Building Team Chemistry: The Bigger Picture Behind Cows & Climate
Conor McCabe
Animal Biology Graduate Student, UC Davis
Grant Investigates Naturally Occurring Compound to Reduce Enteric Methane Emissions
Agriculture-Generated Methane Needs to be Reduced to Meet Global Climate Change Target
Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas. According to the UN environment Programme, “over a 20-year period, it is 80 times more potent at global warming than carbon dioxide. Methane has accounted for roughly 30% of global warming since pre-industrial times and is proliferating faster than at any other time since record keeping began in the 1980s. In fact, according to data from the United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, even as carbon dioxide emissions decelerated during the pandemic-related lockdowns of 2020, atmospheric methane shot up.”
Enteric methane is the single largest source of direct greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the beef and dairy sectors, representing 2.5% of total U.S. GHG emissions. Microbes in the digestive system of four-chambered-stomach animals, called ruminants, like cattle and sheep, produce methane through the digestion of forages and concentrate feeds.
New approaches to livestock production are needed to lower the amounts of agriculture-generated methane to limit global warming to 1.5°C, a target of the Paris climate change agreement.
Why this research is important
To address this persistent environmental concerns, the Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research is awarding a $455,704 Seeding Solutions grant to Pennsylvania State University (Penn State) to reduce enteric methane emissions from ruminants using plant and fungal sources. Purina Animal Nutrition is providing matching funds for a total $914,543 investment. But it takes only about a decade for methane to break down. So, reducing methane emissions now would have an impact in the near term and is critical for helping keep the world on a path to 1.5
Ranchers and producers urgently need effective methods to mitigate enteric methane emissions, as methane is a potent greenhouse gas, and there are currently few sustainably-produced, cost-effective options. This project investigates a novel way to move the dairy and beef industries toward net zero emissions to reach climate neutrality.Nikki Dutta
Scientific Program Officer
Our preliminary data have shown a considerable methane mitigating potential of 3-NPA at practical inclusion rates” said Hristov. This grant, in collaboration with our industry partner, Purina Animal Nutrition, will allow us to investigate the possibilities of enhancing 3-NPA content in plant and fungal sources, determine feasible application methods and propose an effective enteric methane mitigation option to livestock producers.Dr. Alexander N. Hristov
Penn State Distinguished Professor of Dairy Nutrition
FFAR’s Seeding Solutions Grant Program
FFAR’s Seeding Solutions Grant Program is an open call for bold ideas that address pressing food and agriculture issues in one of the Foundation’s Challenge Areas. Hristov’s research furthers FFAR’s Advanced Animal Systems Challenge Area, as well as AgMission™, a FFAR and World Farmers Organisation (WFO) initiative to develop climate-smart solutions for farmers and ranchers.
How This Research Contributes to Our Mission
This project supports innovative and transformative research focused on FFAR’s Advanced Animal Systems Challenge Area and AgMission™.
