Abstract #822

# 822
Forage utilization to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions by ruminants.
Karen A. Beauchemin*1, 1Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Lethbridge Research Centre, Lethbridge, AB, Canada.

Meat and dairy products account for almost half of food-generated greenhouse gases (GHG), and as global consumption of livestock products continues to grow there is pressure on the livestock industry to lower its emissions. Poultry, pig, dairy, and feedlot production rely on the use of grains and oilseeds, increasing the demand for limited resources. With continued expansion of livestock production to meet global demand for protein, ruminant production will need to increase its use of forages. Unlike pigs and poultry, ruminants can utilize cellulosic materials to produce high quality protein for human consumption. Furthermore, perennial forages, forage-cropping rotations, and well-managed grazing lands provide numerous environmental benefits. However, high-fiber diets increase enteric CH4 emissions from ruminants, so increasing forage use by ruminants may at first seem counterproductive in terms of reducing GHG emissions. However, there is increasing knowledge of mitigation practices that lower CH4 emissions from cattle. Some strategies are (1) technologies to reduce methanogenesis in the rumen (nitrate, inhibitors), (2) improving fiber digestibility (pre-treatment, genetic selection of forages, harvest management), and (3) targeted supplementation and management of animals to improve productivity. When examining the total GHG emissions from a system, all emissions and removals of CH4, N2O, and CO2 on the farm and from purchased inputs must be considered using a life cycle approach. Forage-based ruminant systems tend to be relatively low input with less fossil fuel CO2 emissions and fertilizer-based N2O emissions than grain-based systems. Use of N-fixing legume forages further displaces the use of fertilizers. With grazing systems, the nutrient cycle is relatively closed with excreted nutrients returned directly to the land. Well managed grasslands subject to moderate grazing can augment soil carbon reserves. Such lands also provide many other ecosystem services including conservation of biodiversity, water quality, and wildlife habitat. Thus, continued development and adoption of mitigation strategies will allow ruminant production systems to rely more extensively on forages while lowering GHG emissions and providing enhanced ecosystem services.

Key Words: forage, methane, environmental sustainability

Speaker Bio
Dr. Beauchemin had been a research scientist at Agriculture and Agri-Food (AAFC) Canada’s Lethbridge Research Centre in Alberta for the past 26 years and an adjunct professor at the University of Alberta and the University of Saskatchewan. Before her career in research, Dr. Beauchemin spent several years in the feed industry. She obtained a PhD in ruminant nutrition at the University of Guelph (1988), an MSc in animal nutrition at Université Laval (1982), and her BSc in agriculture at McGill University (1978).  Dr. Beauchemin conducts a broad based research program to improve feed utilization of dairy and beef cattle, while reducing environmental impact of meat and milk production. In recent years, she has published extensively in the area of methane mitigation.