Ireland, NZ team up in emissions probe
Four-year joint effort to investigate links of dairy pasture to methane
ANew Zealand/Ireland joint research programme starting this month aims to better understand methane emissions from pasture-based farm systems.The four-year programme will see researchers, students, professors and database technology experts from DairyNZ and Ireland’s Agriculture and Food Development Authority (Teagasc), University College Cork and Irish Cattle Breeding Federation working together to quantify methane emissions from dairy cows in pasture-based systems.
DairyNZ principal scientist Jane Kay said the aim was to determine the effect that stage of lactation and pasture species, management and seasonal growth had on base methane emissions, and how these factors influenced cows’ responses to methane-reducing technologies.
“The joint programme strengthens our connection with Ireland and enables New Zealand to leverage current and future research,” Kay said.
She said it also fitted within DairyNZ’s wider research programme.
“This wider programme sees our world-leading scientists working with New Zealand farmers, research organisations and commercial companies to develop workable and scalable mitigation solutions that can be widely adopted on-farm to reduce emissions in a sustainable and viable way.”
DairyNZ was awarded funding in 2023 for this work, as part of a pilot joint research initiative between New Zealand and Ireland.
The programme will also develop a methane database for pasturebased systems to ensure emissions and mitigations are accurately
Finding solutions to help farmers reduce emissions while maintaining on-farm profit remains a research priority. DairyNZ principal scientist Jane Kay
accounted for at a farm and national level in New Zealand and Ireland.
Both countries face national and market targets to reduce methane.
DairyNZ says Kiwi farmers are among the world’s most emissionsefficient and consumer and dairy supplier expectations are a driver for dairy farmers to continue reducing emissions, so NZ can remain competitive in the market.
DairyNZ’s continued research supported that, Kay said.
“Finding solutions to help farmers reduce emissions while maintaining on-farm profit remains a research priority.”
Over the past 20 years, potential technologies to reduce methane emissions had emerged from all over the world.
Kay said DairyNZ was focused on potential technologies that fit within New Zealand’s pasture-based system, such as early life intervention, which involved feeding a natural product to young calves, to reduce methane emissions for the animal’s lifetime.
“This is an attractive delivery mechanism for New Zealand, as it’s cost-effective and occurs well before product processing, such as milk harvesting.”
Most of the research on methane mitigation technologies is completed at Lye Farm, one of DairyNZ’s two Waikato research farms.
DairyNZ said Lye and Scott Farms were an important sector resource, as they enabled scientists to carry out pasture, animal, and farm systems trials under relevant conditions.
This ensured the technologies and tools developed were practical and could be widely adopted into different farm systems.
Kay said farmers were involved in all the projects, to provide their thoughts and advice on opportunities or barriers to the adoption of these solutions into New Zealand farm systems. “We’re excited about our continued work alongside farmers and other sector and research organisations to develop mitigation solutions for our unique pasture-based farm systems — and to get ahead of the environmental challenges farmers face.”