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ScienceDaily_2014 17798.txt

#The case for low methane-emitting cattlea new research project looks into the possibilities of adapting every aspect of cattle husbandry and selection processes to lower their greenhouse gas emissions. You may think that climate change is being caused by burning oil coal and gas. But not so fast! The emission of methane from cattle is a surprisingly important factor. Methane from cows--a greenhouse gas 25 times more powerful than carbon dioxide--makes up 20%of greenhouse emissions from agriculture or about 1%of all anthropogenic greenhouse gases. That's according to Phil Garnsworthy professor of dairy science at the University of Nottingham in the UK. He is also one of the project scientists of an EU-funded research project called Ruminomics which is using cutting-edge science to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from cattle. The key to the project Garnsworthy says is that cattle vary by a factor of two or three in the amount of methane their stomachs produce. It is therefore possible to imagine a dairy herd producing the same volume of milk for lower greenhouse gas emissions. In addition different diets mean that cows can produce the same amount of milk with lower emissions. It is possible to imagine cutting emissions from cattle by a fifth using a combination approach in which you would breed from lower-emitting cattle as well as changing their diets Garnsworthy said. Different genetic strains of cow emit different amounts of methane. There are three issues: diet genetics and the microbiology of the cow's rumen. We think that animal genetics may well influence their gut microbiology. However this link has not been proved and we are still in the data collection phase explains Lorenzo Morelli director of the faculty of agriculture at the Catholic University of Sacred Heart in Piacenza Italy who is a microbiologist and a project scientist. Until now the European cattle industry was interested mainly in improving aspects of livestock such as their fertility and their overall shape. But Morelli thinks that the market will soon add lower methane production to the list of desired cattle characteristics. Indeed a herd that emits less methane is likely to be more productive. The methane is lost energy that could go into producing milk. So if we can find the right genetic mix we can find cattle that are less polluting more productive and more profitable for the famer Morelli said. Independent experts agree that methane emissions could indeed be decreased mainly through selection. The problem they are looking at is a significant one but I believe that methane production from this source may be reduced by 10%in 10-15 years comments Yvette de Haas is a senior scientist at the animal sciences group at Wageningen University and Research Centre in The netherlands. She said changed diets will affect methane production directly but better genotypes alongside better diets will create a positive synergy for lower emissions. Over the longer term better genotypes will mean lower cost if special diets are needed not. But Garnsworthy warns that the project which has two years to run is not a simple one. Cows have a rumen as well a stomach he adds. As a result their digestive system is far more complex and hard to understand than ours he notes. De Haas describes the project approach of gathering rumen samples and looking at the interaction with methane production is a novel one. Over time it could improve practice with beef as well as milk herds and with other ruminants such as sheep deer and goats. Other experts welcome the project too. What makes it new is its approach to linking genetics and microbiology according to John Mcewan a senior scientist at Agresearch New zealand based at Invernay near Dunedin. He thinks that commercial applications of its findings could begin in 3-5 years if it is scaled up fast enough. Story Source: The above story is provided based on materials by youris. com. The original article was written by Martin Ince. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length h

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