Circular Agronomics’ partner AREC Raumberg-Gumpenstein (Austria) began measuring in May 2019 gaseous emissions – including carbon dioxide, methane and ammonia – produced by cows at facilities called ‘respiration chambers’.
The aim is to study the effect of different proportions of forage and concentrates in the ration of dairy cows on methane production and efficiency of methane production (g CH4/kg milk production).
The methane production of cows is of high interest as it is a greenhouse gas and the digestion process in ruminants is one of its main sources. Methane is an end-product of fibre degradation in the rumen of ruminants. Thus, methane production is linked to the amount of fibre that is digested in the rumen. The fibre content in the ration can be influenced by the proportion of forages and concentrates fed to the animals.
