New Cornell research paving the way for reduced methane emissions from dairy farms

EDITORS NOTE: A previous version of this article incorrectly stated the name of Joseph McFadden Ph.D. as John McFadden Ph.D., it has since been corrected

ITHACA, N.Y. (WROC) — Dairy farming remains a critical segment of the economy in Western New York and as the conversation surrounding climate change grows, the need to adapt and reduce methane emissions while still being able to respond to demand is a looming challenge for those in the industry.

Methane makes up just 12% of global greenhouse gas emissions, compared to carbon dioxide which makes up 64%. Despite the lower volume, methane can be 100 times as effective as carbon dioxide over ten years, and 28 times as much over a century in contributing to the greenhouse effect leading to a greater impact on global temperatures.

34% of methane emissions in the United States emanate from activities related to cattle farming according to the EPA . This is pushing researchers like Joseph McFadden, Ph.D., an Associate Professor of Dairy Cattle Biology from Cornell University, to look into new diets amongst other methods to reduce agricultural methane at the source.

“We want to reduce enteric methane emissions using dietary strategies. And so they’re commonly referred to as feed additives,” said Dr. McFadden. “When you look at the scientific data, these additives work pretty well. They can either decrease methane emissions by something like 10% to 20%, but something like seaweed or bromoform can inhibit methane emissions by 80%.”

Dr. McFadden and his team plan to track the emissions using new respiration chambers seeing just how the different additives change the emissions from the cows. While the goal is to reduce emissions — maintaining the health of the cows and consumer trust are also at the forefront o making any changes.

“There is certainly an urgency when it comes to developing these technologies, but we must prioritize safety. It is absolutely critical that these technologies are safe for the animal and safe for the food that we consume. And we have to be transparent about what works and what doesn’t from day one.”

Jeff Post, a fifth-generation dairy farmer, and Partner of Post Dairy Farms LLC, from Genesee County is far from opposed to making the changes needed to reduce and track emissions, but it won’t mean anything if he can’t make a profit and keep his farm running.

“I’m all for, getting better as long as it’s profitable. I don’t think that anybody’s doing the work that it takes to be a dairy farmer, especially every day to lose money.”

That isn’t far from the team at Cornell University’s mind either as they’re looking to the potential economic benefits that could be reaped from their research for farmers as well.

“Something we’re trying to prioritize here is making sure that it’s economical for the farmer to do so,” said Dr. McFadden. “One way is to enhance sort of the efficiency of nutrient use. And so how you feed an animal, you can maybe produce more milk per animal or make the animal healthier and so it reduces veterinary costs. Like those are ways where you get added benefit in addition to methane reduction.”

The feed additive studies are just one aspect of this research, the other goal is to also scale the technology of these respiration chambers up so individual farms can purchase them and track their own emission outputs.

“The other approach could be the use of carbon credits. You know, that’s something that’s really underdeveloped. But again, if you’re going to use carbon credits or carbon credit economy, you really need to make sure that you’re monitoring emissions on farm,” said Dr. McFadden.

There is a timetable for these reductions too set by the Global Methane Pledge which was introduced at COP26 in 2021.

“So the goal that we all sort of abide by and we try to achieve is the 2030 sort of target. And that’s because the Global Methane Pledge stipulates that there needs to be a 30% reduction in global methane emissions by the year 2030 to avoid a 1.5 degree additional warming,” said Dr. McFadden.

Pushing past just methane, Post added too that agriculture isn’t always adding a net positive of greenhouse gas emissions either. Many agricultural activities work to offset emissions by their very nature like crops grown even on dairy farms converting CO2 back to oxygen and water vapor. Among other environmental practices focused on recycling what the farm already has on hand as well.

“Agriculture in general is like doing a really good job of trying to get to net zero being […] a place where carbon gets sequestered. I mean, we, we generate it, we sequester it,” said Post. “We’re recycling more just in the products that we’re bringing in than most businesses are. We’re feeding a lot of recycled products. We’re bedding our cows with recycled products.”

In the greater scheme of reducing emissions from the agriculture industry, we as the consumers also play a role in the purchases we make and whether or not they’re grown and produced locally or from other regions, states, or even countries.

“The best thing, I mean, for all of this stuff, if you’re talking, is to buy and eat as local and as close to home as possible. […] In Western New York, that means, you know, buying milk at Topps or Wegmans or even Aldi’s now and […] looking for products that are made here,” said Post. “Trucking food all over the country, which we do every day is, I mean that outside of the production, that’s probably, you know, one of the biggest challenges I think that we have as an industry.”

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