Reducing methane emissions from livestock will likely require more than a single intervention. Feed additives, manure management, vaccines, improved measurement and other strategies all have a role to play. But genetics offers something that many other approaches do not: the potential for methane reductions to accumulate over generations.
That was the message from Emily Melchior, manager of Global Outcomes Research at Zoetis, during the 2026 State of the Science Summit: Reducing Methane from Animal Agriculture at UC Davis when she sat down to chat with CLEAR Conversations host Tracy Sellers.
Melchior, who specializes in ruminant microbiology, nutrition and vaccination strategies in cattle production systems, participated in a panel focused on the development and adoption of low-methane genetics. She said genetic selection should be viewed as one tool among many available to producers — one that can potentially provide lasting benefits while maintaining the traits that make an animal productive and profitable.
“Genetics provides one of many interventions that can be applied, but the nice thing about it is it is a cumulative and fairly permanent effect,” Melchior said. “It can be just one of many tools that a producer can use if they're trying to integrate production and health of the animal and sustainability work.”
Making methane part of the breeding equation
Unlike an intervention such as a feed additive, which is administered directly to an animal, genetic selection works over generations.
Source : ucdavis.edu