California Dairy Farmers are Saving Money—and Cutting Methane Emissions—By Feeding Cows Leftovers

Jun 14, 2021

By Pam Knox

If you’re a dairy farmer, feeding leftovers or scraps to cows is nothing new. As long as you keep their diets well balanced, cows can eat a surprising variety of things and stay healthy. But feeding leftovers to cattle also provides another benefit–it reduces food waste, one of the biggest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions. Here is a recent story about California dairies’ use of almond hulls, spent grains, and other leftover food to cut methane emissions by diverting edible food products out of landfills, where they produce methane as they decompose. You can read it at Inside Climate News here.

Source : uga.edu

Video: Swine Industry Advances: Biodigesters Lower Emissions and Increase Profits

Analysis of greenhouse gas (GHG emissions) in the Canadian swine sector found that CH4 emissions from manure were the largest contributor to the overall emissions, followed by emissions from energy use and crop production.

This innovative project, "Improving Swine Manure-Digestate Management Practices Towards Carbon Neutrality With Net Zero Emission Concepts," from Dr. Rajinikanth Rajagopal, under Swine Cluster 4, seeks to develop strategies to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions.

While the management of manure can be very demanding and expensive for swine operations, it can also be viewed as an opportunity for GHG mitigation, as manure storage is an emission source built and managed by swine producers. Moreover, the majority of CH4 emissions from manure occur during a short period of time in the summer, which can potentially be mitigated with targeted intervention.

In tandem with understanding baseline emissions, Dr. Rajagopal's work focuses on evaluating emission mitigation options. Manure additives have the potential of reducing manure methane emissions. Additives can be deployed relatively quickly, enabling near-term emission reductions while biodigesters are being built. Furthermore, additives can be a long-term solution at farms where biogas is not feasible (e.g., when it’s too far from a central digester). Similarly, after biodigestion, additives can also be used to further reduce emissions from storage to minimize the carbon intensity of the bioenergy.