Burping cows and greenhouse gases
Until a couple of months ago, the dairy cow had been a popular target for criticism in relation to greenhouse gas emissions.
More important matters now dominate the press, but let me share a few facts, not views, about cows and methane.
A report by the Royal Association of Dairy Farmers puts the contribution of dairy cows and general livestock production into perspective. Cows do contribute to the production of greenhouse gases, but they are not the main cause of climate change.
According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation, dairy production across the world is responsible for about three per cent of greenhouse gases.
Global emissions from all livestock represent less than one sixth of all man-made emissions
The less developed regions of the world see higher emissions from enteric fermentation due to poorer nutrition and genetics. The more efficient producers, such as in the UK, have increased yield and reduced cow numbers, and thus lowered emissions. That is just the opposite of what the most critical opponents of our dairy industry argue.
British agriculture is responsible for nine per cent of the country’s total emissions with the dairy sector responsible for less than two per cent of that figure.
There is always more to do, but it is clear that UK farms have some of the lowest carbon footprints in the world.
John Sumner is an independent dairy specialist
