With livestock from the day they are born to the day they die, they are creating methane from burping (if they are a ruminant) and also from their bodily waste. There are various things that the farm can do to cut back on animal related GHG’s. Emissions can be cut by either changing the genetics of the animal itself to make less methane or to leave the animal alone and change the way we handle the animals and their waste (new food or GHG inhibitors.) Semi-recent studies in the UK by Genesis-Faraday (Genesis-Faraday Partnership) have shown than past choice of genetic production traits like milk production, fertility, growth rate, and effectiveness of food digestion have made a decrease per one livestock in GHG production of about 1% each year. The gains have obviously been the largest in the species where the largest genetic achievements have happened. These would be poultry, pigs, and dairy cows. The authors predicted that the rate of genetic gains should remain consistent with at least the past 20 years if not more. Since there are economic reasons for the producers to research these genetic improvements, there isn’t really much need to prod them as they are going to do it
With livestock from the day they are born to the day they die, they are creating methane from burping (if they are a ruminant) and also from their bodily waste. There are various things that the farm can do to cut back on animal related GHG’s. Emissions can be cut by either changing the genetics of the animal itself to make less methane or to leave the animal alone and change the way we handle the animals and their waste (new food or GHG inhibitors.) Semi-recent studies in the UK by Genesis-Faraday (Genesis-Faraday Partnership) have shown than past choice of genetic production traits like milk production, fertility, growth rate, and effectiveness of food digestion have made a decrease per one livestock in GHG production of about 1% each year. The gains have obviously been the largest in the species where the largest genetic achievements have happened. These would be poultry, pigs, and dairy cows. The authors predicted that the rate of genetic gains should remain consistent with at least the past 20 years if not more. Since there are economic reasons for the producers to research these genetic improvements, there isn’t really much need to prod them as they are going to do it