Not Just Hot Air
Leading the world-wide effort to get a better handle on enteric methane (CH4) emissions, an international consortium of researchers devised more accurate models to estimate the amount of the greenhouse gas produced by dairy cattle.
Methane Molecule
In a large study that involved data from more than 5,200 lactating dairy cows, assembled through a collaboration of animal scientists from 15 countries, researchers discovered that methane emissions from dairy cattle can be predicted using simplified models.
The new, more accurate models can be used to develop region-specific enteric methane inventories, explained lead researcher Alex Hristov, professor of dairy nutrition in the college.
A major finding of the research, which was published in Global Change Biology, is that revised methane emissions for specific regions are expected to improve emission estimates in national inventories.
--Jeff Mulhollem
