Optimising animal feeding
Los ejemplos detallados en esta área clave, comprenden las investigaciones en curso y las iniciativas de la producción lechera.
Balanced feeding for productivity enhancement and N excretion reduction in lactating cows and buffaloes - India
| Source : National Dairy Development Board of India (NDDB) |
The Dairy Board of India has launched a ration balancing programme to feed least cost balanced ration to milch animals of smallholder dairy farmers, in different agro-climatic regions of the country. Inefficiencies in the conversion of feed protein into edible animal protein present a major challenge to livestock nutritionists, as excretion of excess nitrogen (N) by the animal is not only an economic loss of a valuable feed component but it also acts as a source of nitrous oxide, a potent greenhouse gas.
A field study was conducted in 1160 milch animals to evaluate the efficiency of utilization of dietary protein for milk production. The average N excretion in milch animals was 81 percent of the total N intake before ration balancing, which was reduced to 77 percent on feeding a balanced ration. Reduction in N excretion through dung and urine could be an effective method of reducing nitrous oxide emission in the environment and improving efficiency of dietary N utilization for milk production, through balanced feeding.
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Use of natural plant resources as feed supplements to reduce methane emission - India
| Source : National Dairy Research Institute (NDRI), Karnal, 132001 |
Summary:
A pilot research project had been carried out by the National Dairy Research Institute in India to investigate the impact of using natural plant feed supplements to reduce methane emissions and environment-friendly management in milking goats.
So far, the results indicate that the use of selected plants increases milk yield per goat by about 10% compared to traditional feed resources in India, decreases methane emissions per goat and increase the profitability of milk production for farmers.
The experimental pilot project is planned to extend to dairy operations under normal conditions and can also be applied to other milking species such as buffaloes and cows.
The project has sub-continent wide application in India.
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The Benefits of Increasing Feed Efficiency - David and Jane Homer, England
| Source : Lindsay Consulting Ltd. |
![BGSDairyCoRABDFApril09 069[1].jpg](http://www.dairy-sustainability-initiative.org/Public/resize_image.php?path=/media/GreenPaper_submissions/20111008/BGSDairyCoRABDFApril09 069[1].jpg&format=document)
David and Jane Homer farm 220 milking cows in central southern England. They rear their own replacement stock and grow grass, maize and wheat as feed for these animals, minimising the amount of feed purchased from external sources.
Having undertaken carbon foot printing over a 5-year period, the Homer’s have been able to identify where key areas, that if focused on, would increase the efficiency of production and also reduce the emissions related to their production system. Feeding of the animals was one of these areas.
Actions taken:
- By including up to 25% clover in the grazing land, not only is the quantity of ‘natural nitrogen’ increased in the soil, grazing dry matter production has increased by approximately 20%;
- Though high yielding cows, the cows are producing considerably more of their milk from grass resulting in a 16% reduction in purchased concentrates;
- Production of high quality silages;
- Measurement of daily feed intakes by the cows and aligning this with the animals production;
- Measurement of grass growth and allocation to the cows planned accordingly;
- Ensuring that the cows are able to have easy access to all food stuffs;
- Consider animal health and welfare as fundamental to any development in the system.
New Opportunities for Forage Species - United Kingdom
| Source : DairyCo |
For farmers to meet the needs of food security, targets for GHG emissions reduction, grow crops successfully in a changing climate and remain competitive into the future, forages will need to deliver:
- High yields
- Resource use efficiency
- A good fit to the future UK climate
- Value as a protein source
- Potential to improve food security and reduce carbon footprint of livestock production
New opportunities for forage species sought to identify the opportunities that climate change and plant breeding can bring for British dairy farmers. The impact of higher feed prices provides an additional incentive for greater reliance on home grown produce therefore helping to make the dairy industry sustainable well into the future. The findings from this important project are being incorporated into current DairyCo literature. The report can be downloaded via the attached link.
Completion date: November 2010
Methane emission reduction in India through balanced feeding and breed improvement programmes - Study 4 in Maharashtra state
| Source : National Dairy Development Board of India (NDDB) |
The NDDB tested a ration balancing programme in six states. As part of the programme field studies were conducted in different parts of the country including the Nanded district of Maharashtra State.
Considering the availability of feed resources with the milk producers and the stage of lactation balanced rations worked out for the milch animals. In the study, the average methane emission were reduced by 19.38% in terms of g/kg milk yield in observed lactating buffaloes (n=26) which was significantly (P<0.01) lower as compared to the baseline emissions. Balancing of ration significantly (P<0.01) improved the milk yield (kg/day) and milkfat (%) in buffaloes.
Methane emission reduction in India through balanced feeding and breed improvement programmes - Study 3 in Andhra Pradesh state
| Source : National Dairy Development Board of India (NDDB) |
The NDDB tested a ration balancing programme in six states. As part of the programme field studies were conducted in different parts of the country including the Chittor district of Andhra Pradesh State.
Considering the availability of feed resources with the milk producers and the stage of lactation balanced rations worked out for the milch animals. In the study, the average methane emission was reduced by 15.39% in terms of g/kg milk yield in lactating cows (n=30), which was significantly (P<0.05) lower from teh baseline emissions. Balancing of ration also significantly improved the milk yield (kg/day) in cows.
Feeding bypass protein to reduce methane emissions - India
| Source : National Dairy Development Board of India (NDDB) |
The NDDB has established eleven bypass protein feed plants in India, each plant of 50 tonnes/day capacity.
Feeding bypass protein leads to improvement in milk production and therefore reduction in carbon footprint per kg milk.
Methane emission reduction in India through balanced feeding and breed improvement programmes - Study 2 in Uttar Pradesh state
| Source : National Dairy Development Board of India (NDDB) |
The NDDB tested a ration balancing programme in six states. As part of the program field studies were conducted in different parts of the country including the Rae Bareli district of Uttar Pradesh State.
Considering the availability of feed resources with the milk producers and the stage of lactation balanced rations worked out for the milch animals. In the study, the average methane emission was reduced by 20.74% and 20.23% g/kg milk yield in observed lactating buffaloes and crossbred cows respectively (n=13) which was significantly (P<0.01) lower as compared to the baseline emissions. Balancing of ration significantly (P<0.01) improved the milk yield (kg/day) and milk fat (%) in buffaloes and milk yield in cows.
Methane emission reduction in India through balanced feeding and breed improvement programmes - Study 1 in Gujarat state
| Source : National Dairy Development Board of India (NDDB) |
The NDDB tested a ration balancing programme in six states. As part of the programme field studies were conducted in different parts of the country including the Junagadh district of Gujarat State with balanced rations worked out for the milch animals.
Twenty-two lactating Jaffarabadi buffaloes and five Gir cows were selected for the study. An average reduction of 17.99% and 17.25 % methane emission, in terms of g/kg milk yield was observed in lactating buffaloes and cows respectively, which was significantly (P<0.01) lower from the baseline emissions. Ration balancing also significantly improved the milk yield (kg/day) and milk fat (%) in both the species.
Supplying quality fodder seed to reduce GHG emissions per kg of milk - India
| Source : National Dairy Development Board of India (NDDB) |
Under the fodder development programme, NDDB is arranging supply of good quality fodder seeds to farmers, so that more biomass is produced with less area and more milk is produced resulting in reduction in carbon footprint per kg of milk.
Densified crop residues to reduce methane emissions in ruminant animals - India
| Source : National Dairy Development Board of India (NDDB) |
NDDB is helping various milk unions in establishing units for densification and enrichment of crop residues. The enriched feed improves milk production. Densification also helps in reduction of fossil fuels used for transportation of biomass.
Use of minerals to reduce GHG emissions per litre of milk - India
| Source : National Dairy Development Board of India (NDDB) |
The NDDB has established 21 mineral mixture plants throughout India with a production capacity of more than 70,000 tonnes.
The use of mineral mixture in the ration reduces the mineral deficiency resulting in improvement in milk productivity per animal thereby reducing the GHG emission load per litre of milk.
Feed efficiency - Gippsland, Victoria, Australia
| Source : Department of Primary Industry, Victoria |
The Ellinbank Research Station is carrying out research to reduce methane emissions from alternative sources of cow feed. A number of feeds have been trialled including canola, cottonseed, hominy meal and brewers grains. Research resultes indicate that for every one per cent increase in dietary fat, there is a corresponding 3.5 percent fall in methane emissions.
Refer to the following video:
Sustainable oat production – United Kingdom
| Source : DairyCo |
DairyCo is part of an industry wide consortium funding this exciting five-year project. This project aims to develop sustainable oat varieties with similar nutrient values to wheat as a livestock food.
Selection of oat varieties with improved poil and lignin content is on target but the cattle feeding trials do not begin until 2012.
- The oat varieties will also be capable of reducing methane and nitrous oxide emissions from slurries when fed to both ruminant (cattle and sheep) and monogastric (pigs and chickens) animals.
- Completion Date: Spring 2014
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Breeding of forage grasses and legumes to enhance the sustainability of grassland agriculture - United Kingdom
| Source : DairyCo |
Joint Industry and Government collaboration: DairyCo is a fundamental part of an industry wide consortium funding this project. The project aims to develop improved forage varieties that will be selected for a number of key traits of significant economic and environmental benefit to the livestock sector.
Project status in 2011:
- There appears to be good natural variation between breeding lines of grass and clover for N, P, water uptake and water use efficiency traits to allow genetic selection for improved varieties. There was good coverage of the new vaireties available at the Grassland and Muck event in May 2011 generating considerable farmer interest
- The final report will detail recommendations on new grass varieties that will be of value and will be available to UK dairy farming systems.
- Completion Date: Spring 2013
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Greenhouse gas mitigation program: Western Canada Project
| Source : Dairy Farmers of Canada (DFC) |
A team from AAFC’s Lethbridge Research Centre (LRC), in Alberta, conducted feeding trials to determine the amount of methane produced by commercial dairy farms and then looked at ways of modifying cow diets in order to reduce emissions.
Amount of methane generated by commercial dairy farms
Methane emissions, which were measured in air downstream from dairy barns using laser technology, ranged from 438 L to 519 L per animal per day. All cows older than three months were included in the analysis. It was predicted that, because of their higher feed intake, lactating cows would generate about 600 L of methane per day, which, over the long run, adds up to a large amount.
Feeding strategies to reduce emissions
Several feeding strategies aimed at reducing methane emissions were evaluated. A 3%–4% increase in the amount of plant-derived fat supplied in cow rations could reduce the amount of feed energy lost as methane by 20%. Edible oils or oilseeds such as sunflower seeds, rapeseed, ground canola or flaxseed, can be used as fat supplements.
Greenhouse gas mitigation program: Quebec Program - Canada
| Source : Dairy Farmers of Canada (DFC) |
This project, which was carried out under the supervision of AAFC in Lennoxville, Quebec, compared greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from cows and from manure on dairy farms with different levels of milk production and different management practices. The project consisted of two components. The first component involved identifying practices that limit GHG emissions, while maintaining herd productivity. The second component involved demonstrating the potential that biofiltration has for reducing methane emissions from cow barns and manure pits on commercial dairy farms.
First component
On two different farms, gas-measuring equipment was installed to permit continuous sampling and analysis of the air entering and exiting mechanically ventilated cow barns. This was done to determine the amount of methane produced indoors by the animals. The two farms differed in terms of cow breed, diets and supplements used, number of meals per day and manure management practices. At both farms, peak emissions were found to be correlated with the animals’ feeding schedule. A single cow produces between 350 L and 650 L of methane per day. There are several ways to treat these emissions and to reduce the methane level in the exhaust air from cow barns. Cost and environmental effects are important considerations in choosing a technique for this purpose.
Greenhouse gas mitigation program: Atlantic Program - Canada
| Source : Dairy Farmers of Canada (DFC) |
This project consisted of two initiatives: one carried out by the Nova Scotia Agricultural College at the Kipawo Holsteins farm in Grand Pre, Nova Scotia; and the other by the Atlantic Dairy and Forage Institute (ADFI) in Keswick Ridge, New Brunswick. The project was divided into two components. One involved comparing the methane emissions from dairy cows fed pasture– or silage-based diets. The second component involved testing two feed supplements—roasted soybean and confectionery waste—to determine their potential to reduce methane emissions and improve cow performance.
First component
The methane emission levels were found to be comparable for cows fed pasture and those fed silage. However, from the standpoint of total farm greenhouse emissions (emissions from fuel use, electricity, fertilizer, etc.), the researchers determined that pasture feeding generated lower total emissions than silage diets
Second component
Although earlier research showed that adding fat to cow rations could reduce methane emissions, the findings of the present study concerning the effects of roasted soybean supplements are inconclusive, because the cows did not eat the full amount supplied. Thedietary addition of sugar (confectionery waste) did not have a marked effect on methane emissions; however, the researchers found that the cows given sugar supplements produced more milk. This shows that a little bit of sugar can be beneficial
Greenhouse gas mitigation program - Canada
| Source : Dairy Farmers of Canada (DFC) |
Introduction
The Greenhouse Gas Mitigation Program for Canadian Agriculture (GHGMP) was announced in 2002, as part of the Action Plan 2000 on Climate Change. Various industry groups, in partnership with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC), have delivered this five-year program to create awareness among producers about management practices that reduce these emissions while bringing them economic benefits and to demonstrate these practices.
Demonstration Projects
The dairy component of the GHGMP, delivered by the Dairy Farmers of Canada (DFC) and called “Our Cows, Our Air,” have carried out demonstration projects in various regions across Canada
Building commercial relationships between input suppliers and forage producers - Madagascar
| Source : Land O’Lakes |
Since Land O’Lakes initiated the USDA funded Food for Progress Dairy Value Chain Development Project in 2008, farmers have reignited their interest in improving their dairy production activities.
Awareness creation among farmers on the benefits of forage production is a priority of the project particularly to assure sustainability of dairy production activities. The supply of improved seed and inputs to farmers is key to success in stabilizing production (quantity and quality) throughout the year.
With the objective to build commercial relationships between input suppliers and fodder producers, the project organized meetings between the two stakeholder groups. The Fanantenana Association, benefiting from the project’s support over the past year, participated in the meetings held in August 2008. Founded in 2008 and composed of 22 members, the association’s objective is to the increase member income through dairy production activities.
Members are all dairy farmers who also produce forage seed for their own produce forage seeds for their animal feed needs as well as for sale to other interested farmers. In the past, farmer members were not aware of what forage species they were actually cultivating. They hadn’t worked with input suppliers and just obtained seeds from each another. There was no expansive forage cultivation; only small plots adjacent to their food crop production fields.
Members continue to cultivate forage, and are applying new production and management strategies: one third of forage produced is allocated to the producer’s cows, one third sold, with proceeds deposited into the association’s account, and the final third sold to reimburse seeds provided by LOL.
Feed seed business: A viable option for dairy farmers - Ethiopia
| Source : Land O’Lakes |
“Feed which had been a major constraint to dairy farming became a money-making venture” Ethiopia Dairy Development Project Contact Farmer Abebe Tolla
Abebe Tolla, 42 years old, is one of the contact farmers who received improved feed seeds and farm business trainings from the Ethiopia Dairy Development Project (EDDP). The project is one of many USAID-assisted initiatives in Ethiopia under the strategic objective - Market-Led Economic Growth and Resiliency Increased- designed to increase productivity all along the dairy value chain by maximizing economic benefits to smallholder dairy farmers in selected milk sheds.
Abebe lives with his wife and four children in Worsebi Kebele, 25 km to the north of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia's capital. He is well-respected by his community for his performance in dairy farming and received an award from the Regional Government in 2007. Abebe is using the feed seeds and entrepreneurship skills provided by EDDP to develop dairy farming as a business and maximize his income. Producing high value feed at his backyard has enabled him to overcome seasonal feed shortages and to diversify his income sources by producing feed for sale to neighboring farmers and local institutions.
Feed had been a major constraint to his dairy farming, but became a money-making venture after the family decided to produce, harvest and sell feed seed. In 2008, he made $1,200 (12,025Birr) from feed and seed sales to his follower farmers in his village, a ten-fold higher return over maize or other cereal crops. He said that he is keen to access a wider market and forage seed business, expanding into beet, vetch, alfalfa and oat seed.
Valio research on emissions reductions - Finland
| Source : Valio |
- Valio is participating in research project which seeks practical tools to estimate efficiency of feed utilization of a cow. The aim is to utilize tools in animal husbandry in order to improve efficiency of feed utilization of cow and thus reduce emissions
- Valio is participating in research and implementation project which is developing practical optimization tool for animal feeding. The tool can take account also environmental aspects.
Milk Roadmap trialling new technology – United Kingdom
| Source : Dairy UK |
Target: 20% to 30% of producers trialling new technologies to reduce emissions from agriculture
Activity and Progress:
- DairyCo is currently running a feed efficiency campaign (which began in September 2008). Over 700 dairy farmers having attended Feeding+ meetings and 1580 Feeding+ folders have been sent out, demonstrating a positive approach to improving feed efficiency. DairyCo is also part of a Defra Steering Group Committee investigating ruminant nutrition regimes to reduce methane and nitrogen emissions based on previous research work funded by DairyCo.
Measurement:
- DairyCo survey of discussion groups.
- Proposal to amend target
Target Status:
- Currently gathering data
Feed supply; reducing emissions - CONO Kassmakers, the Netherlands
| Source : CONO Cheesemakers (CONO Kaasmakers) |
Cono and Ben&Jerry’s have chosen to work with sustainable soy for their animal feed (supported by Round Table for Responsible Soy or RTRS, World Wildlife Fund or WWF and Solidaridad). This will reduce emission of greenhouse gases.
About 23 % of the Dutch Cow diets consists of concentrates (compound feed). Approximately 5-10% of these concentrates is Soy. Soy is related to unsustainable practices such as slavery and deforestation (Soy is besides wood and cattle production one of the drivers in the deforestation of the Amazon). By explicitly choosing for sustainable soy (that is not related to deforestation) we have decreased our global feed print.
We cooperate with feed suppliers to compose animal feed low in emission of greenhouse gases (by choosing more environmentally friendly ingredients)
In this process what we have started together with our main feed suppliers we have investigated ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by changing the composition of concentrates. A study showed that 10-15% reduction in the concentrate chain (including effects on methane emissions from the cow) is possible without many costs. At this moment we are thinking on ways to bring this knowledge into practice.
Air, noise and GHG emission reductions - Australia
| Source : Murray Goulburn Cooperative |
At Murray-Goulburn Cooperative’s Cobram site, there has been a steady reduction in overall noise emission from the site despite the significant addition of plant to the site over the past 10 years to 15 years.
- In 2002 a noise reduction of 8-9 db (A) was achieved, at a cost of $3.5 million, by installing a bag filter and noise attenuator on our Niro spray dryer. The bag filter also now captures the minimal amount of very fine milk powder that was occasionally emitted from the dryer during product start-up and shutdown.
- In 2006, a replacement refrigeration compressor was installed at Cobram. The compressor is powered solely by a steam turbine, using high pressure (40 bar) steam in lieu of the alternative of a 500kW electric motor. The steam leaves the turbine as medium pressure (17 bar) steam and is used elsewhere on the Cobram site.
- The 40 bar to 17 bar steam pressure reduction had previously been facilitated by a pressure reducing valve system whereby the extra energy supplied in the higher pressure steam was not taken advantage of. This new system effectively claims up to 500kW of energy for ‘free’ for refrigeration. Coinciding with the significant operational cost savings is naturally the associated reduction in greenhouse gas emissions attributable to Murray Goulburn’s operations.
- Steam consumption and refrigeration demand at the Cobram factory are only partially related and are therefore not perfectly synchronised. The steam turbine driven refrigeration compressor is therefore also supplemented by a traditional electric motor driven unit. The operation of each unit is automated in order to optimize the overall energy efficiency of the system as a whole.
Paying a premium for grazing - CONO Cheesemakers (Kaasmakers), the Netherlands
| Source : CONO Cheesemakers (CONO Kaasmakers) |
Cono Cheesemakers (Kaasmakers) :
- Pay their farmers a premium for grazing. As a result concentrate use is reduced and emission of greenhouse gases is reduced
- The premium is €0,50 per 100 kg of milk and requires that the cows have a minimum grazing period of 100 days. 96% of our farmers applies grazing.
- Grazing can reduce the emission of greenhouse gases as concentrate use (with some ingredients from overseas) is lower during pasture in comparison with a cows that stay in the barn
Developing management tools: feed rations - Sweden
| Source : Swedish Dairy Association |
In an ongoing development project the Nordic feed evaluation system NorFor is modified in order to enable a calculation of the total GHG-emissions from a feed ration, i.e. growing, processing and transporting feed as well as the emissions from feed digestion.
Locally grown feed - Sweden
| Source : Swedish Dairy Association |
The Swedish dairy industry has taken a position where the use of locally grown feed is promoted in order to reduce feed transport distances and GHG-emissions.
Stonyfield Greener Cow Project - Vermont, USA
| Source : Innovation Center For US Dairy |
Stonyfield Farm is conducting the first program in North America aimed at reducing enteric CH4 emissions while improving the nutritional value of milk. They began a pilot program in 2008 based on research by the nutrition company Valorex and their partner Groupe Danone, both in France.
The “Stonyfield Greener Cow Project” includes 15 organic farms in Vermont that have begun feeding their dairy cows a high Omega-3 diet including alfalfa (lucerne), extruded flax (linseed), hemp and grass pasture (Anonymous, 2009). The high-quality forages help improve animal productivity, reducing CH4 per unit feed digested or unit product. Flaxseed is an oilseed and source of long-chain fatty acids, found in one study to reduce CH4 emissions by 38% without adverse effects on animal performance (Martin et al., 2008). It is historically fed over the winter, and contains high amounts of Omega-3 fatty acids.
The Stonyfield program has reduced CH4 emissions by an average of 12% and a maximum of 18%, measured indirectly by a novel correlation between milk fatty acid composition and CH4 production. Research supporting this measurement method is expected to be published in Fall 2009. Farmers participating in the project claim that their cows seem healthier and veterinary bills have decreased.
Borba Dairy - California - USA
| Source : Innovation Center For US Dairy |
“We’re a lot more environmentally aware these days. We have a lot more knowledge, more tools, and we’re using them.” - George Borba, Jr.
New technologies including:
- Plastic covers to limit silage emissions
- Vacuuming and recycling manure from barns to fertilize crops
- Water re-use for crop irrigation
Greenhouse gas mitigation program: Ontario Program - Canada
| Source : Dairy Farmers of Canada (DFC) |
This project was undertaken by University of Guelph researchers at the Elora Dairy Research
- Farm and at Mayhaven Farms in Rockwood, Ontario. Two feeding strategies using corn and the dietary addition of myristic acid, an extract from palm oil, were evaluated for their potential to reduce methane emissions from dairy cows. The results showed that dry-rolled corn reduced methane emissions by 7% per day, per kilogram of milk produced, compared with steam-flaked corn. Myristic acid had an even greater effect, reducing methane emissions by 28% per day, per kilogram of milk produced. Incorporating dry-rolled corn into rations involves making only a slight change in cow diets; hence, it is a more practical strategy and one that producers will find easier to implement. Adding dry-rolled corn to diets can benefit the environment as well as cow performance.
Optimising use of fertilisers and animal feeding - Colombia
| Source : FEDEGAN-FNG |
See files for the different examples of practices used in Colombia.
Implementing Silvopasture systems - Agustín Codazzi, Cesar, Colombia
Finca: EL PORVENIR (Codazzi, Cesar): Propietario: José Félix Lafaurie
- Implementar arreglos silvopastoriles intensivos y pasturas mejoradas, asociadas a arboles maderables y frutales de diferentes especies.
Número de individuos por especie en lotes con SSPI (n=7450)
- Eucalipto (2124 árboles)
- Teca (1524 árboles)
- Leucaena (3456 árboles)
- Trupillo (346 árboles)
Emissions reductions – on farm: Less emissions per kilogram of milk solids
| Source : Fonterra |
- 98.7 per cent of Fonterra dairy farmers are guided by a nutrient budget – enabling better use of fertilizer and less nitrate / nitrous oxide loss to water / air
- 1 per cent per annum improvement since 1990 in kg of CO2 equivalent per kg milk solids produced because of better cows, better fodder and better farming
Emissions reductions - Greece
| Archived | Source : IDF National Committee of Greece |
- Optimising animal feeding: remarkable progress has been done over the last 30 years in animal’ s feed composition, quality feedstuffs, balanced ration, etc.
- Optimising use of fertilisers: very high progress has been achieved
- Optimising manure management: mainly progress has been done in manure processing of other animals (pigs, poultry)
‘Milch animals of the future’: Improving productivity and reducing emissions - India
| Archived | Source : National Dairy Development Board of India (NDDB) |
The National Dairy Development Board has already initiated the following action in the areas of feeding / breeding to mitigate the effect of climate change as under:
- Launch of an All India programme for balancing the ration given to milk animals though specially developed computer software, which ensures balancing of energy, protein and minerals resulting in production of more microbial protein and less methane. In the field, the methane emission reduction in these milk animals is measured, using SF6 tracer technique. The reduction achieved is around 10-15%. The displayed photograph shows methane emission measurement of a milk producer’s buffalo being fed a balanced ration.
- As milk production in India is primarily based on feeding crop residues to milk animals it results in more acetic acid and methane production. Technology for enrichment of crop residues with urea, molasses, mineral etc., which would result in reduction of methane, is being promoted.
- NDDB in technical collaboration with ACIAR Australia has also developed by pass protein technology which enables efficient use of protein meals which also results in reduction of methane emission
- Programmes for improving the genetic merit of the milk animals are being undertaken which will lead to improved feed conversion efficiency leading in turn to reduction in methane emission per litre of milk
Impact of Dairy Reform on Emissions - Israel
| Archived | Source : Israel Dairy Board |
In 1999, a reform package was initiated in the dairy sector, which continued until 2007. The main aims of the reform were:
- Encouraging dairy producers to become larger, more competitive and more efficient
- Preventing pollution from dairy farms and protecting the country's water sources by upgrading cowsheds and establishing environmental infrastructure
- Within the framework of the reform, strict criteria were formulated for the environment-friendly operation of dairy farms, largely based on guidelines developed by the Ministry of Environmental Protection.
- The guidelines relate to the:
- Establishment of proper treatment and disposal facilities including requirements for roofing
- Cement flooring
- Drainage systems to prevent release of manure and leachate into the environment
- Manure collection and containment facilities
- Separation of solids from the waste stream, and sewage treatment at different levels
Improved herd feeding
| Archived | Source : DeLaval |
The amount of GHGs emitted per liter milk as a consequence of the feed management and the belching of the animal can be minimized by making sure the animals are fed properly to stay healthy and productive. DeLaval feeding stations are used to create individual feeding plans based on the cows’ needs.
A central solution for this is Alpro, DeLaval Herd management tool, which allows dairy farmers to collect and evaluate data from every animal 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Data input can for example come from a walk over automatic animal weigh system.
