Jim and Jamie Jensen of Lucky Seven Angus, Boulder, Wyo., were recently invited by the Foyle Food Group to Northern Ireland to talk about their environmentally-friendly beef. The Jensens’ 2,500 cows thrive in the harsh conditions of what’s been called the “Nation’s Icebox.” They graze on 38,000 acres with some pastures higher than 10,000 feet in elevation. During their lifetimes, cows are trailed across 200 miles of rugged terrain and must have structural soundness and feed efficiency, as well as desired carcass traits.

This production program came to the attention of the Foyle Food Group, and Jim was asked to be the keynote speaker at the British Society of Animal Science (BSAS) Conference in Belfast April 9-11, 2024.

“We were taken on a weeklong informational tour and started out talking to some high-end registered breeders. We visited several top Angus herds in Scotland and England,” Jim said. These included Highland Wagyu, Netherton Angus, the Rawburn Angus herd and the Aln Angus herd.

The next day, they went to Belfast, headquarters of the Foyle Food Group.

“They are one of the largest beef packer chains in the U.K. (United Kingdom) with 1,400 employees,” said Jim, noting that they visited the company’s smallest packing house and then its farm branch and ag testing facility for cattle and crops.

“At that event, they invited bankers and top people in the government, agriculture sector and media people, plus a lot of producers,” he explained. “The owner went with us every step of the way because they wanted to tell the public about ranchers and that what we do is a good thing.”

Jim also gave presentations to beef industry representatives, including members of the Northern Ireland Aberdeen Angus Breeders Club and Aberdeen Angus Quality Beef (AAQB). The next day he and Jamie attended the main event — the Sustainable Beef Production Through Animal Science session at the BSAS April 11. Foyle Food Group was the sponsor.

The Jensens were the featured speakers and addressed around 250 people. Jim described all the events as being focused on how to feed people and be sustainable.

“My talk emphasized the fact that first, sustainability means the rancher must be viable — able to continue to make a living. Second, we must create a food supply system for an ever-growing population. Third, sustainability means we consider the environment. If we don’t have the first two, however, no one cares about the environment if we are all starving to death,” he recalled.

“Cows are not the problem,” Jim told his audience. “Regarding the methane cycle and carbon footprint, the main problems are coming from other sources.”

“My talk emphasized the fact that first, sustainability means the rancher must be viable — able to continue to make a living.” — Jim Jensen

Lucky Seven Angus has created cows that eat grass, live longer and healthier. These cattle have a different motor in them, Jim explained. “They take in an energy source, which is either produced outside or by the cow as methane, but turn it into beef. Cattle are the solution; we just need to make the engine more efficient.”

Referencing the emissions coming from people flying back and forth to Washington in their big jets, he reiterated that while they keep increasing the problem on their side, we can decrease the problem on our side. Cattle are the solution, not the problem.

Getting even better

“If a cow is 2 years old before she produces a calf, and you only keep her until she’s 6 or 7, she’s less efficient and more potentially environmentally harming than cows we create that produce until they are 16,” touted Jensen.

His breeding program focuses on longevity and feed efficiency. Trials conducted using GrowSafe Systems show that his bulls consume 38.6% less than those of his competitors, and his heifers maintain body weight with 54% less feed than industry standards.

“The U.S. also needs to pay attention to agricultural sustainability and importance of animal agriculture. The U.K. is 10 years ahead of us in pushing ranchers around and making it challenging to keep farming. The environmental folks view animal agriculture as bad. We need to tell our story and how we are doing things to fix the problems that the so-called environmentalists think are problems,” he said.

City people are hungry for our story; city folks need to understand that we are doing a really good job, said Jim.

“People are pushing us to have an environmental product that’s not sustainable in the way they want us to do it. Yet, we can be sustainable by doing it our way and change the environmental aspect,” he said.

Editor’s note: Heather Smith Thomas is a freelance writer and cattlewoman from Salmon, Idaho. [Lead photo from Getty Images.]