Greenhouse gas emissions from the Australian livestock sector: what do we know, what can we do?.
Prepared by Dr Roger Hegarty, NSW Agriculture, to contribute to the work of the Greenhouse and Agriculture Taskforce, 2001
Greenhouse Gas Emissions from the Australian Livestock Sector
What Do We Know, What Can We Do?
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- Development of Australia's capacity to understand and reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the livestock sector has not been effectively addressed in the past decade.
- Since 97% of livestock greenhouse gas emissions arise from enteric fermentation, the report focuses primarily on this source and strategies for decreasing these emissions. It does not consider sinks or net emissions associated with the sector.
- As an issue, greenhouse gas emissions have provided a negative image for the livestock sector and efforts to address it have 'fallen through the cracks', with no organisation committing to develop solutions to the problem in a structured way.
- Consequently, Australia has only one major abatement research project in progress, and no broadly applicable recommendations for practical abatement strategies to reduce enteric derived emissions have been put forward.
- There is a dearth of basic information on the organisms that produce methane in ruminants and this has delayed development of innovative abatement solutions.
- Despite the lack of immediate solutions, there are two distinct strategies that can be expected to deliver significant abatement and there are multiple mechanisms within each strategy by which abatement can be achieved.
- These strategies are (1) Changing attributes of the animal population and (2) the development of self-sustaining changes in the mixed microbial population of the rumen.
- Mechanisms for changing attributes of the animal population include selection for smaller mature size, selection for higher net-feed efficiency and selection for faster digesta kinetics.
- Mechanisms for establishing a stable, low-emission, modified rumen fermentation include: biological control directed at methanogens and associated organisms, vaccination, the establishment of effective acetogenic and bacteriocin producing populations.
- Improved pasture quality without associated reduction in grazing area and/or livestock numbers will not reduce daily methane emissions from a livestock enterprise, and needs to be considered as part of a whole farm management program.
- While manufacture of specific chemicals to inhibit enteric methane production is foreseeable, their application would be restricted by the extensive nature of the grazing industries and their threat to the 'clean and green' image of the Australian grazing industries is important.
- It is recommended that the impasse on knowledge and research on livestock methane emissions be overcome by creation of a jointly funded livestock emissions project team. This project would:
- Conduct basic research to identify and understand the organisms that produce methane in the rumen ecosystem.
- Increase producer understanding of the greenhouse effect, its possible consequences and the contribution of livestock.
- Pioneer new abatement strategies such as biological control, bacteriocins and reductive acetogenesis.
- Draw on overseas expertise as appropriate.
- A core program activity would be the establishment of 'model farms' for each livestock enterprise to determine the environmental footprint for each enterprise. This component of the project should be broader than assessment of greenhouse gas emissions alone, and would require drawing in other relevant organisations to address energy, water and nutrient fluxes of the livestock systems to ensure a broad and thorough assessment of the environmental credentials of the Australian livestock industries.
- A structured program as proposed is considered essential to achieve the breadth of investigation and effective delivery that is required to contain or reduce emissions in the coming decade.
Prepared by Dr. Roger Hegarty, NSW Agriculture
To contribute to the work of the Greenhouse and Agriculture Taskforce
Published by the Australian Greenhouse Office, the lead Commonwealth agency on greenhouse matters.
© Commonwealth of Australia 2001
ISBN: 1 876536 69 1
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IMPORTANT NOTICE – PLEASE READ
This document is produced for general information only and does not represent a statement of the policy of the Commonwealth of Australia or NSW Agriculture.
The Commonwealth of Australia and all persons acting for the Commonwealth in preparing this report accept no liability for the accuracy of or inferences from the material contained in this publication, or for any action as a result of any person's or group's interpretations, deductions, conclusions or actions in reliance on this material.
Cover photographs: © NSW Agriculture
Document designed by MA@D Communication, Canberra ACT, and printed by Canprint, Canberra ACT.
