Genetics of enteric methane emissions of Dutch dairy cows : Climate Envelop project 2019

The Dutch agricultural sector is facing the challenge to reduce the methane emissions by 2.1 Mton by 2030, and even further by 2050. As methane emission of dairy cows is the main component of this carbon footprint, farmers urgently need efficient and cost-effective options to reduce methane emissions. Animal breeding that exploits natural animal variation in methane emissions is a mitigation strategy that is cost-effective, permanent, and cumulative. The aim of this study was to explore the potential of animal breeding to reduce methane emissions. The results show that there is phenotypic (709... Mehr ...