To meet the targets outlined in the 2015 Paris Agreement, many countries are actively working towards reaching climate neutrality and achieving net zero by 2050. With the livestock sector estimated to contribute approximately 11-17% of global greenhouse gas emissions, more research and innovation is required to understand the cause of these emissions and how they can be reduced.
Achieving net zero dairy farming provides a detailed insight into the fundamental processes within the dairy cow and those that occur on dairy farms that contribute to and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The book also considers the range of strategies which can be implemented to support the transition to net zero, including improving housing and housing management, supplementing diets with methane-inhibiting feed additives and optimising manure/slurry application.
- Assesses recent advances in understanding fundamental processes within the dairy cow and on dairy farms
- Reviews current methods for measuring emissions from dairy farming
- Considers the range of strategies that can be implemented to achieve net zero dairy farming
This book provides a detailed insight into the fundamental processes within the dairy cow and on dairy farms that contribute to and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, as well as the strategies that can be implemented to reduce the sector’s carbon footprint.
Part 1 Fundamentals and measurement on the dairy farm
1.Sustainability, nutrient and energy flows in the dairy cow: an overview:
John Webster, University of Bristol, UK;
2.Advances in understanding methane production in the dairy cow: Mohammad
Ramin and Petra Fant, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Sweden;
and Miroslav Joch and Mariana Vadroová, Czech University of Life Sciences,
Czech Republic;
3.Assessing greenhouse gas emissions from dairy farms: C. Alan Rotz and
Curtis Dell, USDA-ARS, USA;
4.Advances in measuring the water footprint of dairy farming: António Cardoso
Monteiro, Polytechnic Institute of Viseu, Portugal; and Özdal Gökdal, Aydn
Adnan Menderes University, Turkey;
5.Measuring methane emissions from dairy farms: Luís O. Tedeschi, Texas A&M
University, USA; Marcos I. Marcondes, William H. Miner Institute Agricultural
Research Institute, USA; Sushil Paudyal, Texas A&M University, USA; André F.
Brito, University of New Hampshire, USA; and Hugo F. Monteiro, Cornell
University, USA;
Part 2 Strategies to achieve net zero: supporting the dairy cow
6.Genetics and breeding for reduced methane emissions: A. E. van Breukelen,
Wageningen University & Research, The Netherlands;
7.Improving feed conversion efficiency in dairy cattle: Robin R. White,
Virginia Tech, USA;
8.Housing strategies to reduce the carbon footprint and improve animal
welfare in dairy farming: Pol Llonch, Autonomous University of Barcelona,
Spain; and Fernando Estellés, Polytechnic University of Valencia, Spain;
9.Development and use of methane-inhibiting feed supplements in dairy
farming: John Newbold, Scotlands Rural College (SRUC), UK;
Part 3 Strategies to achieve net zero: system-level improvements
10.Manure management and processing: Alice Rocha, University of
California-Davis, USA;
11.Optimizing manure and slurry application from intensive dairy farming
operations: Shabtai Bittman and Derek Hunt, Agassiz Research and Development
Centre - Agriculture and Agrifood Canada, Canada; Kirsten Hannam and Barbara
Cade-Menun, Summerland Research and Development Centre - Agriculture and
Agrifood Canada, Canada;
12.Methane utilisation on dairy farms: Sigrid Kusch-Brandt, University of
Southampton, UK and University of Applied Sciences Ulm, Germany;
13.Integrating dairy farming and crop production: Susanne Wiesner, Technical
University of Denmark, Denmark; Shabda Gajbhiye, University of Wisconsin,
USA; and Laxmi Prasad, North Dakota State University, USA;
Part 4 Conclusion
14.Achieving net zero dairy farming: weighing the options arising from new
understanding: John Webster, University of Bristol, UK;
Dr John Webster is Emeritus Professor in Animal Husbandry at the University of Bristol, UK. He established the Animal Welfare and Behaviour Group at the University of Bristol, one of the largest and most highly-regarded of its kind in the world, and was a founder member of the Farm Animal Welfare Council which pioneered the Five Freedoms for farm animals. Professor Webster is editor of an earlier Burleigh Dodds Science Publishing volume: Achieving sustainable production of milk Volume 3: Dairy herd management and welfare (published in 2017). Other key books written or edited by Professor Webster include Understanding the Dairy Cow and Animal Husbandry Regained: the place of farm animals in sustainable agriculture.
