By protecting and sustainably managing Canada’s remaining grasslands, we can store an estimated 32 million tonnes of carbon, delivering benefits for the environment, improving the health of these valuable ecosystems, supporting cattle production and producers, and contributing to both national and global climate goals.

CAT-G envisions a future in which grazing landscapes are managed to regenerate ecological function while sustaining the economic viability of livestock production systems. Our vision includes catalyzing innovation in Canada’s beef and livestock sector by working alongside producers and land stewards.

By integrating new tools and technologies with traditional knowledge, we aim to enhance the resilience and productivity of grassland ecosystems while addressing the global challenge of climate change. CAT-G’s long-term impact will support both sustainable livelihoods and environmental objectives.

Using a holistic, systems-based approach, CAT-G integrates omics technologies with field-scale data from soil, vegetation, and livestock. We assess how different rotational grazing strategies influence carbon storage, greenhouse gas emissions, and both plant and cattle productivity across both controlled experimental sites and working ranches.

CAT-G brings together more than 50 researchers from across Canada, spanning disciplines such as plant and soil ecology, genomics, microbiology, rangeland ecology, animal science, landscape ecology and remote sensing, computer and data science, and socioeconomics. Our integrated framework combines field observations, laboratory analyses, and advanced modeling tools, including machine learning and AI-based analytics, to link grazing practices with broader environmental, climate, and socioeconomic outcomes.

By embedding science within operational ranches, CAT-G ensures its approach reflects the complexity of real-world decision-making and land stewardship.

By engaging directly with producers, CAT-G is helping identify bio-indicators that offer early signals of soil carbon gains and reductions in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. These indicators provide insights that typically take decades to detect through conventional monitoring, enabling earlier validation of climate benefits. This accelerates the adoption of climate-smart practices, strengthening both environmental outcomes and producer livelihoods.

Adopting climate-smart grazing strategies comes with significant challenges, including knowledge gaps, economic risks, and operational or social barriers to change. CAT-G addresses these by supporting robust, integrated research and facilitating the development of data-driven tools and socioeconomic analyses that enable informed, evidence-based decision-making. A cornerstone of CAT-G’s approach is co-design.

We work closely with producers to understand their priorities and constraints, integrating their knowledge into research through surveys, participatory methods, and long-term collaboration. This inclusive process ensures that the solutions developed are practical, locally relevant, and trusted, enhancing adoption and supporting lasting transformation in grazing and livestock systems.