Global Review of Grazing Beef Cattle and Methane Emissions: More Simultaneous Animal and Soil Sampling Needed to Inform Appropriate Policy and Management

There are increasing concerns about enteric methane (CH ₄ ) emissions from beef cattle. These animals spend most of their lives grazing, a phase responsible for the majority of their CH ₄ emissions. Despite this, emissions from grazing beef cattle have not been well documented. Recent efforts have explored various CH ₄ mitigation strategies, including dietary changes, genetic selection, and taxation. However, the potential role of soil carbon sequestration as a simultaneous strategy to offset these carbon emissions has been less explored. To address these gaps, a quantitative synthesis characterizing patterns in enteric CH ₄ emissions from grazing beef cattle was conducted and assessed whether studies considered soil carbon sequestration as a potential strategy to offset these carbon emissions. It was found that 82 peer‐reviewed published studies have measured enteric CH ₄ emissions from grazing beef cattle globally. On average, grazing beef cattle emitted 184 g of CH ₄ per animal per day. Emissions varied significantly by cattle type (bull, cow, heifer, or steer), initial body weight, location of study, and the CH ₄ measurement tool used, but not by breed, cattle species ( Bos taurus versus Bos indicus ), diet, or grazing season. Only two of the 82 studies (<3%) in the dataset simultaneously assessed soil carbon sequestration. In order to fully evaluate the net carbon balance between beef cattle and grazinglands, more research is necessary that simultaneously quantifies grazing management, animal emissions, and soil carbon sequestration. Such interdisciplinary investigations will allow us to more confidently develop policy and management strategies that integrate full ecosystem processes and dynamics.