Farmers' almanac: Cut the gas, fatten the profits

Researchers in Australia are studying ways to reduce methane gas production from livestock such as cattle

By Environmental News Network staff

Australian scientists trying to put a cap on greenhouse gas emissions have come up with a plan that is much more than hot air. And livestock farmers Down Under may be fattening their bank accounts because of the program.

Curbing greenhouse gas emissions from sheep and cattle may bolster farm profits, research at CSIRO Livestock Industries in Australia shows.

A major research program is targeting several new technologies, all likely to lower the output of methane gas from animals digesting their feed while increasing the production of meat, wool or milk.

Globally, agriculture accounts for half the methane liberated as a result of human activity. Domestic cud-chewers produce two thirds of this gas.

Australia's 140 million sheep and cattle produce one seventh of the country's total greenhouse emissions.

"The main aim of the research is to build efficiency and profitability in the cattle and sheep industries," said Shaun Coffey, acting chief of CSIRO Livestock Industries.

"It is increasingly clear that if you increase the efficiency with which an animal digests its feed, you reduce the amount of energy released by the rumen micro-organisms in the form of methane gas and instead channel that energy into growth.

"This is a double bonus — for the producer and for Australia in the form of enhanced greenhouse compliance and more exports."

Scientists at CSIRO, Australia's federal science agency, are investigating several approaches. They include improved management of animals in extensive grazing systems; special feed additives that curb methane production during digestion; a vaccine which inhibits methane-generating organisms in an animal's stomach; and protected feeds suitable for use in feedlots and intensive beef and dairy enterprises.

Graeme McCrabb is exploring improved management and feed options for cattle in northern extensive grazing systems. These have the potential both to boost production and lower greenhouse gas outputs.

McCrabb's team is also working on special feed additives that lower greenhouse emissions for intensive beef and dairy enterprises as well as extensive grazing systems. An early trial has demonstrated the feasibility of this approach.

Another technique, developed by a team led by Sue Baker at CSIRO in Perth, involves the use of a vaccine to alter the population of microorganisms in the animal's stomach.

The vaccine discourages so-called "methanogenic archae," ancient living organisms that inhabit the animal's rumen and produce methane by breaking down feed.

These microbes devour up to 15 percent of the total metabolisable energy taken in by the animal. Reducing them may lead to productivity gains in the animal of up to 10 percent.

A major field study with sheep is under way in Australia. The project uses a vaccine to help reduce methane output

Another technique involves protecting the protein and fats in animal feed from attack by the rumen microbes so that they pass deeper into the animal's digestive system, where they can benefit the animal.

The protected feed technique has been tested in beef and dairy feedlots with notable success. For beef cattle, there was as much as a 15 percent gain in feed conversion, a 4 percent gain in dressing percentage and improved carcass quality, said project leader John Ashes.

The technique is now fully commercial and an advanced feed plant has been built.

The benefits of protected nutrient technology extend beyond animals. Milk products from dairy cows fed in this way have 25 percent less saturated fat and help lower cholesterol significantly in humans. Butter also spreads much more easily from the refrigerator.

The main goal of all these technologies is to boost production in various livestock systems, from the pastoral to the prawn farm, Coffey said. But an important bonus is that more efficient diets and digestion of feed also spell a reduction in greenhouse emissions from agriculture.

"Livestock produce about 14 percent of Australia's total greenhouse emissions, measured in CO2 equivalents, so controlling them is a high priority for government, for science and for industry," he said.

Copyright 2000, Environmental News Network, All Rights Reserved

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CSIRO Livestock Industries
Bureau of Resource Sciences
Australian Greenhouse Office
EPA's Global Warming Site
CSIRO's web page on climate change

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