Prediction equations based on fermentation balance or feed characteristics have been used to estimate methane production. These equations are useful, but the assumptions and conditions that must be met for each equation limit their ability to accurately predict methane production.
Methane production from groups of animals can be measured by mass balance, micrometeorological, or tracer methods. We recommend that producers seek specialist advice before using this option because overdosing can result in nitrate poisoning. In the approved methodology for feeding nitrates to beef cattle, nitrate salt licks are substituted for animals previously fed urea, and is potentially applicable outside of feedlots.
The use of dietary additives is currently approved only for grazing milking cows, and includes the addition of eligible additives to increase fat content of the diet to reduce methane emissions.
Carbon farming: reducing methane emissions from cattle using feed additives. Page last updated: Tuesday, 26 October - pm. Please note: This content may be out of date and is currently under review.
Feed additives or supplements can reduce methane emissions from ruminant livestock. Contact information Mandy Curnow. Email Mandy Curnow. Another alternative is to feed animals on a diet less to the liking of the archaea. This can be partially effective, says Phil Garnsworthy, who specialises in dairy cow nutrition at the University of Nottingham, so long as it continues to allow the animals to go on producing milk and meat. But Garnsworthy believes more may be possible. In the UK, he says, farmers mainly use grass-based silage.
Altering the diet eaten by cows, sheep and other livestock could reduce the amount of methane produced as microbes in their rumen break down plant materials Credit: Getty Images.
The more fibre a cow eats, the more methane it produces, but adding legumes and various oils such as linseed and soya to their diet can be helpful, adds Sinclair. A more realistic alternative, however, are feed additives such as ionophores, which are already used in some parts of the world to boost weight gain in animals and could also be used to inhibit the methane-producing archaea. But these are not without their problems.
Ionophores, which are classed as antibiotics, are banned for use in animals in the European Union due to concerns about how the over-zealous use of these agents in agriculture has helped to fuel drug resistance in bacteria.
The ban is controversial because ionophores are not used in human medicine and act in different ways from therapeutic antibiotics. Putting additives into animal feed is another way that could reduce the methane that is emitted from livestock and the dung they produce Credit: Getty Images. There are other additives on offer that could also help to inhibit methane in livestock.
One that has most recently gathered interest is 3-nitrooxypropanol 3-NOP , which works by lowering the efficiency of the chemical pathway along which archaea convert carbon into methane. Another option is to give cattle probiotics, or helpful bacteria, to aid their digestion. But chemical inhibitors and probiotics like this would have to be added daily to feedstuffs, and would be hard to deliver to animals fed mostly on grass.
It is likely to be an expensive option. A vaccine would potentially only need to be given once, or perhaps would need just an annual booster. Regardless of the approach used, messing with the pattern of microbial life in the gut will alter its ecology — possibly with unforeseen consequences. By using our site, you acknowledge that you have read and understand our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use. Home Earth Environment. Not so innocent: Cows are major emmiters of methane, which contributes to runaway climate change.
The livestock contribution to global warming. Beware burps: Cows emit vast amounts of the potent greenhouse gas methane by belching. Who, me? Citation : Gas giants: Can we stop cows from emitting so much methane?
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