I was elated to attend the 85th Cornell Nutrition Conference in Syracuse, NY from October 17th-19th. It was an impactful 3-day event packed with insightful sessions, seasoned speakers, and enthusiastic participants from different parts of the United States and other countries. The variety of attendees and the cordial atmosphere allowed everyone to network and share information and experiences. I was excited at every opportunity to exchange business cards with other participants. The speakers dealt with various nutrition topics but I was drawn to the greenhouse gas mitigation and environmental sustainability sessions. There was a lot of emphasis on one of the US dairy industry’s environmental stewardship goals: to achieve greenhouse gas neutrality by 2050. Achieving this goal would require a concerted effort from the government, industry leaders, researchers, producers, and every stakeholder in the livestock value chain.
A highlight for me was the talk “Realistic Thoughts On Enteric Methane” by Jed Asmus, a nutrition consultant from California. A key issue he addressed is how producers can be assisted in making the right decisions regarding mitigating enteric methane (CH4) emissions. A first step would be to create awareness among producers about the necessity of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. According to Asmus the discussions about greenhouse gas emission reduction are not going away, so producers should be encouraged to take on these efforts and be willing to play their roles to meet environmental sustainability goals. California, being the leading dairy producing state, is currently at the forefront of setting goals and enacting regulations to combat climate change. One of the climate goals is to reduce CH4 emissions to 40% below 2013 levels by 2030. The California Climate Commitment also includes cutting greenhouse gas emissions 85% by 2045. Farmers will need help to make informed decisions on the appropriate ways of achieving these goals. To help identify the best way forward, the California Department of Food and Agriculture under the Office of Environmental Farming and Innovation established the Livestock Enteric Methane Emission Reduction Research Program to provide grants to fund research studies evaluating dietary strategies and additives that can reduce enteric CH4 emissions. The state has also installed 131 anaerobic digesters to convert CH4 from manure into renewable natural gas in dairy and beef cattle systems (Savage, 2023). In US dairy farms, 19% of greenhouse gas emissions come from CH4 in manure management systems (Rotz et al., 2021), and the large-sized farms in CA make the implementation of anaerobic digesters more feasible compared to smaller farms. These pace-setting endeavors by the government of CA would imply an adoption of similar climate smart goals by other livestock producing states in the US.
Asmus identified some areas of consideration that can support the reduction of enteric CH4:
Research to determine suitable products and procedures that can be adopted for enteric CH4 reduction. Nationally and globally, research has been geared towards the in-vitro screening of plants and various additives to determine their potential to reduce CH4, and the inclusion of some of these additives in farm trials. The feedback from these studies have however shown a tradeoff between enteric CH4 reduction and a negative impact on other parameters like dry matter intake. Additional research is needed to determine additives that will give optimal results without adverse effects on the animals.
Regulatory efforts to provide oversight for implementing these measures. He advised that regulators should ensure producers do not bear the brunt of additional costs and taxes, and the market for carbon credits should be easily accessible.
Economic and production benefits that should accrue to producers who adopt these products.
Other speakers addressed some of the practical challenges that these benchmarks impose on farms. Dr. Sara Kvidera from Elanco noted that the safety, efficacy, and return on investment of these additives need to be assessed. Likewise, Dr. Ananda Fontoura and Dr. Joe McFadden from Cornell University indicated the need for more research to validate the technologies and protocols currently being used for enteric CH4 measurements to ensure more accuracy and precision.
In conclusion, improving the environmental footprint of the US dairy industry requires more concerted efforts, and discussions about greenhouse gas reduction and environmental sustainability will be a recurring theme in the coming years.
The conference ended too quickly, and I asked, “When is the next Cornell Nutrition Conference?”
— Gift Omoruyi