Study Identifies Sustainability Indicators for Ranch Operations

A research team led by The Nature Conservancy and World Wildlife Fund produced a study detailing 20 indicators to support ranch-level sustainability. Identifying these indicators was part of an effort to help ranchers more consistently measure, manage, and communicate about the sustainability of their operations. The team selected 20 commonly used “core” indicators (12 ecological and 8 socioeconomic), which are designed to detect change over time for management practices, are common among many approaches, and/or are critical for outcomes of common interest to producers, companies, and consumers. According to a press release, more consistently used and agreed upon indicators spanning ecological, social and economic interests will lead to a better understanding of sustainability at the ranch level, which in turn would better equip ranchers with the information necessary to communicate how they are making progress toward sustainability goals in their own operations.