Milk recording could be used to predict dairy cows’ greenhouse gas emissions and dry cow tube needs in the next four years, using research to be undertaken by Teagasc. It is currently recruiting four PhD students, one of whom will study the “prediction of methane and efficiency from routinely taken milk samples for inclusion in the EBI by 2023”.
Milk recording could be used to predict dairy cows’ greenhouse gas emissions and dry cow tube needs in the next four years, using research to be undertaken by Teagasc.
It is currently recruiting four PhD students, one of whom will study the “prediction of methane and efficiency from routinely taken milk samples for inclusion in the EBI by 2023”.
“A lot of the parameters in the milk are a reflection of what happens in the rumen,” which in turn determines methane emissions, Teagasc geneticist Donagh Berry told the Irish Farmers Journal.
He added that the research led by Sinead McParland would test this theory by measuring methane from cows undergoing milk recording at Moorepark.
Dry cow therapy
Another student will use a similar approach to try identify whether animals require dry cow therapy or not, Berry said. This could help to reduce antibiotics use and the risk of antimicrobial resistance.
The PhD on methane emissions is funded through a Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) grant of €375,000 to Teagasc.
Other research is part of a Department of Agriculture-funded project Greenbreed.
Read more
New research to select best cows from their milk
Dairy beef index: how it works
This is a subscriber-only article
SHARING OPTIONS: