Study suggests ways to substantially reduce livestock methane emissions
A study commissioned by Meat and Livestock Australia has found that integrating certain plants in pastures and feeding red macro-algae as a supplement can reduce methane emissions from livestock by up to 90%, while increasing productivity.
The strategies were identified as part of a three-year research programme seeking to better understand methane outputs from cattle and sheep.
“Methane research in the livestock industries is incredibly important to both the environment and pastoral profitability,” Dr John Black, technical coordinator of the National Livestock Methane Programme.
“This is because between six and 10 per cent of the energy ingested by ruminants is lost as methane which therefore has an impact on both productivity and emissions.
“One of the great outcomes of this research has been breaking the myth that it was not possible to reduce methane emissions in a ruminant without losses in productivity.
“What we have found is that it is possible to reduce methane by up to 90 per cent, and at the same time have a positive influence on productivity which is clearly a win-win for primary production and environmental sustainability.
“We have also identified opportunities for manipulating rumen function directly, which could greatly improve the capture of energy from feed and also reduce the loss of energy in the form of emissions.”
Findings included feeding grape marc, a by-product of winemaking, to dairy cows reduced methane emissions by up to 20%.
Details of the study are available from Meat and Livestock Australia.
