hollywoodtone.blogspot.com Breeding low methane emitting cattle
hollywoodtone.blogspot.com Breeding low methane emitting cattle
A new study is examining the possibilities of adapting cattle husbandry and the selection processes for cow breeding, to lower the greenhouse gas emissions produced when cows beak wind.
Methane from cows is, if greenhouse gas theory is supported, a major pollutant. It is a 'greenhouse gas' twenty five times more powerful than carbon dioxide. Air expelled from cows makes up 20% of greenhouse emissions from agriculture, or contributes around 1% of all greenhouse gases. To look at ways to reduce this, Phil Garnsworthy, professor of dairy science at the University of Nottingham in the UK, is steering a European funded research project called Ruminomics. The aim is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from cattle. The research has shown that cattle vary by a factor of two or three in the amount of methane their stomachs produce. So, it is possible to imagine a dairy herd producing the same volume of milk for lower greenhouse gas emissions. It has also been found that different breeds of cow produce different amounts of methane. The research group aim to select and breed lower methane producing cows by looking at diet, genetics, and the microbiology of the cow's stomach. The project is set to conclude in 2016.
hollywoodtone.blogspot.com Breeding low methane emitting cattle