National Agriculture and Food Research Organization (NARO) has developed a new calculation equation that makes it easier to use than the conventional calculation equation for methane emissions from rumen fermentation in cattle from the ratio of methane to carbon dioxide in exhaled breath measured by a milking robot. The climate change mitigation consortium, represented by NARO, has published a manual for estimating methane, including this research result. By using this manual to calculate methane emissions from cattle, it is possible to more easily compare individual differences in methane emissions and differences in methane emissions due to feed.
Overview
Methane from cattle enteric fermentation is one of the major sources of greenhouse gas emission in the agricultural sector and is emitted into the atmosphere along with the air(burp). In order to accurately measure the methane emitted by cattle, a large special facility (chamber) must be used, but it is not possible to measure the methane emission from large number of cattle. Sniffer method which is developed in Europe to measure methane emissions in large cattle population, measures the levels of methane and carbon dioxide in exhaled breath several times a day, and uses information such as milk production to estimate methane emissions. While a calculation equation is required to estimate daily methane emissions, NARO has developed a simple calculation equation for sniffer method using the measurements from its own chamber. We also found that sniffer method can be used to evaluate the differences in methane emissions from cattle feed. The climate change mitigation consortium (Hiroshima University, etc.), represented by NARO, published the "Manual for Estimating Methane Emissions from Fermentation in Cow Rumen". This manual describes in detail how to estimate methane emissions from dairy and fattening cattle using sniffer method. It is expected that the development of technologies to reduce methane emissions will be accelerated by encouraging many people to involve in the development of methane emission mitigation technology,
Manual for Estimating Methane Emissions from Fermentation in Cow Rumen(Japanese only)
https://www.naro.go.jp/publicity_report/publication/pamphlet/tech-pamph/152088.html
Publication
Suzuki et al.(2021) Animal Science J. 92:e13637
For Inquiries
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