Achieving net zero dairy farming

Description

To meet the targets outlined in the 2015 Paris Agreement, many countries are actively working towards reaching climate neutrality and achieving net zero by 2050. With the livestock sector estimated to contribute approximately 11-17% of global greenhouse gas emissions, more research and innovation is required to understand the cause of these emissions and how they can be reduced.

Achieving net zero dairy farming provides a detailed insight into the fundamental processes within the dairy cow and those that occur on dairy farms that contribute to and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The book also considers the range of strategies which can be implemented to support the transition to net zero, including improving housing and housing management, supplementing diets with methane-inhibiting feed additives and optimising manure/slurry application.

Table of contents

Part 1 Fundamentals: The dairy cow

• 1.Advances in understanding overall nutrient/energy flows within the dairy cow: Seppo Ahvenjärvi, Natural Resources Institute Finland (LUKE), Finland;
• 2.Advances in understanding protein/nitrogen processing by the dairy cow: Jeff Firkins, Ohio State University, USA;
• 3.Advances in understanding methane production in the dairy cow: Mohammed Ramin, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Sweden;

Part 2 Fundamentals and measurement: Dairy farms

• 4.Assessing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from different types of dairy farm: C. Alan Rotz, USDA-ARS, USA;
• 5.Water use on dairy farms: António Monteiro, Polytechnic Institute of Viseu, Portugal;
• 6.Measuring methane emissions from individual dairy farms: Luis O. Tedeschi, Texas A&M University, USA;
• 7.Ways of measuring the overall carbon footprint of dairy farming: Jonathan Herron, Teagasc, Ireland;

Part 3 Strategies to achieve net zero: Supporting the dairy cow

• 8.Genetics and breeding for reduced methane emissions: Anouk van Breukelen, Wageningen University & Research, The Netherlands;
• 9.Improving individual animal productivity/feed conversion efficiency: Robin R. White, Virginia Tech, USA;
• 10.Improving housing and housing management to reduce/manage emissions and waste: Pol Llonch, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Spain;
• 11.Use of methane-inhibiting feed additives/inhibitors: John Newbold, SRUC, UK;

Part 4 Strategies to achieve net zero: System-level improvements

• 12.Manure management and processing: Alice Rocha, University of California-Davis, USA;
• 13.Optimising manure/slurry application on the farm: Shabtai Bittman, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Canada;
• 14.Methane utilisation on dairy farms: Sigrid Kusch-Brandt, University of Southampton, UK;
• 15.Dairy farming and water catchment management: David J. Horne, Massey University, New Zealand;
• 16.Integrating dairy farming and crop production: Susanne Wiesner, University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA;