Cattle ranching in Brazil is a key driver of deforestation and greenhouse gas (GHG)
emissions. The Brazilian government plans to reduce national GHG emissions by at least
36%, partly by reducing emissions in the livestock sector through strategies such as
intensification, pasture improvement, and rotational grazing. We surveyed 40 cattle ranchers
located in the Brazilian Amazon biome to investigate how GHG emissions differed between
farms participating in livestock sustainability programs with intensified production and farms
not participating in these programs. We found that participating farms produced 8.3 kg of
CO2e/kg of beef than did non-participating farms, which represents 19% fewer emissions.
Farms that had participated in a sustainability program for at least two years showed larger
differences in emissions: 19.0 kg of CO2e/kg of beef less for program farms compared with
their counterparts, or 35.8% fewer emissions. Key drivers of the total CO2e/kg of beef in all
farms were enteric fermentation and manure management. This paper provides farm-level
data supporting intensification as a possible strategy to reduce emissions per kilogram of beef
produced, and suggests implications for policy and future research.