UK livestock needs action on methane now to avoid ‘soundbite’ solutions

Jackov Altraids said:

Can someone please explain this line to me...........

"Mr Miller says immediate opportunities open to cattle and sheep producers to reduce methane include driving targeted health improvements to reduce involuntary culling, and increasing longevity in dairy and breeding stock."

It seems to me that it says we can reduce methane by preventing our cattle and sheep from dying!


On the other hand, this explains a lot;

“We are also on the threshold of having commercially available feed additives which have reduced enteric methane emissions in some trials by over 30%."

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wrenbird said:

AAAAAARGH, Right that's it ,I am really bl**dy mad now ! This whole carbon cutting crap fest is no different to rich medieval sinners paying for indulgences, so some poor peasant can suffer on their behalf. The only difference now is that the pardoners selling these modern day indulgences are the very people that are supposed to be fighting our corner, we are paying them for the privilege of lining the pockets of others, for a quick fix to a methane problem that is not of our making, so some multi-national mega-business can go on raking in the dollars, can carry on doing whatever they like, because us modern day peasants have been sold down the river by the very people that should be our first line of defence.

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ski said:

I don't think there is any point engaging with the 'cultists' as facts, reason or logic are irrelevant to them.

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delilah said:

You miss the point. This is us coming out with all of this crap. We are paying for it.

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ski said:

I don't miss the point at all.

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Jackov Altraids said:

Can someone please explain this line to me...........

"Mr Miller says immediate opportunities open to cattle and sheep producers to reduce methane include driving targeted health improvements to reduce involuntary culling, and increasing longevity in dairy and breeding stock."

It seems to me that it says we can reduce methane by preventing our cattle and sheep from dying!


On the other hand, this explains a lot;

“We are also on the threshold of having commercially available feed additives which have reduced enteric methane emissions in some trials by over 30%."

Click to expand...

Muddyroads said:

Please don’t shoot me for this, because I’m only playing devils advocate. The argument seems to be that by reducing the amount of methane being expelled into the atmosphere, regardless of its source, global warming will be somehow slowed.
We all know that this shouldn’t be done to our livestock, but it’s the argument that we have to fight.

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Ruminant Health & Welfare said:

Dairy, beef and sheep sectors must deliver an effective farm-level response to the UK’s pledge to slash 30% of methane emissions by 2030[1], or the ‘soundbite’ solution of reducing numbers and downsizing livestock production will take control.

This is the warning from Nigel Miller, chair of Ruminant Health & Welfare, who says the methane pledge agreed at the COP26 summit is a tough step in a climate change transition marathon – but it is also a feasible goal provided the industry moves quickly.

“Dairy, beef and sheep production across our four nations are already firmly in the crosshairs over methane. The Climate Change committee has been clear that a reduction in red meat and dairy consumption of 20% is integral to the UK’s plan to reach net zero[2],” he says.

“The truth is ruminant sectors can no longer shelter behind carbon efficiency alone. We must use this pledge to trigger a change in mindset and take control of our share of the problem. The management focus has to be all about reducing methane emissions over the next 10 years if dairy, beef and sheep producers are to protect their future.”

However, Mr Miller says it looks entirely possible to achieve a 30% methane reduction across UK livestock farming this decade by blending new science with high levels of care – and to even go beyond this reduction target in the long term.

A key challenge will be for each producer to be aware of their own farm’s emissions profile – the levels of CO2, methane and nitrous oxide their activity generates. Taking control of those three very different greenhouse gas streams is important, and for livestock producers, methane reduction must now be an immediate focus of effort.

“Measuring these gases is a challenge in itself,” he says. “The Scottish Government has just announced a £50 million package to support farm carbon audits and planning. We need this type of support across the four nations.

“However, we also need a standardised greenhouse gas calculator farmers can work off, one which ensures consistent feedback as new measures emerge and is approved using the same values or coefficients to ensure the outputs are comprehensive and up-to-date.”

Mr Miller says immediate opportunities open to cattle and sheep producers to reduce methane include driving targeted health improvements to reduce involuntary culling, and increasing longevity in dairy and breeding stock.

He adds that developing a high national health status for cattle and sheep will provide a platform for other interventions.

“We are also on the threshold of having commercially available feed additives which have reduced enteric methane emissions in some trials by over 30%.

“In the medium-term, new genetics offer a range of solutions, the most direct being heritable reductions of enteric emissions in cattle and sheep, supported by other traits such as mature weight and robustness which might combine into a climate change index.”

Mr Miller explains that methane is a key focus in the climate change debate because it’s 28 times more warming that CO2 over the standard 100-year accounting period for greenhouse gases, and also degrades after only 10 years.

“This is why rapid reductions of methane now are seen as the best chance of keeping increases in global temperatures below a 2oC ‘tipping point’ at the end of the century, above which the effects of warming are likely to become irreversible[3].

“However, reductions in CO2 and nitrous oxide emissions also need to continue as these accumulate in the atmosphere and only break down after hundreds and thousands of years respectively.

“Ruminant Health & Welfare will be looking at all these areas to see where it can support dairy, beef and sheep farmers in this important transition to lower emissions.”

As well as advocating reductions in meat and dairy consumption, the Climate Change Committee has also called for low-carbon farming practices. It too singles out improved livestock health as an effective measure which – alongside the use of controlled-release fertilisers and slurry acidification – stands to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from soils, livestock and manure management by 10 Megatonnes of CO2 equivalent by 2050 across the UK.

A recent SRUC study found that the deployment of up to 18 on-farm measures could reduce annual emissions by 4 Megatonnes of CO2 equivalent by 2035[4].

[1] COP26. “World leaders kick start accelerated climate action at COP26” https://ukcop26.org/world-leaders-kick-start-accelerated-climate-action-at-cop26/
[2] Climate Change Committee (2020). Land use: Policies for a Net Zero UK
[3] European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said at the pledge launch event at COP26: “We have to act now. We cannot wait for 2050; we have to cut emissions fast. Cutting back on methane emissions is one of the most effective things we can do to reduce near-term global warming … it is the lowest-hanging fruit.”
[4[ Scottish Rural College (2020). Non-CO2 abatement in the UK agricultural sector by 2050

The post UK livestock needs action on methane now to avoid ‘soundbite’ solutions appeared first on Ruminant Health & Welfare.

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Jackov Altraids said:

Can someone please explain this line to me...........

"Mr Miller says immediate opportunities open to cattle and sheep producers to reduce methane include driving targeted health improvements to reduce involuntary culling, and increasing longevity in dairy and breeding stock."

It seems to me that it says we can reduce methane by preventing our cattle and sheep from dying!


On the other hand, this explains a lot;

“We are also on the threshold of having commercially available feed additives which have reduced enteric methane emissions in some trials by over 30%."

Click to expand...

Wooly said:

Some methane facts that do not blame cows ..............

It's been estimated that this roughly translates to there being around 73 metric tons of methane and 1000 metric tons of carbon dioxide put into the atmosphere by farting daily, equivalent to roughly 1000 people flying from New York to Los Angeles every day.

Vegans are said to emit 60% more methane gas than meat eaters because of their diet and are therefore among the main causes of the greenhouse effect,

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Wooly said:

Some methane facts that do not blame cows ..............

It's been estimated that this roughly translates to there being around 73 metric tons of methane and 1000 metric tons of carbon dioxide put into the atmosphere by farting daily, equivalent to roughly 1000 people flying from New York to Los Angeles every day.

Vegans are said to emit 60% more methane gas than meat eaters because of their diet and are therefore among the main causes of the greenhouse effect,

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DaveGrohl said:

Mr Miller is quite clearly an idiot.

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holwellcourtfarm said:

View attachment 996472

Idiot? No. It looks like he's a research Vet though so I do won't if he's doing research funded to create a market for feed additives....

And what on earth is someone whose expertise is in marketing spuds and cereals doing on the board of "Ruminant health and welfare"?

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