One project investigating impacts of feed additives on reducing methane emissions from the burps of beef cattle over their lifetime was allocated almost €1.5 million.
The research will look at ways of reducing methane emissions in Irish beef systems through strategic use of feed additives and early-life interventions.
The vast majority of methane - a greenhouse gas - released by cattle during digestion is by belching, rather than flatulance.
Cattle herds went through a pretty nasty culling just a year or two ago. And that’s been part of a 40 year long term downward trend, as cost to raise by head has grown with drought and feedstock price increases. 2014 and 2024 being particularly rough years for the industry as a whole.
Like, I guess it’s good that we’re seeing research into herd emissions. But I have to wonder whether it’ll even matter relative to the continuing slide in overall herd populations.
I wish the Dutch cattle graph looked like that