Dietary Recommendations To Reduce Methane Emission By Cattle

Enteric methane not only contributes to greenhouse gas emissions but also represents a substantial waste of feed energy for ruminant animals.

Dietary recommendations to reduce methane emission by cattle. Background the farming of ruminant livestock is a major source of greenhouse gas emissions including methane which has 25 times greater global warming potential than carbon dioxide. Reducing greenhouse gas ghg emissions may seem like extra work that can hurt business but in reality best management practices for reducing ghg emissions can be economical. The loss of methane from ruminants also represents a loss of dietary energy so initiatives to reduce emissions also represent an opportunity to improve the efficiency of livestock production f. One study by researchers at the university of california davis estimated it might be possible to reduce global methane emissions from cows by 15 by changing their diet.

But garnsworthy believes. Diet can be used to alter microbial populations in the rumen and in turn increase animal performance and reduce methane emissions. Prior research indicates that a seaweed species asparagopsis can reduce methane emissions associated with cattle digestion by more than 80 percent. Researchers at the university are studying how changes to a cow s diet can reduce their methane emissions.

Dietary factors such as type of carbohydrate fat inclusion processing of forages and level of feed intake has been shown to influence methane emission in cattle. Reduction of methane emissions through feed additives such as fats and oils can reduce methane production by about 18 and offer energy and protein to the animal. 3 4 11 one of the major contributors to worldwide methane production is the dairy cattle industry. Methane ch 4 a greenhouse gas is considered to be a major cause of climate change due to its ability to trap 25 times more heat in the atmosphere than carbon dioxide co 2.

To grow the plants and change their cattle s diet. For a 600 cow dairy herd producing 100kg of methane per head per year methane emissions could be reduced by 372 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent per year. These practices may also have other benefits such as reducing unpleasant odors. This research is the first u s.

There are two main areas where producers can reduce significant amounts of greenhouse gases. Reducing cows methane emissions during less than a quarter of their lives is a drop in the bucket compared to the 2 500 gallons of water it takes to make 1 pound of beef the 40 percent of land taken up by animal agriculture and the 500 million tons of manure that the meat industry produces each year peta executive vice president tracy reiman exclusively tells green matters in an email. Greater knowledge of factors that determine emissions.