Reducing greenhouse gas emissions in livestock through farm management and nutrition
Paper Details
Reducing greenhouse gas emissions in livestock through farm management and nutrition
Abstract
The livestock sector is one of the key sources of protein, and demand for milk, meat, and eggs is predicted to increase by 30%, 60%, and 80% by 2050. The animals’ stocking density rate might be increased, or the current stock output could be improved. This sector, however, is a major source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and is regarded as a global threat. The agriculture sector is the largest contributor to anthropogenic global warming, accounting for 53% of N2O, 44% of CH4, and 5% of CO2. It is recommended that animals be managed using genetic selections in intensive management practices, with milk yields of up to 50 to 55 percent. Animal dung should be moved outside regularly to minimize N2O emissions by 41% and CH4 gas emissions by 55%. In contrast, nutritional manipulation increased animal productivity and reduced CH4 gas emissions by 40% to 75%, depending on the degree of intervention. The antibacterial characteristics of plants’ secondary compounds, which kill bacteria in the rumen, have the potential to reduce gas emissions. While lowering organic matter fermentation, fiber digestibility, and thus the methanogenic pathway, as well as direct inhibition of methanogenesis in the rumen by hydrogenation of unsaturated fatty acids, causes fat to suppress CH4. Several mitigation measures could be used to address the impact of GHGs like CH4 and N2O in the cattle sector.
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