The methane research partnership: (From left) David Chin (LIC chief executive), Andrew Medley (CRV operations manager), and Mark Leslie (Pāmu chief executive). Photo / Supplied
The methane research partnership: (From left) David Chin (LIC chief executive), Andrew Medley (CRV operations manager), and Mark Leslie (Pāmu chief executive). Photo / Supplied
A ground-breaking industry partnership is getting closer to introducing dairy herds to the country’s farms that emit lower methane gases and meet climate change challenges.
“We’ve identified that we can reduce the overall methane output per animal while still increasing production. It’s really amazing,” says David Chin, chief executive of LIC.
“New Zealand needs to continue being the most emissions-efficient producer of milk in the world, and this initiative will be a great tool to help farmers continue to do just that.
“We are motivated by research and development to make sure we stay on top and to help meet the (net zero) carbon emissions target by 2050,” says Chin.
Between them, LIC and CRV sire more than 90 per cent of the 4.9 million-strong national dairy herd. The research programme, now in its third year, links a bull’s genetics and its methane emissions to give dairy farmers the ability to breed more climate-friendly cows that produce less methane.
The research is planned to finish in 2025. By then all artificial breeding bulls from LIC and CRV would have a methane breeding value, and by 2026 farmers would be able to select bulls for their own breeding programmes and produce low methane-emitting cows.
Chin says the programme is a great example of industry collaboration using research and development to solve a national problem.
“The cool thing about the solution is that if the programme is successful, we can potentially see a 5-10 per cent reduction in methane output — that’s a meaningful contribution to lowering methane gas emissions on farms. It has the potential to make a real difference to farmers in the future by helping to ensure emissions reductions don’t come at the cost of reducing milk production.
David Chin. Photo / Supplied
“It aims to help solve the farmers’ challenges of being both profitable and sustainable,” says Chin.
Results from year one, where the feed intake and methane emissions from 281 bulls were measured, found genetic variation in the amount of methane emitted after accounting for the feed eaten by the bulls, with the lowest bulls emitting around 15-20 per cent less methane than average.
Each year the new intake of young bulls to LIC and CRV’s Sire Proving Schemes — set to father the next generation of dairy cows — have their methane emissions measured.
At the Pāmu farms near Taupō, 400 heifer calves are being born — 200 from low methane-emitting bulls and 200 from high-emitting bulls. Measurements will be taken from their daughters to see if the genetic variation is replicated.
Under the research programme, the bulls are enticed to visit a special methane measuring device by offering lucerne hay cubes to keep them in the machine for three to five minutes. Methane from the bulls’ burps is then measured every time they visit, normally three times a day.
“We’ve found there’s a great deal of variation in methane emissions amongst the hundreds of bulls we tested,” says Chin.
“The highest 10 per cent of emitters produce more than 28 grams of methane per kilogram of feed. The lowest 10 per cent produce less than 18 grams per kilogram of feed.
“Because of this variation we are starting to breed from low methane bulls. The first-year results from the programme found that a bull’s genetics do play a role in how much methane they emit. If we are milking fewer cows, then we need to breed better ones,” says Chin.
LIC and CRV have an opportunity to breed the national herd with low methane genetics, and Chin says the beauty is that farmers, who still have to invest in the product, won’t need to alter how they farm.
Further reductions can be made by adopting new ground-breaking technologies in the areas of feed additives to lower methane emissions. “The great thing about a genetic solution is that genetics is permanent and cumulative,” he says.
Chin says LIC has invested heavily in genomic science and technology to deliver results for farmers at a faster rate. “This has enabled us to predict genetic ability and identify elite animals so they can be put into the breeding scheme earlier.
“Farmers are using our premium bull teams to breed with high genetic merit cows which produce more milk and have a lower emissions footprint per kilogram of milk solid.”
A dairy cow now produces around 400kg of milk solids, a far cry from the 188kg for an average cow in the 1950s. Furthermore, LIC can demonstrate that more efficient cows have reduced methane emissions by 12 per cent per kilogram of milk solids over the last 32 years.
“Our genomic science is helping Kiwi dairy farmers breed the best cows faster,” says Chin. “The best cows are more efficient at turning feed into milk, weigh less, produce more, and are more emissions-efficient.”
In another initiative aimed at climate change, LIC has a heat tolerance programme under way to breed cows that can withstand warmer temperatures while maintaining high genetic merit and milk production capabilities. Heat stress is becoming more common in dairy herds and the days are expected to get hotter, with Niwa predicting an increase of 0.7-1 degree Celsius by 2040.
LIC is working on a breeding programme to incorporate the heat tolerant slick gene into existing elite New Zealand dairy herds. The slick gene is found in certain breeds of cattle like Senepol. Their coats are shorter and shinier and the gene gives the cattle the ability to better regulate their internal body temperature with an increased capacity for sweating.
Chin says if the programme progresses as planned, farmers will be able to breed heat-tolerant cows in the near future. “We don’t want heat-tolerant animals that are not very efficient; we have to be sure of their genetic merit.”
LIC, an agri-technology and herd improvement co-operative that started in the Wairarapa in 1909, is owned by 9000 dairy farmers around the country. The co-op, based in Hamilton, has 1000 stud bulls and inseminates around four out of five dairy cows in the country.
Chin, who joined LIC in 2006, became the chief executive one and a half years ago, moving up from general manager operations and service and responsible for its laboratories, and field teams who deliver on-farm services including artificial breeding, herd testing and FarmWise consultancy.
Before then, he was chief transformation officer, central North Island manager, lead key accounts manager and marketing manager.
“Every day I wake up and can get involved with things that make a big difference to the economic wellbeing of the country. Climate change is a big challenge for the agricultural sector and we will continue to help breed more efficient, carbon-friendly cows.
“We are acting in the best interest of farmers. We can make a big difference to their lives and farming practices. It’s incredibly rewarding.”
● LIC is an advertising sponsor of the Herald’s Agribusiness and Trade report.
