French scientists help to reduce carbon emissions from Jersey cow herds

• Rory O'Regan spoke to a scientist from a Normandy farm that has been researching how to reduce emissions from the Jersey Cow.

French scientists have found a way to mitigate the carbon 'hoofprint' of Jersey cows by reducing the amount of gas they pass.

The team of French researchers have created a new blood test that can determine how much methane cattle can let off, helping farmers breed less 'gassy' livestock.

When lying down, cows chew and regurgitate their food - a process called ruminating which helps cattle extract as many nutrients as possible from what they eat.

This causes them to belch, releasing more greenhouse gas into the air.

Researcher Luc Delaby hopes to change breeding practices by creating a "genetic index" of cows so breeders can choose more environmentally friendly herds that produce less methane.

French scientists worked out the methane emissions of Jersey, Holstein and local Normande breeds at an experimental farm in Normandy.

They use a device called a 'sniffer', originally used to avert explosions in mines by detecting gas, to find out which breeds produce more flatulence.

Luc explains: "We know that there is a relationship between the fatty acids and the methane emissions but the breeders are keen to improve on that because they don't know what type of cow is the best.

"[Breeders] will have a genetic index of the methane emission potential [for each breed] and they will be able to select a more efficient type of cow in terms of producing methane emissions.

"[Jersey cows] are small-sized animals. Maybe 150 to 200 kilos of body weight or less than the Holstein and the Normande cows.

"That is favourable for limiting intake, to reduce grass and forage intake and to limit the total emissions per cow."

However, Mr Delaby also says breeders must consider other genetic traits when choosing cows to be part of their more environmentally friendly herds.

He said: "We can't select only on one index like methane emissions. We also have to take into account the relationships with other indexes like milk production, milk quality, longevity."

Jersey dairy farmer Andrew Le Gallais says dairy farmers on the island want to help reduce emissions from their herds.

Andrew's farm works with Royal Holloway University in London to monitor his herds' methane output and uses pipes in his cow sheds to capture greenhouse gas emitted.

Andrew explains: "Jersey cows ruminate more efficiently than other breeds of cows which means they get the most out of the food we give them and they give very high-quality milk as a result.

"It's not a quick fix. It's a very, very complex subject and because it's complex, it's beholden on us to find a way to reduce methane in the island.

"As an industry, we're doing a huge amount. We're networking well, we're feeding our cows to the best of our ability, we're tweaking a lot of things and as I see it, it's going to be a long-term, evolving process using our networking credentials."

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