With the challenge of making beef production more efficient and reducing greenhouse gas emissions per kilogram of meat produced, the beef and sheep sector are actively looking at what steps are needed to improve livestock performance.

The recent Scottish Government Update to the Climate Change Plan acknowledges that Scotland has a climate ideally suited to livestock farming and a sustainable future as one of the places in the world most suited to producing high quality meat.  If Scotland were to cease producing meat, then production would simply take place elsewhere, effectively resulting in no change, and some would argue an increase to global emissions. How do we drive more efficiencies into beef production, reducing the impact of emissions for each kilogram of meat produced?

There's no ‘one size fits all’, but a range of ideas that you can pick from and adapt to suit to your own farm and circumstances. The aim is to improve both farm profitability and environmental performance, and in turn reduce the carbon footprint per kilogram of meat produced.

We’ve produced a number of practical guides with tips and ideas from other farmers which you could adapt or develop for your farm -  take a look at our livestock pages Optimising Livestock Performance - Farming for a Better Climate