OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) — A beef company is paying close attention to the number of birds living on cattle ranches. Blue Nest Beef said birdlife is a key indicator of a healthy pasture.
Blue Nest Beef is an environmentally friendly company that is making sure its consumer is left with grass-fed beef and they are doing so by focusing just as much on birds as they are cows.
Omaha native and CEO Russ Conser said you can tell if a ranch produces healthy beef by looking for the birds.
"You're effectively recreating bird habitats. A meadowlark rests in the hoof prints of grazing animals so if the grazing animals are there and vegetation isn’t grazed right there is no habitat for birds," said Conser.
He said a lot of birds is a good sign of a plentiful pasture. However, Conser added those places have become harder to find as grasslands are now the fastest disappearing habitat in the United States which has negatively impacted bird populations. He said by regenerating the environment, it will bring back healthy soils, birds and ultimately make for better-tasting beef.
“We can all appreciate that when we have carbon-rich organic matter in the soil that's a good thing. What regenerate ag is, one of the important things that it is doing is taking that carbon out of the air where it is a liability and putting it into the soil where it's an asset and helping us grow better food,” said Conser.
Conser said the goal is to get consumers on board, as well as make sure they find the right ranchers to work with.
Blue Nest Beef parentered with the National Audobon Society, a conservation nonprofit that has certified nearly 100 ranches across the U.S. as having bird-friendly practices.
Conser used to work for Shell Oil Company, but later got involved in alternative technologies to produce energy.
He said the environment is one big ecosystem of energies, and we have to work together to take care of it.
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