Researchers from SRUC’s Dairy Research Centre in Dumfries have compared greenhouse gas emissions from the Langhill Herd under different production systems.
The results of the research were published in the November edition of British Dairying
"From these results the researchers concluded that the grazed systems tended to have a higher carbon footprint per kg of FPCM, due mainly to a lower milk yield compared with the housed systems. However, carbon footprint results should be assessed alongside further indicators to fully identify advantages within each dairy system."
"Some of the main routes to lowering emissions include increasing cow longevity, better fertility, reducing the age of first calving and improving digestibility of rations to reduce methane emissions. There will be more scope for reducing enteric methane with novel feed supplements in the near future. Any improvements in technical efficiency of the herd that leads to an increase in milk output for the same level of inputs will naturally reduce the carbon emissions per kg of milk."
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