Dietary Changes

Dietary Changes in Cows

The food which cows consume results in the emission of copious amounts of methane into the atmosphere. This is emitted via the wastes in which the animals produce, through their faeces and farting.

 

Suggested dietary changes include the use of the following additives

• Canola meal
• Brewer's grain
• hominy meal
• Dried distiller's grain

All of these listed are used to increase the amounts of fat, tannin and oil content of a cow's diet. This increase reduces the amount of methane produced as they suppress the micro-organism which creates methane, known as methanogen archaea

These supplements are also more easily digestible than grass or hay which reduce the amount of fermentation that occurs.

 

Australia

In dairy farms in South Australia, the trialling and implementation of dietary changes has taken place including the previously listed additives, plus a bunch more.

 

United States

In the USA, a chemical called 3-nitrooxypropanol (NOP) has been trialled and has shown to reduce methane emissions by 30%.

• Works as a methane inhibitor
• Stops the last step of the micro-organism, supressing it from producing methane

The long term impact on the cow's themselves however, is unknown and it will be awhile till the NOP is avaliable to the agriculture indistry