(18:18):
because there was a lot ofnegative energy and still is
about this decision.
But I started off with Ibelieve in climate change, but I
don't believe that we're atfault.
My personal opinion and you maydisagree with me.
There may be people listeningto this that may disagree I
don't think man's impact,especially in the recent years,
(18:40):
is driving climate change.
Do we have a portion of it thatwe're guilty for?
Maybe, but there were wildswings in the weather, naturally
, for millennia.
I don't think it's our faultand I certainly don't think that
it's ruminant's fault, andthat's why I think that we need
to look at this for what it is,and that is a forage efficiency
(19:02):
project.
And if we're able to quantifyand dispel some of the myths
about cattle's impact on ourcarbon footprint or on the
environment or on methane orwhatever you want to talk about,
that's great.
That's great.
But the focus here for me and Ithink the focus for our Angus
Association is can we figure outa way to find cows that produce
(19:27):
what it is we want?
Can we figure out a way to findcows that produce what it is we
want?
Big wean and wait calvesbreeding back every year, long
lasting stay in the herd untilthey're 14 years old, all this
stuff and do it with less forage.
It's a goldmine.
I'm all for it.
It's going to take a while.
It's going to take a long while, I would guess, and a lot of
money, and that's why we're heretalking about millions of
(19:49):
dollars, not just hundreds ofthousands that we could have
probably done on a smallerproject.
Clint Peck (19:55):
But you know it goes back to sort of your
introduction.
It goes back to sustainabilityin the beef industry, being able
to prove that we don't havethat impact on the environment
that some are claiming that wedo in the beef industry.
But then, like you say, thewin-win of making cattle more
(20:17):
efficient, if it's out there todo so and to identify those
animals and, yeah, whatever genemarkers they are, whatever EPDs
that may be down the roadsometime, can only benefit us
all.
And again, telling our story ina positive way so that we can
keep cattle ranchers on the land, and I guess, speaking for
(20:41):
myself and for Beef Magazine,Matt, we applaud you and the
Angus Association, AngusGenetics Inc.
for your efforts in leading thischarge, along with a lot of
others that are out there, andit has to do with sustainability
and keeping ranch producingbeef for us and people around
(21:03):
the world.
Matt Perrier (21:19):
You bet, you bet.
Yeah, it starts with genetics,and I think we, as genetics
providers, have to take thoseleadership steps, and sometimes
they're not easy.
Sometimes the fear of theunknown gets the better of us,
but I think these discussionsare healthy.
I think it helps us understandwhy it is that we do this every
day and get up and take care ofthese cows and get them bred and
(21:39):
fed and managed and marketedand everything else, but I do
think that, in today's day andage whether I believe that man
has a direct influence on theenvironment or climate change,
or anything that I know to betrue If I sit here on River Road
(22:12):
in the Flint Hills of Kansasand say that nobody that matters
is going to change the waythey're coming at us with
anti-media agendas.
If, though, I and a bunch ofother ranchers step forth and
say we see a reason to do thisfrom a true production
(22:33):
standpoint.
We think we can do more withless inputs.
We think we can make cows thatwill do more with less acres all
these things.
That believes that cows are theproblem with climate change
sees.
Okay, here are a bunch ofcowboys that are wanting to do
(22:53):
methane research.
Are you serious?
Maybe they're not so bad afterall.
So I think that's one moreagain unintended positive
byproduct that we have apotential, as we're gaining
these phenotypes, to find thecows that do more with less have
a potential advantage to.
Instead of just sitting backand throwing rocks at these
(23:17):
quote unquote environmentalists,we step up and say we're very
interested in the environment.
So was our dad and ourgrandmother and our great
grandmother and the fivegenerations that have kept this
place together.
We're as concerned about it asanybody, and that's why we're
doing this.
Sarah Muirhead (23:34):
I'm Sarah Muirhead and you've been
listening to Feedstuffs In Focus.
If you would like to hear moreconversations about some of the
big issues affecting thelivestock, poultry, grain and
animal feed industries,subscribe to this podcast on
your favorite podcast channel.
Until next time, have a greatday and thank you for listening.
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