Controlling Methane Cow Belches
British research aimed at helping farmers cut their contribution to climate change shows how to reduce the amount of methane produced by cows and sheep belching and breaking wind.
A change in farm animals’ diet could help farmers reduce greenhouse gas emissions caused by cows belching and breaking wind. “Researchers at Reading University and the Institute of Biological, Environmental and Rural Sciences found that dairy cows could emit 20% less methane for every litre of milk if fed crushed rapeseed. Increasing the proportion of maize silage in cows’ diets from 25% to 75% could reduce methane emission by 6% per litre of milk, while high-sugar grasses could reduce an animal’s methane emissions by 20% for every kilo of weight gain.”
