Full steam ahead for cows!
It is in this context that the recent work from the Department of Agronomical Sciences at Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech - University of Liège (Animal Production Science Unit: Hélène Soyeurt and Nicolas Gengler) and the 'Valorisation of Agricultural Products' Department (Agricultural Product Technology Unit: Frédéric Dehareng and Amélie Vanlierde) and 'Production and Sectors' (Animal Nutrition and Sustainability Unit: Eric Froidmont) at the Walloon Agricultural Research Centre (CRA-W) can be found. Globally, no one is able today to precisely identify the races of cows which emit the most methane, because individual variability between the animals is significant, depending on a number of criteria, such as the type of pasture. It is also known that Animal A and Animal B from the same race and subject to the same diet, may emit different quantities of methane. And this is not insignificant: it can be up to 60%! Evaluating the methane emitted by a cow does not, in itself, pose a problem. Experts currently use two proven methods. The first involves confining the animal in a breathing chamber (all incoming and outgoing flows - including methane - are thus quantified), the other uses a trace gas - sulphur hexafluoride (SF6) - via a little capsule placed in the rumen. However, these techniques are complex and onerous to conduct if they have to be carried out on a large number of animals. |
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© 2007 ULi�ge
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