The work – carried out by the Agricultural Research and Education Centre (AREC) Raumberg-Gumpenstein in Austria, in conjunction with dairy innovators, smaXtec – looked at the impact of animal health on methane emissions.
It found that the use of smaXtec's state-of-the-art bolus technology helps farmers detect and treat sick cows sooner, leading to a 10-15% reduction in the amount of methane emissions per kg of milk produced.
Dr Thomas Guggenberger, head of the Institute of Livestock Research at AREC Raumberg-Gumpenstein, says the calculation is based on using IPCC standards to measure the research-proven benefits of smaXtec's health monitoring system to improve animal health.
“Our calculations, which are also based on our own respiration experiments, have shown that animals with a longer useful life emit less methane per kg of milk at typical breed performance,” he adds.
“Early detection of disease and proactive health management can reduce animal losses, effectively reducing methane emissions in the dairy industry.”
Chris Howarth, global sales director at smaXtec, says the findings from the study correlate with Ruminant Health & Welfare's ‘Acting on methane' report which shows a 10% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions is achievable through improvements to animal health.
He adds: “The smaXtec system has been proven to accurately detect diseases, such as mastitis, long before clinical symptoms appear.
“This study with AREC Raumberg-Gumpenstein shows that this not only leads to animals being treated quickly, and in turn an improvement to their overall health, but a reduction in the methane emissions intensity of each kg of milk they produce.”
He says methane emissions from cattle are not comparable to emissions from fossil fuels, as cows' methane is converted back to carbon dioxide after about twelve years. However, despite this natural recycling process, being able to reduce emissions will help farmers meet government targets.
Mr Howarth adds: “This study shows that our advanced system can lead to healthier cows and help farmers reduce the total methane emissions from their herds effectively and quickly – something that's good for both the climate and wider dairy industry.”
