Bezos Earth Fund among backers of US$5 million project focused on breeding efforts to reduce methane emissions

The initiative is being financed by a US$5m grant from the Bezos Earth Fund in partnership with the Global Methane Hub, a philanthropic fund to support methane mitigation and global warming prevention, and with support from the Wageningen University Fund.

The goal is to coordinate and initiate a global effort to specifically select cows with low methane emissions, leveraging existing data and knowledge from global breeding initiatives.

"The project aims to involve many partners around the world. The idea is to combine all local efforts to accelerate progress," Veerkamp told FeedNavigator.

Breeding has the capacity to permanently reduce emissions from ruminants while allowing farmers to earn an income and produce nutritious food that is vital to populations in both the global North and South, Veerkamp believes.

Data collection

The researchers intend to standardize protocols, share methane and genotype data, and expand data collection across breeds and regions. They want to speed up the impact of livestock breeding on methane reduction, in addition to traditional breeding goals such as milk quality, health and weight.

The program, which will run for five years, will focus on all cattle production systems as well as sheep production, said the professor.

The amount of methane a cow produces depends on factors such as diet and environment, as well as genetics, noted Veerkamp.

Unfortunately, current research on enteric fermentation is not comprehensive or coordinated enough to provide efficient and transformative solutions that will significantly benefit farmers, he argued.

"We can turn to nature to reduce methane emissions and use genetic diversity to reduce livestock's impact on the environment. A concerted effort is needed to do this effectively."