Feeding to increase productivity and reduce greenhouse gas emissions

Abstract

Methane is a by-product in the digestion of plant material by all cattle and sheep. Effectively it is wasted feed material and energy that could otherwise be available for animal production. It is also a major greenhouse gas (14% of Australia’s emissions). Beef cattle contribute 50% of these emissions. Feed materials containing lipid can reduce methane and increase productivity. We evaluated coconut and cottonseed oil containing feed supplements both in the laboratory and as feed supplements for beef cattle. Both supplements increased liveweight gain (up to 20-30 kg)
over a 7 week period. There was no overall increase in methane emissions per head but a substantial decrease in methane emitted per unit of production. We recommended the use of coconut and cottonseed additives, with oil content up to 6%, to increase liveweight gain in cattle and decrease methane per kilogram of average daily gain.